A restructuring of Parliamentary Service has led to almost 30 resignations since Christmas

A spokesperson for Parliamentary Service confirmed that 28 staff have resigned since around Christmas last year as the department restructures.

The resignation of almost 30 Parliament staff since the end of last year has cost taxpayers close to $250,000.

A spokesperson for Parliamentary Service confirmed to the Herald that 27 staff have resigned since around Christmas last year as the department restructures. One has retired.

Five of those who have quit were executives - they were all voluntary resignations.

The staff were all employed by Parliamentary Service, which provides assistance to MPs and deals with its staff – as well as managing some of the historic buildings around Wellington.

Although there have been no redundancy payouts, a "small number of those departing received a payment over their contractual and statutory entitlements," the spokesperson said.

The total sum of those payments was less than $250,000 – but any further detail cannot be provided for "privacy reasons".

The spokesperson said Parliamentary Service was currently in consultation with staff about a proposed new organisational structure.

The reason for the restructure was to place more of a focus on delivery of services to members, Parliament and staff, as well as ensuring the "overall organisational structure is appropriate for an agency of our size and complexity".

It would mean the current six business groups would be reduced to four.

Nine management positions, including the Chief People's Officer and the Chief Information Officer, would be disestablished.

A number of new roles, such as a Group Manager of Customer Service and Parliamentary Engagement, have been established.

Parliamentary Service general manager David Stevenson's five-year tenure in the job finished at the end of last year.

He was succeeded by Rafael Gonzalez-Montero, who was the Deputy Clerk of the House for the three years prior.

The spokesperson pointed out that it was important "not to ignore the 'new CEO' phenomenon – a change in chief executive often results in some people deciding to move on, for a range of reasons".

Megan Richards of law firm Minter Ellison has been Parliamentary Service's primary contact for legal matters.

Her visits to Parliament have become so frequent that she has her own swipe card for easier access to the building.

"Regular service providers to Parliament are often provided with restricted temporary card-access," a spokesperson for Parliamentary Service said.

Public Service Association (PSA) national secretary Glenn Barclay confirmed the union had participated in consultation with the new general manager of the Parliamentary Service, Rafael Gonzalez-Montero.

"While this impacts on management tiers and the size of Mr Gonzalez-Montero's executive leadership team there is very little immediate effect on our PSA members.

"This could potentially signal closer cooperation between agencies located within the parliamentary precinct and could also complement an improvement to the workplace culture at Parliament, as currently under review."