Plans to entice long-time contractors into secure public servant roles haven’t quite hit the mark. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
A year on from the Federal Government’s announcement of the APS Strategic Commissioning Framework and recruiters have noticed more professional consultants choosing to look outside the ACT for work, rather than moving into permanent positions.
The framework sets the expectation that core roles and functions are delivered by public service employees rather than external contractors to deepen system-wide capability and reduce the risks to integrity, expertise and public trust posed by excessive outsourcing.
In short, if a job can be done by APS staff, it has to be.
Further, $10.9 million was committed over two years from July 2023 to create an in-house consulting capability for the APS through entities such as the newly formed Australian Government Consulting.
This plan looks to be on track, which is great for public capability, but what about those who prefer to move from project to project?
Managing director at Canberra-grown recruitment agency Whizdom, John McCluskey, says long-time consultants are feeling the pinch in what is now a highly competitive space.
“There’s an assumption that consulting is something people fall into or do while they’re looking for a permanent role,” he says.
“But I think it’s important that we realise it’s actually a chosen career path. There are plenty of professional consultants out there who enjoy what they do and don’t want things to change.
“We’ve seen a massive increase in competition over the last 12 to 18 months for almost every single contract role we’ve advertised.”
John established Whizdom in 2006. He has spent more than two decades in the recruitment industry and still gets a thrill from a successful placement. Photo: Thomas Lucraft.
John says transitioning so quickly has caused the APS to struggle with key staffing for roles that would traditionally attract more consultants, such as IT and human resources.
“The obvious result is a skills shortage. But it’s not just raw skills. It’s the experience to put them into practice effectively,” he says.
“Many seasoned professionals who have been consulting for decades don’t want to give up the freedom to move from project to project, so they’re simply looking elsewhere for work.
“That might mean they commute to surrounding NSW, work remotely, or look to large-scale service providers in the private sector.”
And it’s not just consultants going interstate for work. To plug the gaps they thought local contractors would fill, the APS is sourcing interstate talent, particularly in ICT.
There’s also the issue of payroll tax. A bigger public service will ultimately mean millions lost in tax revenue, resulting in higher surcharges passed on to local businesses.
It’s an unprecedented issue with no short-term solution, which John says is already leading people to wonder whether they want to do business in the capital.
“The ACT already has the highest base payroll tax in the country, by about 2 per cent, and the highest rate of business failure per capita. This won’t help,” John says.
“The recruitment industry is a canary in the coal mine for our economy at local, state and national levels. When you see us slow down, that’s something to take very seriously.”
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