RSPCA Malaga
Reports this morning, that up to a dozen staff have lost their jobs at the RSPCA WA, with the organisation citing ‘financial concerns’.
According to historical annual reports, after the appointment of the new CEO David van Ooran in early 2012 the organisation completed a structural review, which saw 8 of 13 managers ousted and 33 staff replaced – an enormous churn for an organisation of less than 100 staff.
While significant staff turnover is not unusual when a CEO position changes hands, at the same time employee expenses skyrocketed by nearly $1 million dollars in a single year, to over $5 million dollars pa. In 2012/13 employee costs made up more than 57% of the organisations total spend.
Under van Ooran’s leadership during that same year income (including fundraising) which had been increasing incrementally each year, dropped slightly. While 2014 Annual Reports are not yet available, it could be assumed that the current year was even more untenable, prompting the new round of bloodletting.
The RSPCA WA has closed its Education Department, which at its peak employed five staff and educated more than 4,000 children per year. Insider reports say administration and marketing staff have also been given the chop.
The RSPCA has by far the largest animal welfare ‘brand’ in WA. No other animal charity brings in even close to $9 million per year (we only have 2.5 million people!) and yet somehow they’re still managing to drive into the ditch. The organisation had been recently lobbying government for nearly $1 million dollars over four years to expand their inspectorate to Broome and surrounds, but with Head Office seemingly unable to retain and employ staff, and simultaneously haemorrhaging money on employee costs, it seems the current leadership is out of their depth.
With other state RSPCA branches being investigated by government, and closing multiple branches, is it time for the community to start asking the question; is a self-regulated charity, subject to all the pressures of raising private capital from fundraising, the best organisation to be responsible for enforcing the nation’s animal welfare laws? Or is it time for a national government funded animal welfare body to be established? Is this too important to be left up to charity?
Inspectorate and policing of animal welfare laws should be handed over to a consortium of rescue groups who already have their feet on the ground and working in country and city areas doing the work that the rspca is advertising they do and are doing the work of local rangers and other institutes and organisations such as RIEWA and State Housing and vets. These groups would enjoy a bit of funding from the government to “officially” be recognised and compensated.
Unbelevable you get all that funding and still can not manage while other self funded animal rescues get nothing and do a better job your a joke
It would be interesting to see how much of that employee expenditure is to coal face workers and how much to management, with any historical data to compare where the actual cost growth is.
been on the decline for a few years, one must look at the two common denominators and then its easy to work out why!!
When staff dictate to management its a no win situation for anyone!
I do hope there is a FULL enquiry into the goings on at this organization,
I wonder what the old employees all think ( and its a lot more than 12 I can think of eight just from the Inspectorate over the last two years!
RSPCAWA sold out to the W.A. government in 2012. In return for $500,000.00(yearly) the “charity” contracted not to investigate commercial livestock i.e. live export, battery hens, intensive farming.
The contract was renewed in January 2014. $1.5 million of taxpayers money to NOT do what the
community believes and expects from a welfare organisation.
If the Education Department has closed, this private organisation no longer complies with the terms of its Constitution and can no longer claim the status of a “Charity”.