The government allocates approximately $1.2 billion annually for around 42,000 publicly-funded employees, according to Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Professor Biman Prasad.
In presenting the 2024-2025 Budget, Prof Prasad indicated that the State would collaborate with the Australian Government to conduct a comprehensive review of the civil service establishment and salary structure across public entities.
Prof Prasad emphasized the urgent need to equalize the salaries of publicly funded employees and appropriately size the establishment. He attributed the significant increase in civil servants to the “so-called civil service reforms” and the 2013 constitutional changes that shifted central oversight and establishment control from the Public Service Commission to the respective Permanent Secretaries.
“Today, we have more than 42,000 publicly funded employees, including around 38,000 in the civil service and almost 4,000 in independent institutions and state-funded entities,” Prof Prasad stated. “This comes at a substantial cost of around $1.2 billion.”