AGY-6207 | Equal Employment Opportunity and Staff Development and Personnel Branch (1988) / Human Resources Branch (1988-by1992) / Human Resources Division (by1992-1993) / Personnel Services Division (1993-1996)

Full description

The Equal Employment Opportunity and Staff Development and Personnel Branch was established from the amalgamation of the Equal Employment Opportunity and Staff Development Branch and the Personnel Branch in the 1987/88 financial year. (1) The amalgamation was to enable a more integrated approach to managing human resources and equality matters in the Premier’s Department.

The Equal Employment Opportunity and Staff Development and Personnel Branch was part of the Management Division from the Branch’s establishment in mid 1988 until December 1988 when the Management Division was replaced with the Management Services Division, known later as Corporate Services. This change was part of a re-organisation of the administrative functions of the Premier’s Department when the Office of State Administration was established as one of the two major Administrative Offices of the Premier’s Department. It was around this time the Equal Employment Opportunity and Staff Development and Personnel Branch became known as the Human Resources Branch. (2) The objectives of the Human Resources Branch included:
- manage effectively the recruitment and selection process in accordance with public service, Departmental and Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) policies and procedures;
- provide a range of programs and activities which increase the efficiency and effectiveness of staff members and enable them to meet the changing needs of the organisation;
- advise management on personnel, recruitment, industrial, staff development and EEO matters;
- ensure the Department’s compliance with the legislative requirements of the Occupational Health and Safety and the Workers’ Compensation Acts;
- counsel staff on job performance, grivances and career development opportunities; and
- advise on training and development issues including the availability of courses and on critical appraisal techniques for course participants. (3)

The Human Resources Branch remained part of Corporate Services until the Branch became the Human Resources Division of the Office of State Administration within the Premier’s Department by the end of the 1991/92 financial year. (4) The Human Resources Division was restructured in the 1991/92 financial year to include the Motor Services Branch and the Property and Accommodation Branch. (5) The Human Resources Division was retitled the Personnel Services Division at the beginning of 1993 to better reflect its functions.(6)

The Human Resources Division/Personnel Services Division was a separate Division of the Office of State Administration until 1995 when the Division was transferred from the Office of State Administration to the Corporate Services Directorate within the Premier’s Department. (7)

In June 1995, the Premier announced the Government’s decision that all agencies were to achieve savings through rationalisation of corporate services. The Premier’s Department initiated in July 1995 the Governor Macquarie Tower Corporate Services Integration Project. The initial aim and scope of the project was to set up a Central Corporate Services Unit (CCSU) to provide a high standard of corporate services for the Premier’s Department and its client agencies and other agencies located in Governor Macquarie Tower. The integration of corporate services was expected to minimise duplication, take advantage of economies of scale and lead to savings. (8)

In February 1996, it was decided the CCSU would be created within the Department of Public Works and Services so the central corporate service provider was independent of client agencies and from this date the Department of Public Works and Services became responsible for the project. In late June 1996, CCSU organisational structures were approved, positions classified and graded, and recruitment action commenced. (9)

From 1 July 1996, the provision of corporate services, including personnel management, was transferred to the Central Corporate Services Unit of the Department of Public Works and Services for agencies within Governor Macquarie Tower, including the Premier’s Department. (10)

Endnotes
1. NSW Premier’s Department Annual Report 1987/88, p.24.
2. NSW Premier’s Department Annual Report 1988/89, p3.8.
3. loc. cit.
4. NSW Premier’s Department Annual Report 1991/92, p.36.
5. loc. cit.
6. NSW Premier’s Department Annual Report 1992/93, p.24.
7. NSW Premier’s Department Annual Report 1994/95, pp.35-36.
8. NSW Premier’s Department Annual Report 1995/96, p.12.
9. loc. cit.
10. NSW Premier’s Department Annual Report 1997, p.32; the CCSU was the first shared service centre in the State and serviced eleven agencies in Governor Macquarie Tower in 1996. By 1999, CCSU provided the following services to twenty-two agencies: Human resources, Accommodation and telecommunications, Records management, Information and research services (see Reform and Redirection: Using Corporate Services Reform to Enhance Government Services in NSW, Corporate Services Reform Team, NSW Premier’s Department, 1999, p.22).