❓ WA Parliament Question on Notice regarding staffing levels, position changes, risk assessments, and expenditure on agency staff within WA Health Service Providers, revealing data on FTE, headcount, abolished/created positions, and agency spending.
AnsweredQoN 786Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
I refer to the Department of Health’s Financial Sustainability Taskforce, and I ask: (a) For each Health Service Provider (HSP), what were headcount and FTE for the following role families at 1 January 2024, 30 June 2024, 31 December 2024, 31 August 2025 and the most recent available date: maintenance, IT, supply and logistics, finance, HR, procurement, and other corporate; (b) For each HSP, which positions were abolished or frozen since 1 January 2024 (position title, classification and location) and what hours were reduced; (c) Will the Minister table any risk assessments addressing impacts of reduced maintenance/IT/supply capacity on patient flow, infection prevention and emergency response; and (d) For each HSP, what was the spend on agency/locum/contracted corporate services at the same time points?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
21 October 2025
Responded by
Minister for Health; Mental Health
Response time
5 days
(a) WA Health does not capture FTE/headcount data at the requested level of role families. FTE/headcount data is captured under the occupational categories Administrative and Clerical or Site Services as per the table below.
DEC-2023
JUN-2024
DEC-2024
AUG-2025
Budget Holder
YTD FTE
Head
count
YTD FTE
Head
count
YTD FTE
Head
count
YTD FTE
Head
count
Administrative, Site Services and Clerical
NMHS
1648
1,949
1,678
1,987
1,776
2,073
1,824
2,092
SMHS
1,177
1,375
1,215
1,447
1,341
1,601
1,453
1,725
EMHS
1,174
1351
1,179
1,356
1,228
1,440
1,316
1,488
CAHS
893
1,094
916
1,215
1,010
1,257
1,081
1,310
WACHS
2,023
2,094
1,973
2,103
1,900
2,147
1,971
2,234
HSS
1,426
1,503
1,463
1,619
1,564
1,657
1,585
1,652
Pathwest
231
278
240
304
264
300
264
297
Department of Health
1,096
1,246
1,134
1,376
1,271
1,474
1,330
1,486
* FTE has been rounded to the nearest whole number.
* Year-to-Date (YTD) FTE excludes Clinical Support Administrative staff and Agency staff
*Headcount excludes agency staff. Employees may be employed by different HSP’s and may be counted multiple times
(b)-(c):
Health Service Providers undertake regular reviews of their organisational establishment to ensure resources are allocated in a manner that best supports frontline service delivery. As part of this process, positions may be created, abolished or re-directed to areas of need in response to operational requirements, evolving service demands, and workforce priorities. These decisions are driven by the need to optimise service outcomes and are not directly attributable to the Western Australian Financial Sustainability Taskforce.
The number of positions abolished by Health Service Providers since 1 January 2024 is provided in the table below.
Health Service Provider
No. of Positions Abolished
No. of Positions Created
Child and Adolescent Health Service
60
234
East Metropolitan Health Service
512
769
Health Support Services
70
553
North Metropolitan Health Service
126
403
PathWest
74
219
South Metropolitan Health Service
153
703
WA Country Health Service
139
402
(d) The total spend on agency/locum/contracted corporate services for each Health Service Provider is provide in the table below.
1 Jul 2023 –
31 Dec 2023
1 Jan 2024 –
30 Jun 2024
1 Jul 2024 –
31 Dec 2024
1 Jan 2025 –
30 Jun 2025
CAHS
$1,584,487
$3,252,834
$1,531,181
$3,075,369
EMHS
$419,745
$784,884
$686,986
$1,190,849
HSS
$1,473,723
$2,238,340
$2,793,437
$2,348,746
NMHS
$3,271,566
$1,827,112
$1,590,317
$2,166,699
PathWest
$228,130
$225,446
$103,612
$56,409
SMHS
$1,148,755
$849,267
$1,072,144
$737,332
WACHS
$992,047
$1,291,060
$1,470,281
$1,133,771
The information provided is prepared on a financial year-to-date basis.
DEC-2023
JUN-2024
DEC-2024
AUG-2025
Budget Holder
YTD FTE
Head
count
YTD FTE
Head
count
YTD FTE
Head
count
YTD FTE
Head
count
Administrative, Site Services and Clerical
NMHS
1648
1,949
1,678
1,987
1,776
2,073
1,824
2,092
SMHS
1,177
1,375
1,215
1,447
1,341
1,601
1,453
1,725
EMHS
1,174
1351
1,179
1,356
1,228
1,440
1,316
1,488
CAHS
893
1,094
916
1,215
1,010
1,257
1,081
1,310
WACHS
2,023
2,094
1,973
2,103
1,900
2,147
1,971
2,234
HSS
1,426
1,503
1,463
1,619
1,564
1,657
1,585
1,652
Pathwest
231
278
240
304
264
300
264
297
Department of Health
1,096
1,246
1,134
1,376
1,271
1,474
1,330
1,486
* FTE has been rounded to the nearest whole number.
* Year-to-Date (YTD) FTE excludes Clinical Support Administrative staff and Agency staff
*Headcount excludes agency staff. Employees may be employed by different HSP’s and may be counted multiple times
(b)-(c):
Health Service Providers undertake regular reviews of their organisational establishment to ensure resources are allocated in a manner that best supports frontline service delivery. As part of this process, positions may be created, abolished or re-directed to areas of need in response to operational requirements, evolving service demands, and workforce priorities. These decisions are driven by the need to optimise service outcomes and are not directly attributable to the Western Australian Financial Sustainability Taskforce.
The number of positions abolished by Health Service Providers since 1 January 2024 is provided in the table below.
Health Service Provider
No. of Positions Abolished
No. of Positions Created
Child and Adolescent Health Service
60
234
East Metropolitan Health Service
512
769
Health Support Services
70
553
North Metropolitan Health Service
126
403
PathWest
74
219
South Metropolitan Health Service
153
703
WA Country Health Service
139
402
(d) The total spend on agency/locum/contracted corporate services for each Health Service Provider is provide in the table below.
1 Jul 2023 –
31 Dec 2023
1 Jan 2024 –
30 Jun 2024
1 Jul 2024 –
31 Dec 2024
1 Jan 2025 –
30 Jun 2025
CAHS
$1,584,487
$3,252,834
$1,531,181
$3,075,369
EMHS
$419,745
$784,884
$686,986
$1,190,849
HSS
$1,473,723
$2,238,340
$2,793,437
$2,348,746
NMHS
$3,271,566
$1,827,112
$1,590,317
$2,166,699
PathWest
$228,130
$225,446
$103,612
$56,409
SMHS
$1,148,755
$849,267
$1,072,144
$737,332
WACHS
$992,047
$1,291,060
$1,470,281
$1,133,771
The information provided is prepared on a financial year-to-date basis.
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