Bigger Government

Since 2019, WA's state public sector has grown almost twice as fast as the population it serves. In 2017 the Government promised to take "a machete" to boards and departments. It did trim the number of boards, but the payroll kept growing, and the last two years were the fastest.

Headline figures

• +26.8%: growth in public sector staff (FTE), 2018-19 to 2024-25. (PSC 2024-25; PSC 2022-23)
• +14.5%: WA population growth over the same period, June 2019 to June 2025. (ABS)
• 29,707: extra full-time-equivalent public sector staff in six years (110,972 → 140,679).
• 46.2: public sector FTE per 1,000 West Australians in 2024-25, up from 41.7 in 2018-19.
• 247: government boards and committees in June 2025 (255 in June 2023). (PSC, as above)

Findings

1. The payroll grew almost twice as fast as the population

Updated 13 Oct 2026

• Fact: Public sector FTE rose 26.8% from 2018-19 to 2024-25. WA's population (ABS estimated resident population, June) rose from 2,659,600 in 2019 to 3,045,000 in 2025, which is 14.5% (PSC 2024-25; ABS).
• Fact: That's 41.7 public sector FTE per 1,000 residents in 2018-19, rising to 46.2 in 2024-25, a 10.8% rise in staff per person (our calculation from the figures above).
• Fact: The two fastest years of growth are the two most recent: +4.5% in 2023-24 and +5.5% in 2024-25.
• Our read: If staff had only kept pace with population since 2019, the public sector would have about 127,000 FTE, not 140,700. That is roughly 13,600 extra FTE beyond population growth (our calculation: 110,972 × 1.145).

2. Most of the growth is in Health and Education, and the Government says insourcing is part of it

Updated 13 Oct 2026

• Fact: About 74% of headcount growth from 2020-21 to 2024-25 was in Health and Education. Public sector headcount reached 179,490. The Public Sector Commission itself lists insourcing (bringing contracted work back in-house) as a driver (PSC 2024-25).
• Our read: Nurses and teachers aren't the problem. The question the Government doesn't answer is how much of the growth is administration and head-office staff versus frontline workers. The PSC report doesn't split it that way, and it should.

3. Another 51,000 FTE sit outside the "public sector" count

Updated 13 Oct 2026

• Fact: "Other government entities" (government trading enterprises such as Synergy and Water Corporation, public universities, local governments and others) had 51,003 FTE in March 2025, up from 45,506 in March 2021 (+12.1%). They are not covered by the Public Sector Management Act, so they're not in the headline public sector figure (PSC 2024-25).
• Our read: When the Government quotes "the public sector", it is talking about part of the state's workforce, not all of it.

4. The 2017 "machete": departments and boards were cut, but staff kept growing

Updated 13 Oct 2026

• Fact: In April 2017 the new Government cut departments from 41 to 25, from 1 July 2017 (media statement, 28 Apr 2017). The Premier said a review would "get in there with a machete" and slash the number of boards and committees (WAtoday, 4 May 2017).
• Fact: In 2014 the Auditor General counted "about 320" boards and committees on the State register (OAG). The Public Sector Commission counted 255 in June 2023 and 247 in June 2025 (PSC 2022-23; PSC 2024-25).
• Fact: At June 2025 the public sector had 25 departments (the same number as in 2017), 43 Senior Executive Service organisations, 50 non-SES organisations and 17 ministerial offices (PSC 2024-25). A further round of department changes started on 1 July 2025 and isn't reflected in these figures.
• Our read: Fair's fair: there are fewer boards than a decade ago, and the department count has held at 25. But merging departments didn't shrink government. With the same 25 departments, the public sector now has about 30,000 more FTE than in 2018-19. Cutting the number of agencies isn't the same as cutting the size of government. (The 2014 and 2025 board counts may not use exactly the same definition.)

5. Paying people to leave has almost stopped

Updated 13 Oct 2026

• Fact: There were 14 voluntary severances in the whole public sector in 2024-25 (total $2.62m), down from 33 in 2023-24 ($4.70m), with no involuntary severances. 165 employees were identified as surplus to requirements at 30 June 2025 (PSC 2024-25).
• Our read: In 2017-18 a Voluntary Targeted Separation Scheme was a key part of "budget repair" (Treasury Annual Report 2017-18). Today, in a workforce of about 140,000 FTE, there is effectively no program to reduce it.

6. More statutory bodies, not fewer

Updated 13 Oct 2026

• Fact: 15 new statutory bodies or offices since 2017, only 2 abolished, while the published board count fell from 255 to 247. We checked the as-passed text of all 330 Acts listed on legislation.wa.gov.au for 2017 to 2026. New bodies and offices include Infrastructure WA (2019), the Voluntary Assisted Dying Board (2019), the Procurement Executive Body (2020), the High Risk Serious Offenders Board (2020), the Casino Independent Monitor (2022), the Local Government Inspector (2024), the Privacy Deputy Commissioner (2024) and the Coordinator General (2025). The two abolished were the Swan Valley Planning Committee (2020) and the Animal Resources Authority (2022). National-law bodies are excluded, and bodies created with unusual wording may have been missed.
• Our read: Merging agencies cut the board count on paper, but Parliament kept creating new statutory bodies and offices.

What this costs you

• Fact: Total public sector net debt is forecast to reach $44.7bn by June 2029, and interest across the total public sector is forecast to rise from $2.04bn in 2024-25 to $3.69bn in 2029-30 (2026-27 Budget Paper 3, Table 1.13).
• Our read: A government that grows faster than its population every year relies on the iron ore boom and the GST deal continuing. When either ends, the cost of a bigger government is paid in taxes, fees or debt.

What we'd do

• Population-plus-inflation cap: public sector FTE can't grow faster than population, unless Parliament votes for an exception.
• Publish the split: a yearly frontline vs administration headcount for every agency.
• Sunset clauses: every new board, office, taskforce or statutory body ends after 5 years unless it is renewed by a vote.
• One register: a single public list of every board, office and statutory body, with its cost and staff.