Commissioner statement on the Independent Review of the Victorian Public Service

Statement from the Commissioner

The Victorian Government has published its response to the Independent Review of the Victorian Public Service (the Silver Review). The Government confirmed it will implement most of the Silver Review’s recommendations. This includes rebalancing VPS roles.

I want to take this opportunity to remind duty holders to consider gender when implementing change.

Gender must be considered when making major changes

The Silver Review states that major workforce changes must uphold the government’s commitments to diversity and inclusion. This includes gender equality. It also stresses that industrial obligations must be followed.

Under the Victorian Public Service Enterprise Agreement 2024, major changes like restructures must follow the process outlined in Clause 11.

Duty holders under the Gender Equality Act 2020 must interpret the Agreement – including Clause 11 – in a way that is consistent with the Gender Pay Equity Principles in the Act.

These principles say that:

• employment and pay practices must recognise and account for different patterns of work by workers who do unpaid and/or caring work, and
• employment and pay practices, pay rates, and systems must be transparent.

Calculating separation packages

The current method for calculating separation packages overall disadvantages employees who have worked part-time or taken extended unpaid parental leave.

The Implementing budget reprioritisations in the Victorian Public Service: Guidance materials say that an employee’s separation package is based on their average work hours (FTE) over their last 10 or 15 years of service. It also says that periods of leave without pay do not count as “service”.

This method overall disadvantages women and carers. It reduces the separation package for anyone who cut back their hours or took leave to care for children or family.

In the Victorian Public Service, 19.6% of women work part-time, compared to only 5% of men. And women make up 87% of people taking parental leave. On average, women take 16 weeks of unpaid parental leave, compared to 1.6 weeks for men.

Under the current method, women who have worked as long as men may receive smaller separation packages. This undermines the intent of the Gender Equality Act.

Separation packages can and should be reviewed individually to prevent unfair financial penalties.

Duty holders must make processes fair

When re-prioritising budgets and undertaking major change (Clause 11) processes, including those that follow the Silver Review, I strongly recommend all leaders:

• Conduct case-by-case reviews. Review separation packages individually after applying the required calculation method in Attachment C - Calculation basis for separation package and apply their discretion to make sure women and carers are not unfairly financially disadvantaged simply because they worked part-time or took unpaid leave in the past. This may be supported by documented flexible work plans or other agreed alternative working arrangements.
• Engage with union members. It is vital to work constructively with unions and employees. Listen to their concerns about equity and fairness during this process.
• Be open. Tell your employees that you have the power to review separation packages to ensure the outcome is fair.

Further action

I want to assure all VPS employees that I am working with senior stakeholders to advocate for fair processes and outcomes.

My goal is to make the rules clear: separation packages can and should be reviewed individually to prevent unfair financial penalties.

We must ensure that the implementation of the Silver Review does not erode the hard-won gains we have made toward gender equality in the public sector.