APS Capability

In 2021 representatives from your union gave evidence before a Senate inquiry into the current capability of the Australian Public Service to deliver for our communities.

We held the then Coalition government to account over staffing levels, workloads, wages and conditions, and the overuse of labour hire as an employment model in the APS over the last decade.

Earlier this year CPSU members forced the now former Coalition Government’s hand on abolishing the service-wide average staffing level cap, but while some agencies like the Department of Veterans' Affairs are using this opportunity to give public service jobs to labour hire workers, the roles remain temporary.

We fronted Parliament and told the then Government that that is not good enough.

A ‘wicked problem’

CPSU representatives appearing before the Senate countered the Morrison Government’s claims that labour hire is used primarily for short term work or specialised roles.

We told the inquiry what you have told us – that in most agencies labour hire is used for normal ongoing APS work because government policies have meant that an agency is unable to employ people directly.

We were joined in our calls for secure jobs that can deliver for the community by organisations such as the Defence Force Welfare Association, which called out DVA for a growing reliance on labour hire arrangements leading to delays and longer wait times for veterans.

We pointed to the situation at Services Australia to show the inquiry that the over-reliance on ICT contractors instead of in-house public service workers has failed to build longer term capabilities, and is costing the community in terms of wait times and doubling handling.

We told the Senate that shockingly there are now fewer permanent staff at Services Australia than before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, with 7,000 permanent jobs cut since 2013. We demonstrated that Services Australia used insecure workers when permanent staff told the Agency that the government’s robodebt scheme was unlawful.

We called for proper funding and resourcing and an increase to permanent staffing in agencies like the NDIA, where currently over a quarter of the agency’s workforce is labour hire and earning around $10 less an hour for the same job as their public service colleagues.

This insecure work model coupled with unworkable performance targets for staff across the board is leading to high staff turnover and worse outcomes for participants.

For staff at the watchdog organisations for disability and aged care services, the NDISQSC and ACQSC, it’s a similar story with overwhelming case numbers and insufficient and insecure staffing arrangements.

What’s the solution?

Moving labour hire workers to employment in the public service will provide thousands of Australians with jobs they can count on while helping to rebuild the capacity of our public service.

Despite labour hire workers generally being paid less, expensive fees to labour hire firms means it costs the Australian public more than providing these workers with direct APS employment. It’s bad for workers, bad for the APS, and bad for the community. Now more than ever, people need good, secure jobs, with wages and conditions they can rely on.

The new Labor Government has announced a plan to rebuild the Australian Public Service and restore APS capability.

Labor has committed to:

Abolish the Coalition Government’s arbitrary staffing cap (ASL cap) allowing agencies to hire staff directly instead of through expensive labour hire arrangements which cost taxpayers more and pay workers less. Scrapping the staffing cap will benefit taxpayers, workers, and public service capability.
Reduce wasteful spending on external private labour and conduct an audit of employment within the APS and, as a model employer, take steps to create more secure employment where temporary forms of work are being used inappropriately. This will include converting labour hire, casual or contract roles into ongoing APS jobs.
Reinvest nearly $500 million as part of the first phase of rebuilding capability in the public service – including 1,080 new secure frontline service delivery jobs at Services Australia, the Department of Veterans’ Affairs and the National Disability Insurance Agency which will improve the delivery of services to Australians.

We will continue campaigning - in workplaces, Parliament, the media and in the community - for a bigger public service that delivers better outcomes for the community and is a better place to work.

Sign up to the Proud to be Public Campaign.
Talk to your colleagues about why you’re a CPSU member, what you believe we can achieve when we work together, and ask them to join you today.
If you are employed via a labour hire company, please register here to join our campaign to give labour hire workers currently doing public service work access to a permanent APS job.