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The Changing Size of the Commonwealth Public Service
Tony Kryger
Statistics Group
and
Denis James
Economics, Commerce and Industrial Relations Group
Fewer than 150 000 people are employed in Commonwealth Government departments
and agencies.
At June 1995 (and therefore before the recent cutbacks to the Commonwealth
Public Service were announced) there were 146 200 Commonwealth
public servants ie. persons employed under the authority of
the Public Service Act 1922.
These do not represent total Commonwealth employees
however, as there are a further 217 200 employees of Commonwealth business
enterprises (eg. Telstra) and Commonwealth administered universities.
More than half (53 per cent) of all Commonwealth public servants are employed
by just four agencies, viz. Departments of Social Security, Defence, Employment,
Education and Training(1) and the Australian Taxation Office.
Commonwealth public servants account for less than one in ten public
sector employees and represent only 1.8 per cent of total employed persons
in Australia.
The great majority of public sector employees are employed by State
Governments, outnumbering Commonwealth employees by almost three to one.
Employment - June 1995*
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Number Percent of total
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Commonwealth Govt depts and agencies 146 200 1.8
Commonwealth business enterprises 217 200 2.6
Total Commonwealth 363 400 4.4
State Government 1 064 100 12.9
Local Government 155 800 1.9
Total Public sector 1 583 300 19.1
Private sector 6 690 300 80.9
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Total employment 8 273 600 100.0
* In some cases, figures are as at March 1995 due to the unavailability
of June figures.
Sources:
--------
Department of Finance, APS Statistical Bulletin
ABS, Employed Wage and Salary Earners (6248.0)
ABS, The Labour Force (6203.0).
Most Commonwealth public servants are based outside Canberra.
Although Canberra has the largest concentration of Commonwealth public servants
of any State or Territory (28 per cent of the working population are Commonwealth
public servants) less than one in three Commonwealth public servants are
actually based in Canberra. In 1995, 101 600 Commonwealth public servants
had jobs outside Canberra compared with 44 500 working in Canberra.
Of those public servants working outside of Canberra, the majority are
in capital cities. A significant number however, are based in regional
centres. Exact figures are difficult to obtain but a rough estimate is
that at least 15 per cent of Commonwealth public servants outside Canberra
are based in regional centres(2).
Employment has been falling in the public sector but rising in the private
sector.
The number of Commonwealth public servants has fallen sharply by 34 700,
or 19 per cent, between 1986 and 1995. (In terms of the real wages bill
of the Commonwealth Budget sector however, the fall has been much less at
just 9 per cent over the period.) This compares with a 12 per cent fall
in total public sector employment and an increase of 28 per cent in private
sector employment.
Several factors can account for the decline in the number of Commonwealth
public servants: the abolition of Commonwealth functions; the transfer
of Commonwealth functions to other Government or private bodies (i.e.
coverage changes under the Public Service Act 1922); improvements
in productivity; and the increased use of consultants(3) to undertake
work previously performed by public servants. Of these factors, only coverage
changes under the Act (e.g. the transfer of Commonwealth public servants
to the ACT Government Service) can be separately identified and between
1986 and 1995 this accounted for a net reduction in staff of 21 100. The
fall in public service employment due to all factors other than coverage
changes was therefore 13 600, or 8.5 per cent, over the period.(4)
Scope for reducing Government outlays through Public Service staff cuts.
The estimated wages bill (including Budget funded superannuation contributions)
to be paid from the Commonwealth Budget sector in 1995-96 is somewhat less
than $6 billion, or approximately 4.75 per cent of estimated total Budget
outlays.
As such, the scope for Budget savings from public service staff cuts
is limited. For example, a uniform 10 per cent cut in public service employment
would yield the Government a budget saving in direct labour costs of almost
$600 million, or less than half of one per cent of total Budget outlays.
The $600 million figure however, represents gross saving and against this
should be offset the cost of redundancy packages, retraining of retrenched
staff, social security payments to retrenched staff, contracting out of
services abandoned by the public sector, compensation to the States for
functions transferred to them, and so on. In net terms therefore, Budget
savings resulting from public service staff cuts could be quite small.
Significant savings will only be made through the elimination or transfer
of Commonwealth programs, with the impact on public service numbers being
an adjunct to this process.
Endnotes
- Renamed the Department of Employment, Education, Training and Youth
Affairs on 8 March 1996.
- The estimate was based on location of Departmental staff data supplied
by the Departments of Social Security, Employment, Education and Training
and the Australian Taxation Office. These Departments together account
for almost all regional office employment in the Commonwealth Public
Service.
- Service-wide figures are not available but individual departmental
figures show a substantial increase in consultancy expenditure. For
example, expenditure on consultants by the Department of Defence increased
from $1.25m in 1985-86 to $53m in 1993-94; falling to $13m in 1994-95.
Expenditure on consultants by the Department of Finance was less than
$0.5m in 1987-88 compared with $12m in 1994-95.
-
Total staff employed under the Public Service Act at June 1986 180 893
Less reductions in coverage July 1986 to June 1995 26 069
Plus additions to coverage July 1986 to June 1995 4 962
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Equals 159 786
Total staff employed under the Public Service Act at June 1995 146 165
Change in staff numbers June 1986 to June 1995 after adjusting for coverage changes 13 621
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