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The Hon Gary Gray AO MP Special Minister of State and Minister for the Public Service and Integrity

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 websiteexternal site.

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 30 June 2012. 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 2003-2012

Figure 1 - A graph to show the total of Australian Public Service employees from 2003-2012

Figure 1 Total Australian Public Service employees 2003-2012
Six monthly intervals Jun-03 Dec-03 Jun-04 Dec-04 Jun-05 Dec-05 Jun-06 Dec-06 Jun-07 Dec-07
Total APS 131,762 130,151 131,479 129,767 133,600 139,108 146,206 150,239 155,424 159,193

Figure 1 Total Australian Public Service employees 2003-2012
Six monthly intervals Jun-08 Dec-08 Jun-09 Dec-09 Jun-10 Dec-10 Jun-11 Dec-11 Jun-12 Dec-12
Total APS 159,740 158,846 161,773 161,622 164,378 163,500 166,252 167,362 168,206 165,598

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 2003 and 30 June 2012. 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 Senior Executive Service employees 2003-2012

Figure 2: A graph to show the total of senior executive service employees from 2003 to 2012

Figure 2 Total Senior Executive Service employees 2003-2012
Financial year 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
SES 1,811 1,855 1,940 2,173 2,429 2,581 2,678 2,721 2,787 2,873

1 http://www.apsc.gov.au/about-the-apsc/apsed
2 http://www.apsc.gov.au/about-the-apsc/apsed

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