Services Australia is slimming down its external workforce by laying off over a thousand ICT contractors following the end of several multi-year projects as well as new labour hire agreements from the federal government. 

According to iTNews and InnovationAus, Services Australia begun informing their external workforce of the change last month. It is expected that the contractors will depart from the agency in the coming weeks, with a significant amount expected to leave up to Christmas. 

In their last provided breakdown of their workforce in 2020, Services Australia had employed around 2000 non-Australian Public Service (APS) employees for its technology services group. 

Services Australia General Manager Hank Jongen states that the contracts with IT services and consulting firms were a response to the pandemic and the delivery of major projects such as the Welfare Payment Infrastructure Transformation (WPIT) and the Residential Aged Care Funding Reform. 

“[These contractors] have provided specialised expertise and advice through a challenging few years,” he said. 

“They’ve supported us to significantly bolster our ICT systems to meet unprecedented demand on our systems and services during emergencies such as the pandemic, and we thank them for their work.” 

Now that the projects have come to an end, Mr Jongen says that additional support was being offered to the contractors both directly and through their employment provider as they land back into the tight employment market. 

“We’ve also reached out to other APS agencies who may be in a position to offer new opportunities,” he said. 

Service Australia’s move to lay off a thousand of its contractors follows the federal government’s push to reduce reliance on consultants across the Australian Public Service (APS). 

A Senate inquiry last year recommended that the government end its heavy reliance on IT contractors in order to properly resource the APS in becoming a digital leader in its own right.  

Following this, Services Australia announced its plans to set a 70/30 blend between APS staff and contractors by June 2025. The organisation also plans to reduce its reliance on contractual services by increasing the number of APS staff in its technology service group. 

This decision has been criticised by the Community and Public Sector Union, stating that the agency has “lost sight of the benefits of in-house IT” due to the average staffing level cap. 

Source: iTNews and InnovationAus.com. Content has been edited for style and length. 

Eliza Sayon

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Eliza is a content producer and editor at Public Spectrum. She is an experienced writer on topics related to the government and to the public, as well as stories that uplift and improve the community.

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