Federal budget ends wasteful outsourcing to start rebuilding a stronger Australian Public Service

The APS Audit of Employment that was released on the weekend was the final nail in the coffin, revealing that Scott Morrison's outsourcing addiction saw 21 billion tax payer dollars wasted on a shadow workforce of 54,000 in a single year. This was the direct result of vicious staffing caps in a purported attempt to limit spending on the public service, and it taught us two things.

Firstly, it didn't save anything.

It didn't save money. It didn't save time. It didn't improve public service delivery or policy. It didn't increase APS capacity or capability. It didn't improve services for the community or public sector workplaces.

It is a blackhole that any government would be foolish to throw money into again.

And the second thing it taught us is that no matter how desperately you want to hack away at the Australian Public Service, its role is crucial in the running of the country.

You can choose to have a public service that has been hacked down to nothing more than skin and bone and throw billions into the pockets of the big four consulting firms.

Or you can choose to have a well-resourced, efficient and effective public service that does the job we need it to do.

That is why good budget measures for the federal public sector are good budget measures for our country.

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This budget marks the beginning of the end of wasteful outsourcing and makes huge progress on rebuilding the APS back up to being the strong, frank and fearless entity it should be.

The additional 10,800 APS jobs announced in the Albanese Labor Government's second budget will have real life impacts for the millions of Australians who rely on public services every day and for government whose progress on vital policy depends upon the public service.

In the NDIA, which sees a 14.5% increase in staffing, it will mean shorter wait times and greater support for Australians with disability and their families.

In Agriculture, which sees a 7.6% increase in staffing, it will see improved biosecurity protections.

In Veterans' Affairs, which sees a 14.7% increase in staffing, it will improve support and services available to those who need it.

And in Climate Change and Environment, which sees a 61% increase in staffing, greater jobs and investment will mean better outcomes for our environment in a changing world.

The budget also contains several other significant commitments, including additional funding to secure the future of our National Collecting Institutions, funding to commence operations of an in-house consulting hub and the establishment of APS Capability Reinvestment Fund.

In an otherwise great budget for the public sector, the outcome for Services Australia was jarring.

Services Australia is an agency that struggles with understaffing and unacceptable workloads on a daily basis. Recent blowouts in call wait times highlight just that.

And yet, this budget will see their staffing level go backwards. This doesn't work for staff, it doesn't work for people who rely on Services Australia, and it won't pan out well for the government either.

For many people, their encounter with government is their encounter with Services Australia - and this encounter will be tarnished by wait times, queues, and overworked staff.

This is incredibly disappointing, and we will absolutely be fighting to get Services Australia staffing levels up to where they need to be.

The next steps in rebuilding the APS are at the bargaining table where the government must table a pay offer that backs up their good work in rebuilding the APS.

Poor outcomes on pay will put them in a situation where they have put the cart well before the horse, and much of the increased staffing from their budget will linger in job ads as opposed to contributing to productivity across the public service.

So while the headlines for the public sector are positive this week, the current reality is that people have left and are leaving the public service.

Turnover is high, recruitment rounds are failing and roles are remaining vacant. This is an issue for the government that can and should be fixed at the bargaining table, an opportunity they have to capitalise on next week.