ABC redundancy payouts leapt fivefold, annual report reveals

Redundancy costs at the ABC leapt fivefold in the past year to more than $22 million, as the organisation went through a major restructure aimed at boosting audiences and making better shows.

Details in the public broadcaster’s annual report reveal financial provisions for staff – annual leave, long service leave, superannuation and redundancy – jumped from $157.2 million to $176.1 million. The bulk of that rise, however, was in the form of redundancy payouts.

In the 2022 financial year, the ABC paid out $4.3 million in redundancies. In 2023, it paid out $22.2 million.

Redundancies were flagged in the restructure announced in May, which split the public broadcaster into a news division, led by Justin Stevens, and a content division, led by Chris Oliver-Taylor. ABC managing director David Anderson announced that up to 120 roles, including that of former high-profile  political editor Andrew Probyn, would go.

But despite the redundancy payouts, there was not a steep drop in staff numbers. It reported 3805 ongoing employees in 2022-23, while there were 3825 in the year before, the annual report shows.