Pay satisfaction has dropped across the Australian public service, early staff census results show as federal bureaucrats wait to finally hear the Albanese government's pay offer.
Just 61 per cent of public servants felt they were being fairly remunerated for the work they performed - down from 66 per cent last year - the 2026 APS Employee Census found.
And fewer than half (44 per cent) of those who participated felt that change was being well-managed in their agency, down four per centage points amid sweeping redundancies.
The Australian Public Service Commission released its highlight report of the census on Monday, ahead of chief negotiator Alison Stott tabling the Commonwealth's pay offer on Tuesday.
Community and Public Sector Union national secretary Rebecca Fawcett seized on the results to call on the government to deliver a real wage increase for public servants.
"The census data sends a clear message: Public sector workers are frustrated and expect better," Ms Fawcett said.
"The Commonwealth must come to the table this week with a pay offer that keeps up with the rising cost of living."
The union is pushing for a 15 per cent pay rise over three years, an amount Finance and Public Service Minister Katy Gallagher has said is unlikely, and for action to reduce outsourcing and insecure work.
"After decades of insecure employment under previous governments, we have seen staffing levels improve slightly," Ms Fawcett said.
But some agencies had "increased their spending on expensive and ineffective labour hire firms and consultants to perform core public sector work."
Redundancies across the APS were putting bureaucrats under "growing pressure to do more with less," she said, calling on the government to "direct agencies to lift their game and bring core public service work back inhouse."
The 2026 APS Employee Census was conducted between May 4 and June 5, with 80 per cent of 187,816 federal bureaucrats taking part.
It gives a broad snapshot of how staff within the APS view their jobs, agencies and leadership.
As previously revealed by The Canberra Times, employees rated the APS lower across wellbeing, engagement and confidence in executive leadership compared with last year's census.
Agencies directed by the government to find savings to stay within their budgets made 1328 staff redundant across the APS in 2025-26, the latest official data shows.
Ms Stott, who on behalf of the government is seeking to progress greater commonality of clauses in enterprise bargaining agreements across the APS, last week tabled preliminary offers on superannuation and higher duties allowance - which the union has chalked up as a win.
The Commonwealth is offering a more generous approach to higher duties allowance, meaning public service acting in Executive Level roles would receive the allowance after filling the position for a week instead of the current two.
Those acting in roles from APS 1 to APS 6 would receive the allowance after filling the position for a single working day.
The proposed changes would improve arrangements for employees in about 90 agencies, while making the recognition of additional responsibilities consistent across the APS.
The government is also offering to pay superannuation on all paid parental leave up to 52 weeks of unpaid parental leave, as if the employee had been at work - with half-pay leave topped up to ensure the contribution are paid at the full-time rate.
The union is resisting a Commonwealth proposal to impose a standard three-day shutdown between Christmas and new year, removing early shutdown arrangements and additional paid time off beyond the standard closedown - which the CPSU argues will disadvantage staff in some agencies.
And the CPSU is continuing to push back on the government's proposal to implement standardised 7.5 hour working days, 20 days of annual leave a year and four-week flex time reconciliation across the APS.
Ms Fawcett said CPSU members were "united and determined to secure better outcomes" as they waited for Tuesday's pay offer.
First published in The Canberra Times on 12 October 2026 as 'Public servants unhappy with pay, early APS census results show as govt prepares to table its offer'' by Dana Daniel
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