The Albanese government has added public servants at a pace of about 28 a day since coming to power, pushing the federal workforce towards an unprecedented 200,000 employees.
An Australian Financial Review analysis of 103 federal agencies found that 92 expanded their headcounts between June 2022 and December 2025, fuelling a 23 per cent rise in the Australian Public Service over just three and a half years.
Since Labor won the May 2022 federal election, public service staffing has climbed from 159,179 employees in June 2022 to 195,847 by December 2025 — an increase of roughly 36,700 workers.
The surge came after one of the Albanese government’s earliest major moves: scrapping the staffing cap introduced under the former Coalition government, which had kept the public service to about 155,000 employees, broadly in line with 2007 levels.
That cap, brought in by former finance minister Mathias Cormann, had limited how many staff federal agencies could employ directly.
Critics argued the policy encouraged departments to rely more heavily on external consultants and contractors, who were not included in the cap.
The government has defended the expansion, arguing the size of the public service remains broadly consistent with historic levels when measured against Australia’s population.
Around 28 public servants have been added to the APS per day since Labor was elected
Budget papers released in May 2026 showed public servants accounted for about 0.7 per cent of Australia’s 28 million people in December 2025.
That proportion was slightly lower than when the Howard government left office in 2007, when public servants made up about 0.75 per cent of Australia’s 21 million population.
Labor has also argued that bringing work back into government departments has reduced reliance on consultants and contractors and rebuilt public sector capability.
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The biggest increases were concentrated in a handful of agencies responsible for the government’s largest and most complex programs.
The National Disability Insurance Agency recorded the biggest rise, adding 5,986 staff and more than doubling its workforce from 5,066 to 11,052 as the NDIS continued to expand.
Defence added 3,823 employees, growing its workforce to 20,710 as the government ramped up military capability and prepared for projects such as the AUKUS submarines.
The Department of Home Affairs grew by 2,753 employees to 16,611, reflecting greater demands across immigration, border protection and national security.
The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water also saw significant growth, adding 2,420 employees as Labor pursued its climate and energy agenda, taking its workforce from 3,714 to 6,134.
Katy Gallagher (pictured) said the public service size ‘about right’ when asked in late 2025
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Meanwhile, Services Australia, which administers Centrelink, Medicare and other key government services, added 1,730 employees to reach 34,026, making it the largest agency in the Commonwealth public service.
Asked about the growth in public service numbers last November, Finance Minister Katy Gallagher said the federal workforce was now ‘roughly the right size’.
Gallagher defended the increase, arguing that the additional staff were helping deliver ‘improved service outcomes … for the Australian people’ and reducing the government’s reliance on external consultants and contractors.