Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

asked the Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills, Jobs and Workplace Relations, upon notice, on 25 July 2011:

(1) With reference to all staff at Fair Work Australia:

  (a) Have travel entitlements been accessed for a spouse of a member of Fair Work Australia; if so, can a full breakdown be provided, including the name of the officer at Fair Work Australia, the travel details and the cost as well as the business need for the travel.

  (b) What is the total travel cost for the 2010-11 financial year at Fair Work Australia, and can a breakdown of travel be provided including dates, locations and reason for travel including the name of the person travelling.

  (c) Can details be provided for the business reason each time an associate has travelled with a Commissioner, Vice or Deputy President or the President.

(2) With reference to all staff at the Office of the Australian Building and Construction Commissioner (ABCC):

  (a) Have travel entitlements been accessed for a spouse of any officers at the ABCC or the Commissioner; if so, can a full breakdown be provided, including the name of the officer at the ABCC, the travel details and the cost as well as the business need for the travel.

  (b) What is the total travel cost for the 2010-11 financial year at the ABCC, and can a breakdown of travel be provided including dates, locations and reason for travel including the name of the person travelling.

  (c) Can details be provided for the business reason each time an associate has travelled with an officer.

Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The answer to the honourable senator's question is as follows:

(1) (a) Spouse Travel

  (b) Travel Cost

FWA spent $2,465,611.26 on travel in 2010-11 comprising:

* includes non FWA employees, corporate travel agent charges and adjustments

The reason for travel is recorded on the travel approval form but is not entered into the finance system. This breakdown is not readily available.

  (c) Associate travel

Associates travel with their member when required to assist with the undertaking of tribunal activities.

(2) Yes.

On 27 January 2011 ABC Commissioner Leigh Johns, representing the ABCC at a function hosted by Minter Ellison, was accompanied by his partner, at a cost of $1,261.70. This payment was approved by the ABCC Chief Financial Officer, and was in accordance with the Remuneration Tribunal Determination 2004/03: Official Travel by Office Holders.

Family members of an ABCC officer may be entitled to reimbursement of travel expenses incurred as a result of relocation at the initiative of the Commonwealth.

During the financial year 2010-11, there were two such cases of family travel reimbursement resulting from relocation, at a total cost of $1058.59.

  (b)   For the financial year 2010-2011, the agency's total travel costs were $1,217,834.18. A breakdown of travel costs are provided in the table below.

Detail of travel by ABCC Public Officer Holder and SES officers is provided in Attachment A. The extract of data is from the travel management and financial management systems. For reasons of protected information under the Building and Construction Industry Improvement Act 2005, confidentiality and clarity, some reasons for travel have been modified.

Details of travel by non-SES officers of the ABCC are not provided for the following reasons:

It may inadvertently disclose protected or confidential operational matters; and

It would require substantial manual reconciliation.

  (c) The ABCC does not have any Associates.

Attachment A

ABCC Public Office Holder Travel

1 July 2010 – 30 June 2011

ABCC SES Travel

1 July 2010 – 30 June 2011