ATO staff offered voluntary redundancy

Alistair Waters, Deputy President of the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU), says “The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is calling this an ‘enterprise workforce refresh process’ which says nothing and everything at the same time.

“No matter how they try to dress it up, this is a cut of 900 jobs which will reduce the ATO’s capacity to collect the revenue all Australians rely on to fund essential services like health and education. Taking 900 tax office staff out of the system will have an enormous impact on the important work that it does in providing advice to businesses and individuals.

“While we are opposed to such large cuts, calling for expressions of interest is the most sensible way of dealing with what is a very difficult situation for the hardworking and dedicated tax employees,” added Mr Waters.

An Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) spokesperson tells Third Sector “ACNC staff are eligible to submit expressions of interest for these voluntary redundancies and this will be assessed on merit. When assessing the expression of interest, the ACNC will take into account the position held and the person in the role and, the impact of both to deliver on the work of the ACNC.”

The Federal Government recently announced that the ACNC would be abolished and replaced with a National Centre of Excellence to represent the interests of charities and not-for-profit (NFP) agencies.

When asked how the invitations for voluntary redundancies may impact upon the ACNC, the ACNC spokesperson says “The ACNC is required under legislation to deliver on the objects of the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission Act 2012. This Act is still in place and until any changes to the Act occur, it is business as usual at the ACNC.”

The spokesperson was unable to comment on the ACNC’s future, but says that the Commission is working with the Department of Social Services on the Federal Government’s proposed plans for the regulation of civil society and the establishment of the National Centre for Excellence.

“The future of the ACNC is a policy decision for government,” says the ACNC spokesperson.

Government consultations on the establishment of a new National Centre for Excellence and associated issues, including the future of the Charities Act 2013 are ongoing.

Stephanie Chan

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