2012 Publications and Ministerial Statements

Statement by The Hon Gary Gray, AO MP
Special Minister of State

General Government and Australian Public Service Statistics

Australian Government Employment includes the core public service (made up of Australian Public Service (APS) agencies) and a range of other Commonwealth employers.  The following statistics are supplied to provide an understanding of employment in the Australian Public Service (APS).

Australian Public Service (APS)

APS agencies employ their staff under the Public Service Act 1999 (PS Act) and are divided into Departments of State, Executive Agencies and Statutory Agencies. Further information in relation to the different categories can be found on the Australian Public Service Commission website.

Commonwealth entities outside the core public service include the Australian Defence Force, the Parliamentary Service and a range of other specialist authorities and agencies (e.g. Australian Federal Police, CSIRO, Civil Aviation Safety Authority, Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority, Australian Broadcasting Corporation), and Commonwealth owned or controlled companies.

The APS includes frontline service delivery agencies such as Australian Taxation Office, Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Department of Human Services. It also includes Departments of State and policy/regulatory based APS agencies such as the Australian Public Service Commission, Prime Minister and Cabinet, Attorney Generals, Finance and Deregulation, and Department of Employment, Education and Workplace Relations.

Figure 1 and Table 1 shows the total numbers of APS employees employed under the Public Service Act 1999 (the PS Act) between 30 June 2003 and 31 December 2011. The source of the data is the APS Employment Database (APSED)¹ , which the Australian Public Service Commission maintains. These figures include on-going (permanent) and non-ongoing (employed for a fixed term or task) employees, including those on long term leave.

Figure 1 Total Australian Public Service employees 2002-2011

Table 1 Total Australian Public Service employees 2002-2011

Six monthly intervals	Jun-02	Dec-02	Jun-03	Dec-03	Jun-04	Dec-04	Jun-05	Dec-05	Jun-06	Dec-06
Total APS	123,388	126,741	131,760	130,211	131,476	129,828	133,594	139,170	146,206	150,308

Table 1 Continued...

Six monthly intervals	Jun-07	Dec-07	Jun-08	Dec-08	Jun-09	Dec-09	Jun-10	Dec-10	Jun-11	Dec-11
Total APS	155,417	159,265	159,748	158,919	161,805	161,702	164,482	163,585	166,495	167,721

Senior Executive Service (SES)

SES employees means those APS employees classified as SES employees under the Classification Rules 2000 —ie Senior Executive Band 1, 2 and 3 (Generalist and Specialist) classifications.

Figure 2 and Table 2 shows the total numbers of SES employees employed under the Public Service Act 1999 (the PS Act) between 30 June 2002 and 30 June 2011. The source of the data is the APS Employment Database (APSED)², which the Australian Public Service Commission maintains. These figures include on-going (permanent) and non-ongoing (employed for a fixed term or task) employees, including those on long term leave.

Figure 2 Total Australian Public Service employees 2002-2011

Table 2 Total Senior Executive Service employees 2002-2011

Financial year	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011
SES	1,705	1,811	1,855	1,940	2,173	2,429	2,581	2,678	2,723	2,790

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Last Updated: 26 October, 2012