Public sector employed persons
10.3% of all people employed in NSW are NSW public sector employees.
Size of the NSW public sector workforce
The NSW public sector is the largest employer in Australia. Figure 2.1 and Table 2.1 show that in 2023 the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) employees in the census period increased by 4.7% (+17,265) compared to 2022, and the census headcount increased by 4.0% (+17,438)1. This is the largest recorded increase in FTE since the workforce profile commenced in 1999 and the second largest increase in headcount.
Table 2.1: Public sector census headcount and census period FTE, 2014 to 2023
| Year | Census headcount | Change from previous year (%) | Census period FTE | Change from previous year (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 396,036 | −0.8 | 328,111 | −0.4 |
| 2015 | 394,194 | −0.5 | 326,765 | −0.4 |
| 2016 | 393,442 | −0.2 | 326,706 | 0.0 |
| 2017 | 393,333 | 0.0 | 325,917 | −0.2 |
| 2018 | 396,243 | 0.7 | 329,005 | 0.9 |
| 2019 | 407,999 | 3.0 | 337,817 | 2.7 |
| 2020 | 413,567 | 1.4 | 348,508 | 3.2 |
| 2021 | 431,350 | 4.3 | 360,190 | 3.4 |
| 2022 | 435,772 | 1.0 | 364,006 | 1.1 |
| 2023 | 453,210 | 4.0 | 381,272 | 4.7 |
Figure 2.2 shows there was higher proportional growth in the NSW public sector (+4.0%) than the broader NSW workforce (+3.3%). Figure 2.3 shows the proportion of NSW employed persons who worked for the NSW public sector was 10.3% in 2023, unchanged from 2022.
Composition of the NSW public sector
FTE considers the number of hours employees work and provides a better measure of resourcing in the sector than headcount.
In 2023, census period FTE increased by 17,265. Table 2.2 shows the key contributors to the increase in FTE were the Public Service (+7,854), the NSW Health Service (+4,008), other Crown services (+2,679) and the Transport Service (+1,910).
Table 2.2: Composition of the public sector by service, census period FTE, 2022 to 20233
| Service | 2022 | 2023 | Change | Change (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public Service | 73,073 | 80,927 | 7,854 | 10.7 |
| NSW Health Service | 129,434 | 133,442 | 4,008 | 3.1 |
| NSW Police Force | 20,736 | 20,087 | –649 | –3.1 |
| Teaching Service | 70,968 | 71,787 | 819 | 1.2 |
| Transport Service | 13,328 | 15,238 | 1,910 | 14.3 |
| Other Crown services | 46,886 | 49,565 | 2,679 | 5.7 |
| Total government sector | 354,423 | 371,046 | 16,622 | 4.7 |
| State owned corporations | 8,461 | 9,003 | 541 | 6.4 |
| External to government sector | 1,122 | 1,224 | 102 | 9.1 |
| Total public sector | 364,006 | 381,272 | 17,265 | 4.7 |
The main contributors to the growth in the Public Service were the Communities and Justice (+2,313 FTE or 7.5%), Education (+1,582 FTE or 17.2%), Customer Service (+1,453 FTE or 13.6%) and Environment and Planning portfolios (+1,344 FTE or 14.2%).
In the NSW Health Service, there were an additional 1,538 (+3.0%) FTE Nurses, 538 (+10.4%) FTE Ambulance Officers and 358 (+2.6%) FTE Medical Practitioners in 2023.
In other Crown services, School Administrative and Support increased 2,089 FTE (+9.3%) and the TAFE Commission increased 507 FTE (+5.0%). The increase in the Transport Service (+1,910 or 14.3%) was notably in Transport for NSW (+1,651 or 13.4%) reflecting the large transport infrastructure projects.
The only service which decreased in 2023 was the NSW Police Force (−649 FTE, −3.1%). The NSW Police Force confirmed that a factor contributing to this decrease was the Optional Disengagement Scheme, an initiative supporting police officers to transition from the NSW Police Force to pursue an alternate career or life path, with 235 police officers recorded as exiting under this scheme in 2023.
Similar to the services, Table 2.3 shows most portfolios experienced growth in 2023. More than half of the growth in the sector FTE was in the Education (+5,102) and Health (+4,188) portfolios.
Table 2.3: Composition of the public sector by portfolio, census period FTE, 2022 to 20234
|
Portfolio |
2022 |
2023 |
Change |
Change (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Communities and Justice |
52,102 |
53,799 |
1,697 |
3.3 |
|
Customer Service |
10,665 |
12,118 |
1,453 |
13.6 |
|
Education |
113,372 |
118,475 |
5,102 |
4.5 |
|
Enterprise, Investment and Trade |
3,714 |
3,463 |
–251 |
–6.8 |
|
Environment and Planning |
13,923 |
15,532 |
1,609 |
11.6 |
|
Health |
130,676 |
134,864 |
4,188 |
3.2 |
|
Premier and Cabinet |
1,597 |
1,876 |
279 |
17.5 |
|
Regional NSW |
4,821 |
5,519 |
698 |
14.5 |
|
Transport |
27,024 |
28,588 |
1,565 |
5.8 |
|
Treasury |
5,771 |
6,662 |
891 |
15.4 |
|
Total public sector |
364,006 |
381,272 |
17,265 |
4.7 |
Machinery of government changes affected the size of some portfolios. One of the largest movements between portfolios was from Enterprise, Investment and Trade, with the Office of Sport (388 FTE), Venues NSW (146 FTE) and the Institute of Sport (87 FTE) transferring to the Communities and Justice portfolio.
Within the Communities and Justice portfolio, Resilience NSW was abolished on 31 December 2022 (217 FTE). Employees transferred on 1 January 2023 to either the newly established NSW Reconstruction Authority in the Environment and Planning portfolio, the NSW Police Force, Department of Premier and Cabinet or the Department of Communities and Justice according to their area of work.
In addition to the establishment of the NSW Reconstruction Authority (215 FTE) in the Environment and Planning portfolio, the Western Parkland City Authority (104 FTE) and the Greater Cities Commission (84 FTE) transferred to this portfolio.
Notes
1Refer to the Glossary in Chapter 12 for definitions of FTE, headcount, and census period.
2Australian Bureau of Statistics (August 2022), 'Table 1: RM1 - Labour force status by Age, Labour market region (ASGS) and Sex, October 1998 onwards’, [time series spreadsheet], Labour Force, Australia, Detailed, accessed 22 September 2023.
3Refer to the Glossary in Chapter 12 for the definitions of components of the public sector.
4Some public sector entities do not align to a portfolio, so the public sector total differs from the total of the portfolios.
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Chapter 3
Leaders