Bureaucratic bloat is crushing the economy

The larger the nation’s bureaucracy, the worse the policymaking.

Data from the Australian Public Service Commission (APS) shows that the number of federal public servants increased by 7.4% in 2024-25, to a record high of 198,529. The public service headcount has increased by 24.7%—or 39,350 people—since Labor took office in May 2022.

The APS report follows recently released data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), showing that the public sector headcount grew by 3.3% across all levels of government between June 2024 and June 2025, while wages paid surged by 7.6%

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About the author

Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.