A parliamentary hearing has revealed that Australia’s childcare authority is spending $1.2 million (US$788,000) annually on partially used offices in the heart of Sydney CBD.
With many employees working from home and some attending meetings only twice a year, the federal education committee questioned whether taxpayer dollars could be better allocated to a more cost-effective alternative in the western suburbs.
“Given the transient sort of use of the facility, would it have been better to get bigger premises with a cost per square metre that might be less, say in Parramatta?” Senator Matt O’Sullivan, the Federal Education Committee chairman, asked during the hearing on Feb. 15.
Gabrielle Sinclair, CEO of the Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA), explained that the premises, unable to accommodate all staff, primarily functions as a hub for over 100 hot desks—workstations used on an ad-hoc basis.
She was unable to produce numbers for the percentage of the office being used, but said the workstations, including a boardroom and a training room, were available for booking.
“We have staff working remotely or working arrangements in every state and territory, and we also require all staff to come in twice a year when we have our forums,” she said.
Ms. Sinclair explained that the central location was an important factor in the decision.
“The board did consider not only the cost, but the location for staff. They want to meet at a location in Sydney that’s relatively easy to get to,” she said.
“We could have gone with much bigger premises and the Board did consider having two floors. But it was more economical to face the reality that it would be more prudent to take a smaller footprint so that we were able to keep the cost down.”
The previous tenants, the New South Wales (NSW) Department of Education, had moved their office to Parramatta nearly eight years ago.
“The NSW Department of Education used to lease it before they moved to Parramatta. For nearly eight years, that floor was vacant,” Ms. Sinclair said.
But because it was vacant for so long, “the landlord was very keen to offer us an extremely good price to occupy the space,” she said.
ACECQA had just moved into the premises at 1 Oxford Street, Sydney, in April of last year. The lease will expire in 2033.
This comes as an earlier hearing finds that the Australian Education Department was spending thousands of dollars at fine dining restaurants to hold meetings.
The cost per person for the dinners averaged $81 and reached as high as $171, at Mezzalira.
Head of the Education Department, Tony Cook, agreed that this overspending was unacceptable, and has since revised its hospitality and travel policy to reflect the Australian Taxation Office’s rates.
Education Department staff are now expected to spend $77 or less for meals.
According to budget records, during the first half of last year, the Education Department spent nearly $300,000 on the hospitality and travel bill last year, with $172,691 allocated towards events and catering, and $118,404 designated for accommodation and travel expenses.
