Thousands of Services Australia jobs at risk | Braidwood Times

braidwoodtimes.com.au · Mar 1, 2026 · Collected from GDELT

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Thousands of workers at an agency central to the Albanese government's claim of restoring the Australian public service could lose their jobs if funding is not extended in the May federal budget.Subscribe now for unlimited access. or signup to continue readingAll articles from our websiteThe digital version of Today's PaperAll other in your areaCPSU national secretary Melissa Donnelly and, clockwise, David Hazlehurst and Katy GallagherServices Australia has 4241 staff - employed after Labor won the 2022 election to clear a backlog and reduce call wait times - whose futures hang in the balance as the government deliberates over whether they are still needed.The Community and Public Sector Union has requested permanent, ongoing funding for the roles in its pre-budget submission, warning the potential cuts - representing about 14 per cent of the agency's current average staffing level of 30,912 - could mean delays and frustration for welfare recipients."Proper staffing levels are essential in delivering effective and efficient public services," CPSU national secretary Melissa Donnelly told The Canberra Times."The difference these jobs have made is clear ... Claims were processed faster, phones were answered sooner, and people got the support they needed."The union estimates that $1.7 billion will be removed from the agency's resourcing if the government lets temporary funding measures expire on June 30.Finance and Public Service Minister Katy Gallagher declined to commit to extending the funding when asked by this masthead, saying only that an update would be in the budget. Senator Gallagher told Senate estimates earlier this month the government was considering "what ongoing baseline resourcing [is] required for Services Australia."CPSU national secretary Melissa Donnelly wants Services Australia's extra staff to be funded permanently. Picture by Karleen MinneyServices Australia chief executive David Hazlehurst did not rule out redundancies when quizzed about the uncertainty faced by the agency's staff at Senate estimates earlier this month, saying only that the funding was not tied to specific roles."We manage the funding across the whole agency. We would need to work out how to absorb those reductions across the agency, if that were to occur," Mr Hazlehurst said. ACT independent senator David Pocock said the extra resourcing had boosted service delivery, with call wait times "roughly halved from 40 to 22 minutes" and staff telling him it had improved Service Australia's culture - but that "the work is far from over, with a third of social security calls and a quarter of child support calls still not being answered.""Now is not the time to reduce capability in the agency," Senator Pocock said."These aren't just jobs in Canberra, these are public servants across the nation ... doing some of the most important work in government, delivering assistance to those most in need and those going through big changes in their life." Opposition finance and public service spokesperson Claire Chandler said the government "needs to be upfront about whether it plans to cut these jobs, and what the impact will be to service delivery for those Australians using Services Australia."Asked by her predecessor James Paterson what impact the loss of 4241 workers would have on service delivery, Mr Hazlehurst told the estimates hearing: "You would expect to see a deterioration in our performance." Mr Hazlehurst said the agency would, if the funding was not extended, "manage the resourcing ... to achieve the best outcomes we can [in] a way that smooths out those impacts so that they wouldn't be experienced as a shock."Labor campaigned for re-election last year on a platform of being the party to strengthen and restore the Australian public service after the former Coalition government's cuts.Senator Gallagher told the estimates hearing the budget decision was a matter of "matching the resourcing requirements with the delivery outcomes the government is wanting to see."Finance and Public Service Minister Katy Gallagher has not ruled out cuts to Service Australia's staffing. Picture by Karleen MinneyIn a statement, she added that it would be "informed by our commitment to maintaining high-quality services for Australians."The government had "invested in Services Australia to clear a back log of claims, speed up the delivery of support payments, and ensure millions of Australians continue to receive safe, secure and reliable government services."Services Australia issued a public apology in 2024 after data showed only about 56 per cent of the 22.4 million calls to Centrelink in the second half of 2023 had been answered and handled.Senator Gallagher said in her 2024 APS reform statement that Services Australia faced increasing demands after the government increased social support through its paid parental leave changes and Medicare changes."The idea that we can deliver these expanded services, policy and regulatory responses with a workforce the same size as two decades ago is simply unrealistic," she said at the time.Twice weeklyVoice of Real AustraliaGet real, Australia! 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