A NSW Government website
Public Service Commission

Executive summary

Chapter 1

Size of the sector 2020

Census period FTE

348,508

+3.2% vs 2019

Employee headcount at census

413,567

10.5%

of all NSW employed persons are NSW public sector employees

Public sector employment

Metro/regional

41.3% of census date headcount based in regional areas

Median salary

$90,123

+2.5% vs 2019
Australian full-time adult average weekly earnings increased by 4.3%

Median tenure

8.4 years 
75.8% of roles are ongoing

Public sector diversity

Women

65.5% of employees, +0.1pp vs 2019

Female senior leaders

41.1% of government sector

+0.8pp vs 2019

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

3.5% of employees, no change from 2019

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander senior leaders

105 

+7 vs 2019

Disability

2.4% of employees, -0.1 pp vs 2019

Median age

44 years
No change from 2019
27.6% aged under 35
24.1% aged 55 or over

English as a second language

18.1% of employees, -0.2pp vs 2019

Note: pp stands for percentage points