Tasmania warned of 'stress, burnout' as justice staff wellbeing service axed

Wellbeing program for Tasmania's justice staff axed in search of budget savings In short: A decision to axe a safety and wellbeing service for Tasmanian justice department employees has received backlash, with critics saying "short-term" state budget pressures are undermining the longevity of staff in critical roles. The savings bid comes as tens of departmental positions have been lost in redundancies, with opponents questioning whether Tasmania can afford to lose some of those jobs. What's next? With the program scrapped following a departmental review, an existing Employee Assistance Program (EAP) will instead be expanded. Workers at Tasmania's justice department have said a decision to abolish a specialist safety and wellbeing program is a "blow to staff morale and safety" and "demonstrates a complete lack of foresight and understanding". The cut is part of a broader effort to find budget savings within the state service as the government grapples with ballooning debt. The wellbeing program provides case management and psychological support for justice employees dealing with difficult and traumatic work in roles such as corrections officers and lawyers. It's understood to cater to about 200 employees. But that program is being scrapped following a departmental review. The existing Employee Assistance Program (EAP) will instead be expanded. In response to a question from Labor in parliament, Attorney-General Guy Barnett said the revised model will "better meet the needs of the workforce" while "maintaining a strong commitment to employee wellbeing". But staff surveyed by the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) say EAP is "insufficient" as a replacement and "not anywhere near as effective". An Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions staff member said scrapping the wellbeing hub would "lead to greater numbers of prosecutors and defence lawyers leaving due to burnout and unresolved mental harm". A staff member from the state's work health and safety regulator, WorkSafe Tasmania, said the wellbeing hub had helped them overcome workplace issues and psychosocial hazards they were experiencing in the prison. "Justice staff regularly work in demanding and high-pressure environments and can be exposed to trauma, conflict, aggression and other challenging situations,"they said. "Removing [wellbeing programs] risks leaving employees without timely assistance and may increase stress, burnout, absenteeism, staff turnover and psychological injury." A community corrections staff member wrote that the wellbeing service got them "through a very dark period at work". "Our justice workers deserve better than having their mental health support stripped away,"they said. Department feels budget pressure squeeze But the wellbeing hub is unlikely to be the last resource workers value to be axed. As part of the government's effort to rein in spending, the Department of Justice (DoJ) has been tasked with finding nearly $7.5 million in efficiencies this financial year. Over the next four years, the department will have to find $67.6 million in savings. CPSU secretary Thirza White said the fact DoJ is cutting the wellbeing program "shows how little fat there is in some of the budgets". "This is a really valued service that plays an important role and actually saves us money,"she said. "And yet we are cutting it because of short-term budget pressures. "What it indicates is that we need a different path. We cannot go down the path of cuts." Labor MP Ella Haddad said it does not make sense for a small wellbeing unit to be the first to be axed. "When [treasurer] Eric Abetz handed down his budget earlier in the year, we knew cuts were coming — sweeping cuts across the public sector — but now we're seeing them in real terms," she said. "[Mr Abetz] said he would protect frontline roles, but one of the first things they've done is to cut the wellbeing support unit in the DoJ." Ms Haddad said it would mean workers will not get the support they need, which will ultimately cost more. "That will inevitably lead to more stress, more anxiety and potentially psychological workers' compensation claims — which the treasurer is also complaining about the cost of — and threatening to wind back supports there as well," she said. IT, cybersecurity jobs on chopping block Tasmania's most recent budget predicts the state's debt will hit $9.5 billion by the end of the decade, even with the $1.5 billion in budget efficiencies the state service has been ordered to find. Those efficiencies include 1,700 in job cuts. Of those, 250 jobs are coming out of the now-defunct Department of State Growth. Employees there have been offered voluntary redundancies. Labor recently circulated a list of some of the roles that employees have taken redundancies in. It included a senior cybersecurity officer, three senior geologists and a senior curator of art. Also listed were a production investment manager, two payments and compliance officers, red tape reduction coordinator, principal policy analyst, director of mining policy, several policy analysts, principal transport quality assurance officer, and a road network supervisor. Ms White questioned whether Tasmania can afford to lose some of those jobs. "There are roles around supporting our industries, when we know that some of our industries in the north-west are experiencing significant challenges," she said. "There are roles in IT and cybersecurity at the same time that the government is talking about stepping into AI. "There is an absolute lack of transparency around what these budget and job cuts actually mean." One example is Screen Tasmania, which has been reduced to 1.8 full-time equivalent employees, with two employees — including the manager — taking redundancies. The state's filmmakers' alliance has said the job cuts risk the future of the state's film industry. Ms Haddad said it seems as though the treasurer had no strategy when it came to the cuts. "He's saying 'yes' to most people that put up their hands to a redundancy, but not actually thinking about who is going to do the work once those people are gone,"she said. Mr Abetz is at arm's length from the redundancy process, with decisions made by department heads and secretaries. "We have confidence … that the secretaries and heads of agencies will exercise their discretion and their judgement in a manner that will ensure that the capacity of their departments and agencies is maintained with the appropriate levels of expertise," he said. Mr Abetz has criticised Labor's opposition to many of the government's savings measures given they sent the state to an early election last year over the state of the budget. "Fifty per cent of our expenditure relates to salaries,"he said. "Unless we right-size the public service, we will not be able to deal with that which the opposition asserted only 12 months ago was worthy of that unnecessary election. "As we speak, in this budget, we are still borrowing beyond the income received."