Original article by Luke Kinsella
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 29-Jan-26

The federal government had forecast in its March 2025 budget that the public service wages bill will remain steady at about $30bn annually over the next four years. However, analysis of the independent Parliamentary Budget Office’s costing suggest that government spending will rise by $11.8bn over the next four years if the number of public servants remains at the current level of about 213,000. The analysis also indicates that the government would need to reduce the public service headcount by 28,000 over the next four years in order to achieve its budget forecast.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. PARLIAMENTARY BUDGET OFFICE