Temporary Personnel Services CUATPS2024

While the roles covered by CUATPS2024 will not be limited to those listed in the Categories above, obtaining temporary personnel for some roles will be genuinely outside of the scope of the CUA.

Contact the Contract Manager if you are unsure if a role is within the scope of the CUA.  If a role is genuinely outside of scope, you will not require an exemption to approach a non-CUA supplier.

As well as out of scope roles, some temporary resourcing is managed via agency specific contracts, such as the Department of Health’s temporary nursing contract and the Department of Education’s sourcing arrangements for relief teachers in schools.

Recruitment of employees for direct employment under a long-term or permanent employment contract is also outside of the scope of the CUA, as are professional services.  If you require recruitment or professional services please refer to the Common Use Arrangement, refer to wa.gov.au for full list of Western Australian CUAs. 

The following minimum buying requirements apply:

Commissioner's Instruction 41

An engagement under CUATPS2024 is a contract for service.   Commissioner’s Instruction 41 (CI41) sets out the instructions for establishing a contract for service.  CI41 must be followed by all CUA customers that are employing authorities as defined in the Public Sector Management Act 1994 (WA).

CI41 lists the following circumstances as appropriate grounds for the engagement of temporary personnel under a contract for service:

• an employee cannot perform the work
• the required technical and/or specialist skills are unavailable internally or in the public sector in the relevant location and at the time of need. The employer must assess the availability of the skills or expertise in the sector before engaging a contractor.
• there is a need for impartiality and objectivity which requires the work to be performed by a person external to the sector.
• the functions or activities need to be performed, or the position needs to be filled, urgently.

CI41 lists the following circumstances as being inappropriate for the engagement of temporary personnel under a contract for service:

• where the role involves management or decision making
• where an employee can be provided with a development opportunity, upskilled or supported to undertake the task within a reasonable timeframe and at reasonable cost.

Engagement duration

The purpose of CUATPS2024 is to meet temporary resourcing requirements and temporary personnel should not be engaged for longer than 12 months.

CI41 states:

An engagement (including any extensions) must not continue for longer than 12 months unless both of the following are met:

1. A recruitment process to fill the position has been unsuccessful, is likely to be unsuccessful or is in progress.
2. The engagement is essential to meet a critical business need.

Industrial agreements

Many CUA customers are required to comply with registered industrial agreements such as the Public Service CSA Agreement 2021

Many of those industrial agreements impose obligations on employers such as:

• requiring a statement of employer preference for permanent employment
• the provision of reports on aspects of temporary personnel usage to the relevant agency’s Joint Consultative Committee
• consideration of surplus employees before entering into or extending a temporary personnel engagement, and
• reassessment of temporary personnel engagements at regular intervals and considering the availability of surplus employees who may undertake the relevant duties.

Customers should ensure that they comply with relevant industrial agreements when entering into and/or extending CUATPS2024 engagements.

Copies of all current industrial agreements are available on the Western Australian Industrial Relations Commission website.

State agencies should be aware of the following requirements under Western Australian Procurement Rules as they apply to purchases from this CUA.  The below table is a summary of the requirements, and State agencies are encouraged to review the WA Procurement Rules. 

Procurement Planning

Request Development and Contract Formation

Contract Management

Exemption from using this CUA

Procurement Frameworks are responsible for processing and approving all requests from State agencies seeking exemption from using a mandatory CUA. Requests for an exemption are considered on a case-by-case basis, and a requesting agency must be able to demonstrate that a business need cannot be adequately met by the relevant CUA.

Exemption requests should be directed to the Assistant Director Procurement Frameworks through an email to the contract manager in the first instance. Requests for exemption must be in writing via email, and must provide sufficient explanation and background to enable the request to be considered. The requesting officer should be the Accountable Authority or delegate of the agency.

For guidelines on what to include in an exemption request, please refer to the Common Use Arrangements Procurement Practice Guideline.

This matrix table provides an overview of all contractors you can purchase from under the CUA and the goods and services they have been contracted to provide.

Refer to CUATPS2024 Contractor Profile for more details and contact information for all Contractors. 

*  This is an Aboriginal Business - you can buy outside of this CUA and directly source from them if they are not appointed to a category.

** This Contractor has negotiated departures against the terms and conditions.  For information about departures, contact the Contract Manager.

Departures

The CUATPS2024 Request and the Request and General Conditions of Contract (July 2024) set out the standard terms and conditions that apply to engagements under the CUA. If a contractor has negotiated amendments to those standard terms and conditions, the amendments are known as ‘departures’.

Contact the contract manager for information about negotiated departures to the CUA terms and conditions. 

Pricing

Refer to Price Schedule CUATPS2024 for Contractor Pricing.

Under the terms of CUATPS2024 the contractors will charge an hourly rate for each candidate.  The contractors may also be entitled to charge a spotter’s fee if the customer subsequently directly employs a candidate (see the spotter’s fee section below).

The cost of an engagement will vary depending on the role type, contractor, category and engagement duration.  See the relevant category pricing information below for the agreed CUA rates for the contractors in each category.

Each contractor has agreed to fixed gross margin rates, contractor on-costs and spotter’s fee rates.  The contractors are not permitted to charge rates above the agreed CUA rates.  The superannuation contribution rate, payroll tax rate and GST rate are set by legislation.

Some contractors have agreed to a lower gross margin rate for engagements that extend beyond six months.

All contractors have also agreed to apply a percentage discount to their gross margin rates if the relevant candidate was referred to them by the customer as a payroll only candidate.  Some contractors have also agreed to apply a percentage discount to their spotter’s fee rates for payroll only candidates.

The contractors are required to comply with all statutory requirements regardless of the fee structure under the CUA.  Each contractor is also required to ensure that the remuneration and terms of employment of their candidates are consistent with industry standards as expressed in applicable awards and agreements and any code of practice.

Estimated customer contract value

Use the Online Calculator and Invoice Checker to obtain both an indicative hourly rate and an estimated contract value for an engagement. The estimated contract value is determined by:

((Hourly Rate x weekly hours) x estimated duration in weeks) + 10% GST

The estimated contract value should be established before you send out a service request form as the value will determine whether the purchase falls below the $250,000 ‘pick and buy’ threshold or whether you will need to approach all contractors in the relevant category.

Hourly rate

The hourly rate for temporary personnel engaged under CUATPS2024 is made up of the following components:

• Pay charge which is negotiated by the contractor and the customer prior to the start of each engagement.  The pay charge represents the rate that the candidate is willing to be paid to do the relevant role and is the largest component of the hourly rate.
• On-costs refers to fixed costs imposed by legislation, i.e. superannuation and payroll tax. The current minimum employer superannuation contribution is 12.0% of the candidate’s pay charge.  From 1 July 2023 an employer’s payroll tax rate is set by reference to their taxable wages bill.  Payroll tax is calculated on the sum of the pay charge and superannuation contribution.
• Contractor on-costs refers to other costs incurred by the contractor when supplying the candidate (i.e. workers compensation insurance and other insurances).  Each contractor has agreed to a fixed contractor on-cost rate in each category under which they have been contracted to supply candidates.
• Gross margin is a margin rate intended to cover all of the contractor’s remaining costs (including but not limited to management costs, operational costs, electricity and water costs) and the net profit for the contractor.  Each contractor has agreed to a fixed gross margin rate in each category under which they have been contracted to supply candidates.  All of the contractors have also agreed to a set percentage discount on their gross margin rates for payroll only candidates.
• GST is payable on invoices issued under CUATPS2024.

The table below shows an example of how to calculate the hourly rate.  You can also use the Online Calculator and Invoice Checker to run the required calculations.

Engagement duration

Some of the contractors offer a lower gross margin rate for engagements with an estimated duration of greater than six months.

Under the terms of CUATPS2024, a reference to engagement duration in days is measured in calendar days, duration in months is a reference to calendar months and duration in years is a reference to calendar years.

Spotter's fees

A contractor may charge a one-off spotter’s fee if one of their candidate’s is employed directly by a customer as a result of having worked under an engagement with the customer unless:

• the candidate was employed by the customer after applying for an advertised vacancy that was filled following a merit based selection process, or
• the candidate worked under an engagement with the customer for a period of six months or more before being employed by the customer. The candidate must have worked either under a single engagement with a total duration of six months or more, or a series of related engagements in the same position or role where the break between the related engagements is less than one week.

Price variations

The contractors’ gross margin rates are set for the first year of the CUA term.  After that the contractors are permitted to request one CPI linked price variation per year which will be assessed by the contract authority.

The contractors’ on-costs are fixed for the term of the CUA.  A contractor may request an extraordinary price variation for their on-costs if they incur increased insurance costs.  The contractor is required to provide supporting documents to evidence their increased costs and the request will be assessed by the contract authority.

If a contractor successfully obtains a price variation for their gross margin or contractor on-costs, they are only permitted to charge customers the new rate after they have received written confirmation from the contract authority.  The new rate will only apply to engagements entered into after the date of the contract authority’s written confirmation or to ongoing engagements that are extended after that date.

If there are changes to the legislated rates of superannuation, payroll tax or GST during the CUA term, the affected contractor(s) are entitled to charge customers at the new legislated rate following receipt of prior written approval from the contract authority.

Payment by Purchasing Card

The government Purchasing Card (P-Card) offers a quick and convenient method of payment allowing goods and services to be efficiently purchased. All of the CUATPS2024 contractors accept payments by P-Card and all contractors have agreed to not apply a surcharge to P-Card payments.

Always remember to inform the contractor that you will be paying by P-Card, at the time of ordering the product or service, and ensure they clearly understand that they must send the tax invoice directly to you, the cardholder. 

Which Category do I use

Refer to the What’s on offer? section of this guide or contact the contract manager if you have queries.  You may also contact contractors on the relevant category(s) before sending out a service request form to assess each contractor’s ability to provide suitable candidates.

Choosing the correct category will ensure that:

• you get the most appropriate hourly rate for a candidate (the category will impact on the candidate’s pay charge as well as the contractor’s gross margin and on-costs), and
• it will increase the likelihood of the contractor offering candidate(s) who meet your needs.

If no contractors are able to supply a suitable candidate, contact the contract manager to determine whether the role is outside of scope of the CUA or if an exemption is required.

How do I get the candidate I need?

• Include clear and relevant information in the ‘required skills’ and ‘additional information’ boxes of the service request form (Part A). This will allow the contractors to provide candidates who meet your specific requirements.
• Giving advanced notice to the contractor(s) will help them source the best available candidates.
• If the role is not commonly occurring or is highly specialised, contact the contractor(s) before sending out the service request form to discuss your requirements.  This may improve your ability to scope the role description/requirements and increase the likelihood of the contractor(s) providing suitable candidates.
• If your agency has specific compliance requirements (i.e. security or working with children checks) make sure you specify those requirements in the service request form (Part A).
• Ensure that you review the candidates and respond to the contractor(s) in a timely manner. This will increase your chances of obtaining the preferred candidate(s).

How do I get value for money?

• Use the Online Calculator and Invoice Checker to help set a budget before going out to the contractors and to check quotes and invoices are compliant with CUA rates.
• Be aware that the candidate’s pay charge is the largest component of the hourly rate, so ensure that you are paying the appropriate pay charge for the role and their experience.
• Use the Online Calculator and Invoice Checker to properly compare pricing offered by the contractors in each category.  Simply comparing the gross margin rates or contractor on-costs rates in isolation will not provide an accurate value comparison.
• Ensure that you obtain the pre-agreed discounts offered by the contractors.  For example, some of the CUATPS2024 contractors offer a lower gross margin rate for engagements that extend beyond six months.  All of the contractors offer a discount on their gross margin rates if the relevant candidate was referred to them by the customer as a payroll only candidate.
• Ensure that Part A of the service request form clearly states weekly hours and if / when overtime rates are payable to avoid accidental overcharges or other invoicing issues.
• Regularly reassess whether a temporary resource offers good value for money.  An engagement can be terminated on half a days’ notice if the resource is no longer required.  Alternatively, if the workflow is continuing and the candidate is working well consider if direct employment would provide better value for money.

Role requirements

Identify the:

• role / job title and duties to be undertaken
• required candidate skills / qualifications
• required security and/or medical checks
• relevant CUATPS2024 category
• estimated duration of the engagement
• estimated cost (see the ‘Compare prices’ section below)
• required work hours and determine whether overtime and/or allowances are payable.

Select a contractor

Once you have determined the applicable CUA category (see What’s on offer?), refer to the Who supplies what? section to identify the contractors in that category.

Compare prices

Refer to the What will it cost? section of this document see the agreed pricing for all contractors.

It is also recommended that you use the Online Calculator and Invoice Checker to obtain an indicative hourly rate and estimated contract value for the engagement. Please note that the hourly rate quoted by a contractor may differ slightly from the indicative hourly rate calculated using the Online Calculator.

Place an order

Complete ‘Part A’ of the Service Request Form and email it to the chosen contractor(s).

If the estimated contract value of the engagement is $250,000 or above, you will need to send the Service Request Form to all of the contractors on the panel for the relevant category.

The contractor(s) will complete ‘Part B’ of the Service Request Form specifying the hourly rate for the available candidate(s) and will send through a curriculum vitae if required.

Do not delay in selecting the candidate(s) who represents a value for money outcome.  Complete ‘Part C’ of the Service Request Form to confirm the engagement for that candidate.  When the contractor receives the completed ‘Part C’ of the form that will create an order under the CUA terms and conditions.

It is also important that you promptly notify unsuccessful contractor(s) so that they do not spend unnecessary time trying to source candidates for you.

• Manage your contract term – keep an eye on engagement expiry date.
• If you extend an engagement, make sure that you obtain and keep a record of any internal approvals required by your agency’s HR and/or procurement teams.
• Test the market on a regular basis to see what the other contractors on the CUA are offering
• Check invoices for accuracy before authorising payment.
• Monitor service level compliance.
• Document any issues as they arise even if they are resolved. This will assist in ongoing supplier performance management.
• If you encounter a significant issue with an engagement, such as a breach of the service specifications or a breach of legislative requirements, please inform the contract manager.
• If you encounter an issue and you are unable to resolve it directly with the contractor, please contact the contract manager.

Allowances

If you agree to pay allowances (for example, travel or accommodation allowances) during an engagement, specify the rate and terms of the allowances in Part A of the service request form.  Depending on the nature of the allowance, superannuation and or payroll tax may be payable on the allowance, and in most cases GST will be payable.  It is recommended that you discuss the tax status of the proposed allowance with the relevant contractor prior to the commencement of the engagement.

Budget

The candidate’s pay charge is the largest component of the hourly rate.  The pay charge will vary depending on the role and the candidate’s skills and experience.  You can use the applicable industrial award or agreement as a guide to determining an estimated pay charge (applying a casual loading to compensate the candidate for the lack of paid leave etc.).  The contract manager also may be able to provide you with pay charge data from the CUA sales data and contractor(s) may also be able to provide you with market rates for a role.

Once you have determined the estimated pay charge, use the Online Calculator and Invoice Checker to determine the approximate hourly rate and the estimated cost of an engagement.

Employee assistance programs

If a contractor maintains an employee assistance program (EAP), they are required to provide their candidates with access to their EAP.  The CUATPS2024 Contractor Profiles note which contractors provide their employees with an EAP.

Extensions

If an engagement needs to be extended beyond the original estimated end date, and the estimated duration is the only change to the engagement terms, you only need to complete page 1 of the service request form before sending it to the contractor.

Before extending an engagement, ensure that you assess whether the engagement still represents value for money and seek any internal approvals required by your agency. Note that some of the contractors offer a lower gross margin rate for engagements that are longer than six months.

Fixed term contractors (sourcing)

If you are seeking to engage a supplier to provide candidates to be employed by your agency under a fixed term contract, please be aware that this service is outside the scope of CUATPS2024.

In certain circumstances this type of procurement may fall within the scope of the recruitment management category of the CUA for HR Services and Investigations (CUAHRS2021).

However, pure candidate search services fall outside of the scope of both CUAs and you would need to follow your agency’s non-CUA procurement process to engage a supplier to provide those services.

If you are unsure whether the service that you require falls within the scope of either CUATPS2024 or CUAHRS2021 contact the contract manager.

Gross margin

The gross margin will vary by contractor, category and engagement duration.  Some of the contractors offer a discounted gross margin rate for engagements longer than six months.

All contractors offer a discounted gross margin where you have referred the relevant candidate to them as a payroll only candidate.

Insurances

Contractors are required to maintain public and product liability, workers’ compensation and professional indemnity insurances covering both the contractors and their personnel (which includes their candidates).  Treasury and Finance maintains an insurance register for all CUATPS2024 insurances.

Contact the contract manager for information about any insurance related departures that may have been negotiated with an individual contractor.

Invoices

Most of the contractors will invoice you on a weekly or fortnightly basis.  If you require a change to a contractor’s standard invoicing frequency or you require consolidated invoicing, it is recommended that you note this in the ‘Additional Requirements’ section of in the service request form.

Pursuant to the CUA terms and conditions, customers have up to 30 days to pay CUA invoices.

Some contractors are able to facilitate Recipient Created Tax Invoices (RCTIs) if required by the customer.  If you are interested in implementing a RCTI process, contact your preferred contractor to ask if they are able to accommodate your request.  If you have general queries about the RCTI process contact the contract manager.

Leave entitlements

There is no requirement to offer paid leave to a candidate under a CUA engagement.  Part of the candidate’s pay charge represents a payment in lieu of paid leave.

Medical checks

You may require that a candidate undergoes a standard medical check where a medical check is required to:

• confirm the candidate’s fitness to perform the work requirements for a particular role, and
• enable the customer to meet their obligation to maintain a safe workplace.

If you request a standard medical check, the contractor must arrange the medical examination and provide you with the requested documentation in a timely manner and at no extra cost to the customer agency.  If a medical check is required you should specify that requirement in the service request form (Part A). 

MyLeave

Category B (Technical and Trades) contractors are required to identify if an engagement attracts compulsory long service leave contributions to MyLeave under the Portable Long Service Leave Act 1985 (WA) (the Act).  In the event that the Act applies, the contractor may pass on the cost of the MyLeave contributions but only with your prior agreement.  The contribution must be charged in line with the Act as advised by MyLeave.

OSH responsibilities

Under occupational safety and health (OSH) laws CUATPS2024 contractors, customers and candidates all have OSH obligations.  Both the contractor and the customer have a duty to ensure the candidate is provided with a safe workplace.

The contractors are required to provide their candidates with OSH training and may request access to the customer’s workplace to carry out a site assessment prior to the start of an engagement. The customer is also obliged to provide the candidate with OSH information (for example, evacuation procedures, hazard identification and risk control strategies) and provide training to ensure the candidate knows how to carry out their work activities safely.

The information above is not exhaustive, so if you have queries about your agency’s OSH policies and processes contact your OSH team.

Overtime

Whether overtime rates are payable and if so, the rates and times when overtime rates are payable, should be clearly stated in the service request form (Part A).

Payroll only candidates

All contractors have agreed to offer a discount on their gross margin rates, and some contractors have agreed discounted spotter’s fee rates for candidates who have been referred to the contractor by a customer.  Those contractors are ‘payroll only candidates’.  Refer to the Online Calculator and Invoice Checker and the What will it cost? section for information about contractor pricing

Pay charge

The pay charge component of the hourly rate will vary depending on the role type and level, as well as the candidate’s qualifications, skills and experience.  If the engagement is intended to provide cover for a vacant public service position, you can refer to the equivalent PSA Level salary as a guide (plus a percentage uplift in lieu of paid leave and other benefits).

The contract manager may also be able to provide you with pay charge data for equivalent roles and the contractors can advise you on current market rates.

Personal protective equipment

You must provide temporary personnel with the materials and equipment required to fulfil their duties under the role, including but not limited to Personal Protective Equipment.

Police clearances

If you require that a candidate has a current police clearance, you must specify that requirement in the service request form (Part A).  Treasury and Finance does not monitor police clearances for contractors or their personnel during the term of the CUA.

Pre-existing medical conditions

If a contractor is aware that a potential candidate has a pre-existing medical condition that may affect that candidate’s ability to undertake the work requirements of an engagement, the contractor must note the medical condition in the service request form (Part B).

If that candidate is engaged by the customer, the customer and the contractor are required to work together to identify any special requirements to accommodate the candidate’s condition prior to the start of the engagement.

Service request form

Orders under CUATPS2024 are placed using the Service Request Form. The service request form has three parts, all of which must be completed before a candidate starts work.

Start the order process by completing ‘Part A’ of the service request form and send it to your selected contractor(s).  The contractors are required to acknowledge receipt of the form within 24 hours and provide the customer with the completed ‘Part B’ of the form with the candidate’s hourly rate and curriculum vitae (if requested by the customer).

Complete ‘Part C’ of the Service Request Form to confirm the engagement of the selected candidate. When the contractor receives the completed ‘Part C’ of the form that will create an order under the CUA terms and conditions.

Short notice / Start date

If you require a candidate at very short notice, you should contact the contractor(s) to advise them that you have an urgent request.  In some cases, they may be able to supply someone for the following day, but this will depend on the availability of candidates in the marketplace. Ensure that all parts of the service request form have been completed and signed before the candidate commences work.

Superannuation

If the candidate is an employee of the relevant contractor (rather than being ‘pty’ candidate, i.e. an independent contractor), the contractor will be responsible for making the candidate’s employer superannuation contributions. The contractor will invoice you for the cost of the superannuation as part of the candidate’s hourly rate. 

Termination of engagement

Under the CUATPS2024 terms and conditions, the customer or the candidate may terminate an engagement at any time after giving a minimum of half a working days’ notice (3.75 hours).

In certain circumstances you may want to agree to a longer notice period (for example if the candidate has specialist skills or experience), in which case the notice period should be clearly stated in the service request form.

If you choose to terminate an engagement where there has been no breach, you do not have to specify a reason for the termination but may choose to do so.

In the event of a breach of the customer contract by the contractor and/or the candidate, the customer can terminate the engagement without notice.  If you terminate an engagement due to a breach by the contractor or unsatisfactory performance by a candidate, the contractor is required to promptly remove their candidate and, if you require, provide a suitable replacement. You are not required to source a replacement candidate from the same contractor.

Terms and conditions

The CUATPS2024 Request and Addenda and the General Conditions of Contract (July 2024), together form the terms and conditions applicable to CUATPS2024.  Do not agree to sign any alternative terms and conditions, including a contractor’s standard terms.

Training (construction induction)

If you require candidates who hold a valid White or Blue Card for construction related roles, specify this requirement in the service request form (Part A).  The contractor must provide candidates who have completed the required training at no extra cost.

Training (core role related)

It is the customer’s responsibility to provide the candidate with training covering the customer’s systems, processes, policies and procedures relevant to the role to be undertaken during an engagement.  The customer shall pay the agreed hourly rate for the time while the candidate is undertaking the core customer training.

The contractor shall ensure that each candidate holds the relevant qualifications and current training certifications (including continuing professional development training, if relevant) for the role to be undertaken during an engagement.

Training (professional development)

If a candidate wishes to undertake non-core role related training (for example professional development training), the contractor is required to seek the customer’s permission prior to booking the training.  The contractor is required to provide sufficient information for the customer to assess any impact the training may have on their operational requirements. Unless agreed otherwise with the customer, the contractor should cover the cost of the training.

Working with children checks

If you require a candidate who has a current working with children clearance, you must specify that requirement in the service request form (Part A).  Treasury and Finance does not monitor working with children clearances for contractors or their personnel during the term of the CUA.