Inquiry into the use of State funding by the Western Australian Football Commission Responses to Questions Taken on Notice and Further Questions from the Committee PUBLIC ACCOUNTS COMMITTEE 17 September 2020 1 Contents 1. RESPONSE TO QUESTIONS TAKEN ON NOTICE ....................................................................................... 3 1.1 Of the approximately 18 WAFC staff working across the regions and in country football, how many are based in the regions? ....................................................................................................................................3 1.2 Can you provide a breakdown of WA players drafted to AFL clubs, according to the schools those draft picks attended, for all years in which that data is available?.....................................................................5 1.3 Can you provide a detailed breakdown of how the funding to regional football is distributed? ...........6 2. ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS FROM THE COMMITTEE .............................................................................. 10 2.1 Can you provide us with a breakdown of WAFC employees by their position and their salaries/wages, both pre-restructure, and planned? ...................................................................................... 10 2.2 Your financial statements from 2019 do not separate out the cost of staff but includes a global figure for ‘payments to suppliers and employees’, which is the same as a total expenditure figure. ...................... 17 2.3 How many consultants do you have and do you plan to employ? ...................................................... 21 2.4 The appendix on staffing structure shows that 33 of the 131 permanent employees were in externally funded roles. ................................................................................................................................... 23 2.5 To what extent does the WAFC fund school football? ........................................................................ 25 2.6 What costs are associated with running State Academy Programs? .................................................. 27 2.7 Page 77 of your submission states one key provision of the Agreement [clause 3.2], relating to funding and a funding cap, is ‘a downward ratchet’, ‘is advantageous to the State and disadvantageous to the WAFC’, and under this provision, ‘there is no upside for WAFC, only downside.’ Why did the WAFC agree to it? ....................................................................................................................................................... 30 2.8 You claim that moving from lease arrangements for your vehicle fleet to outright ownership will provide substantial savings? ............................................................................................................................ 31 2.9 We have heard evidence that the Commission has become increasingly involved in program delivery, and that this is outside its original remit of funding, governance and compliance. ......................... 32 2.10 In regards to the support for development of female participation, specifically Junior (girls) Football community club competition, what role (if any) does the WAFC play in the competition fixture? ............... 41 2.11 The table on page 24 of your submission shows that $10.4 million went to WAFL – about $5million as cash distribution, and $5.4million as operating costs ................................................................................. 43 2.12 This table (see question 11 above) shows that $894,000 was passed on in cash to those levels below WAFL. Does that seem right to you? ............................................................................................................... 45 2.13 For example, the Perth Football League is home to something like 11,500 players and 250+ teams, including 37 women’s teams. For that, it received about $1.5million. That included $490k in cash and about $880k in ‘WAFC expenditure’ – presumably this involves staffing and its share of IT etc. This is less that the equivalent to one WAFL club ($10.5m in total; nine teams; 1/9 = $1.2mill). ................................................. 47 2.14 Please provide information detailing all steps in the process by which WAFC Board appointments are made. In your response, we ask that you provide: ......................................................................................... 49 2 1. RESPONSE TO QUESTIONS TAKEN ON NOTICE 1.1 Of the approximately 18 WAFC staff working across the regions and in country football, how many are based in the regions? There are currently 13 WAFC staff working directly in regional football. The total team number of 18 included four Perth based staff with a state-wide facilities and events and club development focus which encompasses regional activities. There was also one regional support position which was vacant during 2020. Of the 13 dedicated regional staff, ten are based in the regions whilst the remaining three are based in Perth to provide competition administration, development oversight, and general club administration. Each of the 13 roles are described below. The WAFC has eight Regional Development Specialists (RDS) in major WA regional centres - Broome, Karratha, Geraldton, Northam, Narrogin, Kalgoorlie, Albany and Bunbury. In addition, the WAFC has two Managers – Country Football North and Country Football South - who split their time between head office (60%) and being in the regions (40%) to support staff and game development activities. Each of these Managers are responsible for four Regional Development Specialists (RDSs). These roles cover a wide range of objectives across all areas of football, including Auskick, umpiring, coaching, club development and senior football, as outlined below. The core focus areas of their roles are as follows: PARTICIPATION AND ENGAGEMENT • Provide ongoing support and education to centres and parents to enable the AFL Auskick program to run efficiently. • Support all requirements of the AFL Coach membership program and provide continuous education opportunities for all levels. • Promotion and support of WAFC school programs and competitions. • Engage AFLSA’s (School Ambassadors) as key program deliverers. • Provide leadership and support to all leagues on an ongoing and regular basis. • Delivery of Volunteer of the Year Program. • Delivery and Management of WAFC Club Development opportunities. • Develop opportunities to grow junior, youth and female club football numbers. • Support diversity and opportunities in Integrated football • Provide local Footyweb support for clubs and leagues. • Support WAFC Indigenous and Multicultural programs. 3 FACILITIES • Partner with Local Governments, DLGSC and local clubs/ leagues to support local facility improvement plans. • Act as liaison with the WAFC Manager - Facilities and Events to ensure all clubs have opportunities to improve their facilities. • Manage the local facility audit on behalf of the WAFC. LEAGUE AND GOVERNANCE SUPPORT • Act as the Executive Officer and provide strategic leadership and direction to the local Regional Football Development Council (RFDC), maintaining regular and professional contact in line with the WAFC’s KPIs. • Develop and maintain positive relationships with all local media outlets promoting AFL programs. • Create and maintain positive working relationships with all League and Club Committees. • Attend Community Football events and games in line with the WAFC’s KPIs. CORE ROLE RESPONSIBILITIES • Meet and exceed all of the WAFC’s KPIs. • Deliver on the WAFC annual operational plan. • Deliver on the WAFC budget. • Undertake all reporting requirements as requested by the WAFC. • Follow all the WAFC’s policies and procedures. There are two additional roles supporting the Regional Development Specialists in the South West Region: • South West Development Officer – Coaching and Talent. • Auskick and Schools Coordinator. This role is funded via the South West Regional Development Council, South West Football League and the clubs. Perth based staff with a focus on regional football are as follows: • Manager – Country Football North: Manages the RDSs and stakeholders in northern WA • Manager – Country Football South: Manages the RDSs and stakeholders in southern WA • WACFL Administration and Finance In addition to the above roles which are 100% focused on country/regional football, the following four (4) Perth based WAFC staff provide critical support to the strategic development of regional football facilities and competition support to country clubs. As they are not dedicated to country football their costs are not included in the WAFC $1.837m spend on Country as listed on page 6. 4 • Executive Manager Country Football and Facilities: manages the Country Football and Facilities team • Manager Facilities and Events: responsible for metropolitan and regional facilities strategy • Events Coordinator and Competitions Administrator: provides Sports TG (the national football player registration database) support to all clubs • Club Development and Affiliates Coordinator: works across regional and metropolitan junior community football. The introduction of the WAFC Executive Manager Country Football & Facilities position, as part of aligning the West Australian Country Football League (WACFL) and the WAFC, added a focus of senior football to the requirements of the Regional Development Specialist roles, to ensure all levels of football