Australian employment data reveals ballooning rate of bureaucrats as Angus Taylor slams rise as ‘wasteful’

Australia’s public service ranks have swelled under Labor, with new figures revealing the number of bureaucrats has ballooned to nearly 200,000 staff.

Employment data released by the Australian Public Service shows the number of full-time public servants has increased every year since the Albanese Government was elected in 2022.

In that time, the number of men employed by the public service has grown from 63,627 to 76,553 while the number of women rose from 97,318 to 118,300.

There has also been an increase in bureaucrats appointed to regulatory roles.

At the same time, the government has been cautious about deploying artificial intelligence to help cut red tape.

Institute of Public Affairs research fellow Saxon Davidson said the productive sectors of the economy were getting “smashed by an avalanche of red tape and bureaucracy,” making it more difficult to expand or invest.

“At the very time as living standards are going backwards at the fastest rate since the 1970s, the federal government has unleashed its massive red tape army onto the economy which is demolishing productivity,” Mr Davidson said.

“The Albanese government is defined by two things: Big government through more bureaucrats and big Australia through record migrant numbers, both of which are crushing mainstream Australians.

“Rolling back the massive expansion of the bureaucracy is critical to boosting investment and securing a thriving private sector that improves living standards at the individual level.”

IPA’s analysis of the data showed that after decreases in the public service between 2013 and 2019, the bureaucracy grew 11.7 per cent under the Morrison government and 21.3 per cent under the Albanese government between 2022 and 2025.

Federal Opposition leader Angus Taylor recently pledged to cut “wasteful” bureaucracy in Federal government housing and climate programs.

During a small business forum in Brisbane he indicated a Coalition government would get rid of both.

“Wasteful bureaucracy has to go,” Mr Taylor reportedly told attendees. “I’ve been fighting it a lot in life, and I hate it with a passion.”

One Nation has also claimed it would save up to $90 billion a year by slashing bureaucratic spending, including abolishing the Department of Climate Change and eliminating duplicated costs in education and housing departments.