This year we continued our commitment to aligning people resources to priority client service delivery, improving efficiencies and achieving financially sustainable employment levels for the longer-term.

Our vacancy rate has reduced and staffing levels have increased, reflecting new work demands and our commitment to prioritising roles that work directly with clients and the community or support direct service provision. The number of active staff in direct or indirect service delivery roles has increased by 11.6 FTE or 2.1 per cent. Corporate service roles have decreased slightly.

We continue to allocate 90 per cent of our people resources to direct or indirect service delivery, ensuring prudent use of limited legal aid resources. The ‘Workforce distribution’ table below shows distribution of staff across direct and indirect client service roles and corporate service roles.

Productive workforce

Comparative staffing levels across two years are expressed below as full-time equivalent (FTE) staff on our payroll and labour hire or agency staff engaged short term to perform the work of vacant budgeted positions. 

We have excluded 15.2 FTE maternity leave absences from the table below as these positions are usually backfilled by contract staff who are included in the count. We have continued to maintain relatively low levels of agency or labour hire staff.

Productive workforce 2014–15   Variance (FTE)
FTE staff on payroll 603.4 595.5 8
Agency staff by headcount (labour hire) 11 8 3
Total 614.4 603.4 11

Workforce distribution

Comparative workforce distribution of active FTE across two years is expressed below. ‘Active’ FTE is defined as people who attend work or are paid during the last full pay period of the financial year. This includes ongoing, maximum-term and casual employees and maternity leave absences, and excludes labour hire or agency staff. The increse in direct service delivery has mainly been in the Criminal Law program and Chambers.

Workforce distribution 2014–15 2013–14 Variance (FTE)
Direct service delivery* 439.3 428.9 10.4
Indirect service delivery** 118.2 117 1.2
Corporate*** 61.1 60.5 0.6
Total 618.6 606.4 12.2

* Direct client service delivery roles involve direct client interaction.

** Indirect client service delivery roles do not involve direct interaction with clients, but support direct client services.

*** Corporate service roles deliver traditional corporate functions, such as finance, communications, human resources, business reporting and information and communication technology.

The increase in direct service delivery has mainly been in the Criminal Law program and Chambers.

Total headcount and full-time equivalent employees

‘Active’ FTE is defined as people who attend work or are paid during the last full pay period of the financial year. This includes ongoing, maximum term and casual employees and maternity leave absences, and excludes labour hire or agency staff.

Full-time equivalent* staffing trends 

2014–2015 2013–2014 2012–2013 2011–2012 2010–2011
618.6 606.4 570.2 596.5 583

* Based on active FTE, meaning people who attend work or are paid during the last full pay period of the financial year, including ongoing, maximum-term and casual employees and maternity leave absences, and excluding labour hire or agency staff

Gender breakdown of ongoing employees*

Gender 2014–15 headcount 2013–14 headcount 2014–15 FTE 2013–4 FTE
Male 131 128 127.5 124.5
Female 444 442 392.6 392.1
Total 575 570 520.1 ** 516.6***

* Staff engaged on an open-ended contract of employment or executives engaged on a standard executive contract.

** Includes 15.8 maternity leave FTE.

*** Includes 11 maternity leave FTE.

Gender breakdown of maximum term/casual employees*

Gender 2014–15 headcount 2013–14 headcount 2014–15 FTE 2013–14 FTE
Male 23 20 21 19.1
Female 87 81 77.5 70.7
Total 110 101 89.5** 89.8***

* Staff engaged casually or on a contract for a maximum period.

** Includes 0.0 maternity leave FTE.

*** Includes 0.0 maternity leave FTE.

Age breakdown of ongoing employees*

Age 2014–15 headcount 2013–14 headcount 2014–15 FTE 2013–14 FTE
Under 25 4 1 3.8 1
25–34 190 183 177.4 170.9
35–44 173 171 150.2 150.6
45–54 116 118 104.7 104.4
55–64 78 82 70.7 75.7
Over 64 14 15 13.2 14
Total 575 570 520.1 516.6

* Staff engaged on an open-ended contract of employment or executives engaged on a standard executive contract.

Age breakdown of maximum term/casual employees*

Age 2014–15 headcount 2013–14 headcount 2014–15 FTE 2013–14 FTE
Under 25 10 6 8.2 5.2
25–34 57 59 53.6 52.9
35–44 23 26 20.1 23.1
45–54 16 7 13.4 6.2
55–64 3 2 2.6 1.8
Over 64 1 1 0.6 0.6
Total 110 101 98.5 89.8

* Staff engaged casually or on a contract for a maximum period.

Classification breakdown ongoing employees*

Classification 2014–15 headcount 2013–14 headcount 2014–15 FTE 2013–14 FTE
VLA 1 0 0 0 0
VLA 2 120 126 103.3 109.2
VLA 3 211 207 190.9 188.1
VLA 4 156 149 141.3 134.6
VLA 5 65 67 62.5 63.8
VLA 6 15 13 14.5 13
Executive 8 8 7.6 7.9
Total 575 570 520.1 516.6

* Staff engaged on an open-ended contract of employment or executives engaged on a standard executive contract.

Classification breakdown of maximum term/casual employees*

Classification 2014–15 headcount 2013–14 headcount 2014–15 FTE 2013–14 FTE
VLA 1 0 1 0 1
VLA 2 30 23 24.3 20.1
VLA 3 53 55 49.2 49
VLA 4 19 17 17.1 14.7
VLA 5 5 2 4.9 2
VLA 6 3 3 3 3
Executive 0 0 0 0
Total 110 101 98.5 89.8

* Staff engaged casually or on a contract for a maximum period.

Workforce inclusion

We are working toward creating a balanced working environment where equal opportunity and diversity are valued.

Executive officers at 30 June 2015

An ‘executive officer’ is defined as a person employed as an executive officer at an annual remuneration rate not less than an executive officer employed by a Victorian Government department.

We have one executive Board member, the Managing Director, and seven executive staff leading our services and functions.

Executive officers are classified into two categories. ‘Ongoing’ executives are responsible for functions or outputs that are expected to be ongoing at the end of the reporting period.  

‘Special projects’ executives are employed for a specific project, generally for a fixed period of time. We do not currently engage executive officers for special projects.

Number of ongoing executive officers

Class Headcount 2014–15 Variation 2013–14
EO-1 0 0
EO-2 1 0
EO-3 7 0
Total 8 0

There were no special projects executive officers.

Breakdown of executive officers into gender

Class Male Variation 2013–14 Female Variation 2013–14
EO-1 0 0 0 0
EO-2 1 0 0 0
EO-3 2 1 5 1
Total* 3 1 5 1

* The number of executive positions was consistent across both years.

There were no special projects executive officers.

Reconciliation of executive numbers

The workforce data tables above include executive officers active in the last full pay period of the financial year, whereas the Financial statement Note 15 includes any individual employed as an executive officer or with executive officer responsibility (as defined in FRD 21B) at any time during the financial period.

  Reconciliation of executive numbers 2014–15 2013–14
  Executives with total remuneration over $100,000 8* 9***
  Executives employed with total remuneration below $100,000 0 0
  Sub-total (as reported in Financial Statement Note 15) 8 9
Add Vacancies 0 0
  Accountable Officer (Managing Director) 1 1
Less Separations 0 1
  Non-executive role 0** 1
  Executive role removed 0 0
  Total executive numbers at 30 June** 9 8

* The number of executive positions was consistent across both years. One executive was on maternity leave through part of 2014–15 and this position was backfilled.

** Converted to an executive role.

*** Includes one non-executive

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