WRITTEN QUESTIONS
9th Assembly

16/07/2004

148. Human Resource Management - Outsourced

Mr Wood to MINISTER for Police Fire and Emergency Services

QUESTION
1. In April 2004, Police Fire and Emergency Services let a contract for $1.1 million for the provision of Human Resource Management for three years -
Why are HR functions being outsourced.

ANSWER

Answered on 20/08/2004

Human Resource Management (HRM) functions are not outsourced and remain in-house. However, NTPFES have always used some specific outside services in situations where the expertise is not available in-house.

One of the core functions of the HRM Branch is to implement strategies to ensure that professional HR services are provided to the sworn and unsworn members of the NTPFES. To facilitate this, the HR Management and HR Development (HRD) Branches established a panel of potential service providers, via a tender process, to form the panel contract. This process was undertaken for two reasons. Firstly, it provided information as to whom was available to provide specific services and secondly, to ensure that all service providers were given the opportunity to tender. It is considered that a more efficient method of obtaining the service of providers is by way of a holistic panel contract, rather than an individual tender process each time a particular service requires outsourcing. Having a panel contract therefore enables the HRM Branch to select from the panel, any one of the accepted service providers relevant to the field of expertise required, without having to go through an often time consuming tender process.

Examples of HRM and HRD services sought via the panel contract are as follows:-

Psychiatric/Psychologist Services
Mediation
Components of the national police recruitment process (administration and delivery of the physical and written assessments)
Investigations
Training Services (delivery of accredited training & assessment)

The $1.1 million is the amount that has been estimated as the potential total cost to the NTPFES over a 3 year period for utilisation of the service providers included in the panel contract.