Dr Jim Chalmers, Dr Andrew Leigh and Katy Gallagher fronting the media to sell the 2025 Federal Budget. Photo: Katy Gallagher Instagram.
Since Labor’s first budget in 2022, the Australian Public Service has added 11,802 new public service roles to replace work previously undertaken by external consultants and contractors, with 2986 included in this 2025-26 Federal Budget.
In general public service numbers, the budget allows for more than 3400 new employees in the next financial year, which will then sit at more than 41,000 extra APS employees since Labor came to office.
It sets the scene for the Coalition to further attack the government over what it says is an already overblown public service.
The Federal Government has delivered on its commitment to abolish the Average Staffing Level (ASL) cap.
Public Service Minister Katy Gallagher said under the previous Coalition government, the ASL cap placed arbitrary restrictions on the size of the public service and led to agencies outsourcing their work to a shadow workforce.
This was made up of contractors, consultants, outsourced service providers and labour hire to deliver public sector work.
“This resulted in an artificially low headcount of the public service that came at a costly premium for taxpayers,” Senator Gallagher says in her preface to Budget Paper No.4.
“The 2021–22 Audit of Employment found that, in 2021–22, 112 agencies across the public service that employed staff under the Public Service Act 1999 had outsourced arrangements for 53,900 staff on a full-time equivalent basis at a cost of $20.8 billion.
“The Australian Government’s investment has rebalanced and rebuilt the capability of the public service, creating over 11,800 new public service roles to replace work previously undertaken by consultants and contractors.
“This accounts for more than a quarter of total ASL increases under the Australian Government, including 2986 additional roles in the 2025–26 Budget that are now being performed by public servants instead of through outsourced arrangements.
“This includes 2603 ASL in the National Disability Insurance Agency to improve outcomes for NDIS participants and ensure every dollar of NDIS funding goes to those who need it most.”
In dollar terms, this move has delivered $4.7 billion in savings since the 2022–23 October Budget, including an additional $718.8 million in this budget.
In 2025–26, APS agencies will be responsible for managing approximately $785.7 billion to deliver services for individuals, families and businesses.
Now very much a national institution, the APS operates from 583 locations around Australia, including in remote areas, regional towns and cities, and all state and territory capitals.
The relative size of the public service has remained below historical levels when measured as a proportion of the total Australian population and the labour force.
Today, federal public servants make up 1.5 per cent of the labour force and 0.8 per cent of the total population of 27.7 million, while in 2006–07, they comprised 1.6 per cent of the labour force and 0.8 per cent of the population of 20.8 million (2007).
Machinery of Government changes (MoG changes) since last year’s budget have seen the APS undergo a number of administrative amendments affecting the APS’s budget bottom line.
These MoG changes have resulted in the:
- establishment of the Administrative Review Tribunal as a non-corporate Commonwealth entity in the Attorney-General’s portfolio. The Administrative Review Tribunal replaces the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, formerly a non-corporate Commonwealth entity in the same portfolio, which was abolished
- establishment of the National Commission for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People as a non-corporate Commonwealth entity in the Social Services portfolio
- establishment of the Net Zero Economy Authority as a non-corporate Commonwealth entity in the Prime Minister and Cabinet portfolio
- abolishment of the National Mental Health Commission, a non-corporate Commonwealth entity in the Health and Aged Care portfolio. The Department of Health and Aged Care, in the same portfolio, adopted the functions of the National Mental Health Commission
- transfer of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, a non-corporate Commonwealth entity, from the Home Affairs portfolio to the Attorney-General’s portfolio
- transfer of responsibility for business registers from the Australian Taxation Office to the Australian Securities and Investment Commission, and
- transfer of emergency management support functions of the Australian Climate Service from the Bureau of Meteorology to the National Emergency Management Agency.
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