Staff costs at NSWMA increase by nearly 100% in five years – report

A report from the Auditor General's Department has revealed that staff costs increased by 92.1 per cent over the five-year period 2016 to 2021 at the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA).

Expenses over the period under review rose by $2.9 billion or 58.6 per cent with the component, direct administrative, and general expenses accounting for nearly all total expenses.

Auditor General Pamela Monroe Ellis reviewed the financial statements of the NSWMA over the five-year period in the context of the Fiscal Responsibility Framework.

According to Monroe Ellis, expenses were driven by staff costs, which averaged 37.6 per cent of total expenses, with this line item increasing by 92.1 per cent over the five-year period moving to $3.2 billion in financial year 2020/21 from $1.7 billion in financial year 2016/17.

The auditor general reported that as at March 2021, the NSWMA had a staff complement of 3,666, increasing by 40 per cent from 2,619 in financial year 2016/17.

MPM Waste Management Limited, a subsidiary of NSWMA, had the largest proportion of staff with 1,674 or 45.7 per cent of the total group staff complement.

“We noted that between financial year 2019/20 and financial year 2020/21 total staff complement declined by 454 (11 per cent) but overall staff cost increased by $343.2 million (11.9 per cent),” Monroe Ellis observed.

- Edmond Campbell

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