What are public servants?

Public servants in Australia are the professional staff employed by federal, state, territory, and local governments to implement policy and deliver services. They are appointed on merit through competitive recruitment, are expected to work impartially across changes of government, and operate under specific codes of conduct.

The federal Australian Public Service (APS) includes about 172,000 staff working in departments such as the Treasury, Defence, Foreign Affairs and Trade, Health and Aged Care, Social Services, Home Affairs, Education, Climate Change Energy the Environment and Water, and others. State and territory public services together employ about 500,000 staff. Local councils employ about 200,000 staff. Total Australian public sector employment is therefore about 870,000 people, or about 6 per cent of total Australian employment.

Public servants are appointed on merit. The Public Service Act 1999 requires that appointments to ongoing APS positions be made through competitive selection based on merit, with vacancies publicly advertised and decisions reviewable by the Merit Protection Commissioner. State and territory public service laws have parallel merit requirements. Public servants progress through classification levels (APS 1 through APS 6 for general officers, Executive Level 1 and 2 for middle managers, Senior Executive Service Bands 1 through 3 for senior leaders, and Secretary level at the top of departments).

Public servants operate under specific obligations. They must serve the elected government of the day impartially regardless of their personal political views. They must comply with the APS Code of Conduct (honesty, integrity, courtesy, diligence, compliance with the law, lawful obedience to directions, disclosure of conflicts of interest, proper use of resources). They cannot disclose confidential information outside their official duties, but are protected as whistleblowers when they disclose serious wrongdoing through proper channels under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013. They have rights to fair treatment, performance feedback, training, and career development. The Australian Public Service Commission oversees the APS workforce, with state-based equivalents in each state and territory. The 2023 Robodebt Royal Commission highlighted failures in public service advice and prompted ongoing reforms to strengthen frank and fearless advice.