55% of Efficiency Dividend savings come from staff costs
Dear Department of Finance
I am making a request under the Freedom of Information Act for any briefings, excluding drafts, from 2013 that provides an explanation of the assumption that 55% of efficiency dividend savings come from staff costs.
I am specifically seeking briefings provided to the then Secretary of the Department of Finance David Tune which would have informed his comment about efficiency dividend savings, made on 19 November 2013 during the 2013-14 Supplementary Budget Estimates “that is based on an assumption that 55 per cent of those savings will come from staff costs. The other 45 would come from non-staff.”
The transcript of the exchange can be found at https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/sea...
Yours faithfully
O
Thank you for your email, which has been forwarded to the Department’s FOI
Team for their consideration. A member of the FOI Team will respond to
your email in the next couple of days.
Kind regards
FOI Coordinator
OFFICIAL
Dear O,
Freedom of Information Request – FOI 25-26/115
Thank you for your email to the Department of Finance (Finance) requesting
access to the following documents under the Freedom of Information Act
1982 (FOI Act):
I am making a request under the Freedom of Information Act for any
briefings, excluding drafts, from 2013 that provides an explanation of the
assumption that 55% of efficiency dividend savings come from staff costs.
I am specifically seeking briefings provided to the then Secretary of the
Department of Finance David Tune which would have informed his comment
about efficiency dividend savings, made on 19 November 2013 during the
2013-14 Supplementary Budget Estimates “that is based on an assumption
that 55 per cent of those savings will come from staff costs. The other 45
would come from non-staff.”
Finance understands that you are seeking briefs from 2013 only, and are
not requesting document searches from 2013 to date. Please let us know if
our understanding is incorrect.
General FOI matters
Your request was received by Finance on 26 November 2025. The statutory
period for processing your request commences from the day after Finance
received your request and a decision is due on Monday 29 December 2025.
The processing period may be extended with your written agreement, if we
need to consult third parties, impose a charge or for other reasons. We
will advise you if this happens.
The statutory due date currently falls during Finance’s annual shutdown
period. We will let you know as soon as possible if we won’t be able to
finalise a decision on your request before the end of year closure.
Liability to pay a charge
You will be notified of any charges in relation to your request as soon as
possible, before we process any requested documents or impose a final
charge.
Publication
As required by the FOI Act, any documents provided to you under the FOI
Act will be published on our [1]disclosure log, unless an exception
applies. Documents will be published within the applicable statutory
timeframes set out by the FOI Act.
Policy to exclude junior officer contact details, signatures and mobile
phone numbers
Finance has adopted a policy to generally exclude from any documents
released under FOI, the names and contact details of junior staff (non-SES
officers) and staff employed under the Members of Parliament (Staff) Act
1984 (senior adviser level and below). Finance has also adopted a policy
to exclude signatures and mobile phone numbers from any documents released
under FOI (unless publicly available). Finance’s preference is to reach
agreement with FOI applicants to exclude these details from the scope of
the request. Where there is no objection, the names and contact details of
junior officers, as well as any signatures and mobile phone numbers
appearing in identified documents, will be redacted under section 22 of
the FOI Act on the basis that these details are irrelevant to the request.
Please contact the FOI Team if you wish to discuss your request.
Kind regards
FOI Officer | Legal and Assurance Branch
Business Enabling Services
Department of Finance
A: One Canberra Avenue, Forrest ACT 2603
References
Visible links
1. https://www.finance.gov.au/about-us/free...
OFFICIAL
Dear O,
I refer to your FOI request of 26 November 2025 (our ref: FOI 25-26/115)
seeking access to:
any briefings, excluding drafts, from 2013 that provides an explanation of
the assumption that 55% of efficiency dividend savings come from staff
costs.
I am specifically seeking briefings provided to the then Secretary of the
Department of Finance David Tune which would have informed his comment
about efficiency dividend savings, made on 19 November 2013 during the
2013-14 Supplementary Budget Estimates “that is based on an assumption
that 55 per cent of those savings will come from staff costs. The other 45
would come from non-staff.”
Finance is unfortunately not in the position to finalise a decision on
your request before its annual end-of-year shutdown. In the circumstances,
I am writing to seek your agreement to a 30-day extension of time under
section 15AA of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Cth) (FOI Act) to
process your request, with a new due date of 27 January 2026. Should we be
able to finalise a decision on your request earlier, we will endeavour to
do so.
If you consent to the extension, Finance will notify the Office of the
Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) of the extension, which is part
of Finance’s reporting requirements.
We kindly ask that you reply by 22 December 2025 either:
1. Consenting to the 30-day extension of time; or
2. Consenting to an extension of time for a date less than that requested
by Finance; or
3. Refusing to grant an extension of time.
We kindly seek your response no later than 5pm next Monday 22 December
2025.
Kind regards,
FOI Officer | Legal and Assurance Branch
Business Enabling Services
Department of Finance
A: One Canberra Avenue, Forrest ACT 2603
From: FOI Requests <[email address]>
Sent: Monday, 8 December 2025 3:41 PM
To: '[FOI #14044 email]'
<[FOI #14044 email]>
Cc: FOI Requests <[email address]>
Subject: FOI 25-26/115 - Acknowledgement of request [SEC=OFFICIAL]
OFFICIAL
Dear O,
Freedom of Information Request – FOI 25-26/115
Thank you for your email to the Department of Finance (Finance) requesting
access to the following documents under the Freedom of Information Act
1982 (FOI Act):
I am making a request under the Freedom of Information Act for any
briefings, excluding drafts, from 2013 that provides an explanation of the
assumption that 55% of efficiency dividend savings come from staff costs.
I am specifically seeking briefings provided to the then Secretary of the
Department of Finance David Tune which would have informed his comment
about efficiency dividend savings, made on 19 November 2013 during the
2013-14 Supplementary Budget Estimates “that is based on an assumption
that 55 per cent of those savings will come from staff costs. The other 45
would come from non-staff.”
Finance understands that you are seeking briefs from 2013 only, and are
not requesting document searches from 2013 to date. Please let us know if
our understanding is incorrect.
General FOI matters
Your request was received by Finance on 26 November 2025. The statutory
period for processing your request commences from the day after Finance
received your request and a decision is due on Monday 29 December 2025.
The processing period may be extended with your written agreement, if we
need to consult third parties, impose a charge or for other reasons. We
will advise you if this happens.
The statutory due date currently falls during Finance’s annual shutdown
period. We will let you know as soon as possible if we won’t be able to
finalise a decision on your request before the end of year closure.
Liability to pay a charge
You will be notified of any charges in relation to your request as soon as
possible, before we process any requested documents or impose a final
charge.
Publication
As required by the FOI Act, any documents provided to you under the FOI
Act will be published on our [1]disclosure log, unless an exception
applies. Documents will be published within the applicable statutory
timeframes set out by the FOI Act.
Policy to exclude junior officer contact details, signatures and mobile
phone numbers
Finance has adopted a policy to generally exclude from any documents
released under FOI, the names and contact details of junior staff (non-SES
officers) and staff employed under the Members of Parliament (Staff) Act
1984 (senior adviser level and below). Finance has also adopted a policy
to exclude signatures and mobile phone numbers from any documents released
under FOI (unless publicly available). Finance’s preference is to reach
agreement with FOI applicants to exclude these details from the scope of
the request. Where there is no objection, the names and contact details of
junior officers, as well as any signatures and mobile phone numbers
appearing in identified documents, will be redacted under section 22 of
the FOI Act on the basis that these details are irrelevant to the request.
Please contact the FOI Team if you wish to discuss your request.
Kind regards
FOI Officer | Legal and Assurance Branch
Business Enabling Services
Department of Finance
A: One Canberra Avenue, Forrest ACT 2603
References
Visible links
1. https://www.finance.gov.au/about-us/free...
Thank you for your email, which has been forwarded to the Department’s FOI
Team for their consideration. A member of the FOI Team will respond to
your email in the next couple of days.
Kind regards
FOI Coordinator