❓ Hon Steve Martin asks about voluntary redundancies within the Mental Health Commission, including repeat redundancies and associated costs. The response details compliance with regulations and provides a table of redundancy numbers and costs by financial year.
AnsweredQoN 1117Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
I refer to all employees of the Mental Health Commission and I ask: (a) as of 30 June 2025, how many staff employed by the Department (the Commission) had previously accepted a voluntary redundancy for a former role at the Department, earlier iterations of the Department (e.g. after machinery of government changes), or any other Western Australian Government Department(s) or their earlier iterations: (i) at least once; (ii) at least twice; (iii) at least three times; (iv) at least four times; (v) at least five times; and (vi) more than five times; (b) for each of the following years, how many voluntary redundancies were taken by staff employed by the Department: (i) 2017-18; (ii) 2018-19; (iii) 2019-20; (iv) 2020-21; (v) 2021-22; (vi) 2022-23; (vii) 2023-24; and (viii) 2024-25; and (c) for each of the years in (b) what was the total cost of paying out voluntary redundancies for staff employed by the Department?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
24 February 2026
Responded by
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health; Mental Health
Response time
5 days
(a) The Public Sector Management (Redeployment and Redundancy) Regulations 2014 require that a person who has accepted a voluntary redundancy is not re-employed in the Western Australian public sector during the mandatory restriction period prescribed under Regulation 17. Where a public sector employee returns to public sector employment within the mandatory restriction period, repayment of relevant entitlement is required. The Commission ensures compliance with these employment regulations for all current employees.
(b) - (c)
Table below shows, by financial year, the number of voluntary redundancies taken by staff employed by the Mental Health Commission and the annual cost of these redundancy payments.
The number of voluntary redundancies taken by staff employed by the Mental Health Commission and total cost of paying out voluntary redundancies for staff employed by the Department.
Financial year
Number of voluntary redundancies
Cost ($’000)
2017–18
10
792
2018–19
2
205
2019–20
0
0
2020–21
0
0
2021–22
0
0
2022–23
1
160
2023–24
0
0
2024–25
2
203
(b) - (c)
Table below shows, by financial year, the number of voluntary redundancies taken by staff employed by the Mental Health Commission and the annual cost of these redundancy payments.
The number of voluntary redundancies taken by staff employed by the Mental Health Commission and total cost of paying out voluntary redundancies for staff employed by the Department.
Financial year
Number of voluntary redundancies
Cost ($’000)
2017–18
10
792
2018–19
2
205
2019–20
0
0
2020–21
0
0
2021–22
0
0
2022–23
1
160
2023–24
0
0
2024–25
2
203
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.