APS staffing levels reach highest in a decade

Data from the Australian Public Service Commission shows there were 177,442 public servants employed across the country by December 2023, up almost 16,000 from the 161,476 jobs counted in 2022.

This figure is the highest in the last decade, and falls just short of the record of 177,742 federal public servants employed in 1987.

The numbers land as the federal opposition raises questions about growth in the public service, with South Australian MP James Stevens appointed to a new role targeting "government waste reduction".

Mr Stevens has questioned the rationale for a boost of 10,000 places in the May 2023 budget, including about 3000 roles which had been converted from external labour hire, contractors or consultants.

"We've consistently sought proper explanation from the government to understand the breakdown of growth in the public service," Mr Stevens said.

"They often cite the internalisation of external labour as the basis for this growth, but this seems to only account for a third of the increase."

While the Public Service Commission releases headcount data every six months, the budget papers use a different measure, known as Average Staffing Level, which represents the number of full-time equivalent public servants.

The budget papers show the distribution of roles to different agencies, with large boosts to Defence, Climate Change and Veterans' Affairs in the 2023-24 financial year.

A spokesperson for Public Service Minister Katy Gallagher said the Albanese government had spent its two years in office years working to "rebuild a fit-for-purpose public service that is resourced to do the job the Australian people expect".

"While the Liberals talked tough about capping public service numbers when they were in government, at the same time they were outsourcing the work - spending approximately one in every $4 on external labour," the spokesperson said.

An audit of the 2021-22 public service workforce, published in May 2023, revealed the Morrison government had spent $20.8 billion on an external workforce of 54,000 roles.

The Public Service Commission data shows Canberra has maintained its stronghold as the country's home of federal public servants, with 38.09 per cent of these positions located in the ACT.

This figure has decreased slightly from 38.6 per cent in 2022, but overall, has continued to trend up over the past two decades.

The data is yet to show any significant shifts in the distribution of public service jobs after sweeping flexibility entitlements were introduced in April 2023.

The changes mean that every APS worker can request a flexible working arrangement, including options to vary when and where they work.

While these requests must be mutually beneficial for agencies and individuals, a condition negotiated in the latest round of bargaining enforces a bias towards approving requests.

The data also provides a clear snapshot of the typical federal public servant in Australia who, unsurprisingly, would most likely be working out of the nation's capital.

The "average" public servant in 2023 would be a 43-year-old woman. She would most likely have an APS 6 classification and work in service delivery.

The average graduate would be about 27 years old, though this skews slightly younger in the ACT, where the mean age is 26. On the other end of the spectrum, the average SES 3 is 53 years old.

The greatest proportion of public servants - more than 38,000 - work in service delivery roles, such as behind the counter at Centrelink. There was an increase of 5116 service delivery workers between December 2022 and December 2023. The majority of people employed in these roles are women - 70.5 per cent, compared with 28.8 per cent men.

Administration and compliance and regulation are also popular job areas, while just under 12,000 people work on policy.

Public servants employed at the APS 6 classification outnumber their colleagues. This group has captured the greatest number of bureaucrats since 2009, when the largest group was employed at the APS 4 classification.

Women's representation at the most senior levels of the public service has improved over the past decade.

In 2004, just 19 per cent of those employed at the SES 3 level were women, compared with 47 per cent in 2023.