WA Government disbands Shared Services office

Review by ERA showed blowout in costs, delay in completion time and dissatisfaction from government departments

The Office of Shared Services (OSS) has been decommissioned by the West Australian Government in response to a report from the Economic Regulation Authority (ERA).

It was disbanded as the full, independent review of the OSS showed a blowout in costs, significant delay in completion time and dissatisfaction from the government departments on the quality and level of services provided. The WA government will now start the process of progressively closing it down.

“The cost of the project today has been $444 million compared to the original estimate of $82 million. It was meant to save $57 million a year thereafter. It is simply failing to produce what it promised,” WA State Government Premier, Colin Barnett, said at a press conference.

According to Barnett, the entire process is going to be expensive, time consuming and complex and will take from a few months to a year to be complete.

“I want to reassure public servants that the payroll will continue and we will maintain all the service systems in the department. But progressively, the services done through the OSS will be moved back into the various agencies and departments,” he added.

Minister of Commerce, Simon O’Brien, will be responsible for the decommissioning process, salvaging what is possible from it and maintaining services.

The body was initially established by the previous government to centralise corporate services of 150 government departments and agencies – including finance, human services, payroll and procurement.

Late last year, the premier placed a halt on other agencies going into the OSS.

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Comments

Lins

1

Why can't our governments do anything right nowadays? In this case, the taxes of more than 30 000 workers has been wasted in one fell swoop of ineptitude.

WA_taxpayer

2

You know what really sticks in my craw? The fact that this debacle was as a result of a consultancy recommending it. What happens to them? I'm guessing nothing. They will probably also be paid to oversee the unwinding of this project! Consultants get paid big $$ but never 'fess up that they were wrong. I hope the WA Government decides not to use those consultants for a while just to teach them a lesson.

Taxpayer

3

The assumption that bigger is better, and that consolidation (mergers, et al) results in savings is invariably shown to be false.

In reality, senior executives PAs demand their own PAs, and managers want assistants. ;-)

Only the HR department, which usually grows out of all proportion, and the outside consultants benefit. Certainly not the shareholders or taxpayers.

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