Proof Australia’s public service needs to be downsized

Friday 17 July 2026

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), Australia employed 2.6 million bureaucrats for $250 billion each year in 2024-25.

The Australian Public Service Commission has opened negotiations for a new APS enterprise agreement covering ~200,000 federal public servants across 108 agencies.

Nine unions are involved, but the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) will lead most pay‑related bargaining.

The full text of this article is available to MacroBusiness subscribers

$1 for your first month, then:

$24.99 / month

$249 / year

Cancel at any time through our billing provider, Stripe

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.