Peter Dutton to cut 40,000 jobs from public service in DOGE-style efficiency move

Peter Dutton’s Elon Musk-style efficiency pledge will put thousands of Australian public servants in the Coalition’s firing line.

Peter Dutton has promised to gut thousands of public servants from the federal payroll as the workforce clamours for a hint at who could end up in the Coalition’s firing line.

The Coalition’s target dramatically increased after Tuesday’s budget papers revealed an extra 3400 workers would be hired by the Albanese government this year, adding to the 41,411 roles created since Labor came to power in 2022.

“We’ve been clear about this from day one. We want efficiency in the public service and putting on public servants at three times the rate that the Rudd-Gillard government did … I just can’t find an Australian who says that they’re getting a better service out of Canberra,” the Opposition Leader told ABC Breakfast on Wednesday.

Peter Dutton said the Coalition’s goal of firing 36,000 workers had increased by 4000 after Tuesday’s budget. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

He was later asked if about 40,000 jobs were his target to cut if elected, to which he responded: “That’s exactly right.”

If elected, the Coalition aims to slash the federal wage bill that clocks in at more than $35bn.

“Growing by 40,000 the number of public servants in Canberra is not going to help families put food on their table or deliver the services that they need as a family or as a pensioner,” Mr Dutton said.

Details remain vague regarding the exact departments that could be gutted by a Coalition government.

Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency gutted several American federal departments earlier this year. Picture: Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok

In early March, Mr Dutton denied he would axe “frontline positions”, including those in the Department of Veteran Affairs (DVA).

The DVA has grown under Labor following a royal commission into defence and veteran suicide that resulted in key recommendations to improve its services and clear backlogs.

However, Coalition frontbencher Jane Hume questioned the need for DVA staff to be permanent in a Wednesday interview on Sky News.

“If it’s a backlog and you’re clearing it, why do they need to be permanent staff?” Senator Hume said.

Other potential departments under fire are health and education. Earlier this month, Mr Dutton noted the country had health and education “departments” but not the responsibility to “own” schools or “run” hospitals.

“We have a health department and an education department – the Commonwealth government doesn’t own a school, we don’t run a hospital, we don’t employ a doctor or nurse or a teacher,” he said.

Shadow treasurer Angus Taylor said customer service in the Australian public service system had ‘gone backwards’. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Shadow treasurer Angus Taylor told ABC Insiders that any culling of public servants “shouldn’t be in areas of frontline services. It should be in the back-office areas.”

“The size of the public service has grown, customer service has gone backwards. I mean, we’ve seen bulk-billing rates fall from 88 per cent to 77 per cent despite a 40 per cent increase in the size of the Department of Health. This is not working.”

The Coalition’s move follows an American government initiative, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

The newly created department was implemented by US President Donald Trump in 2025. It has made global headlines for gutting thousands of workers from the federal workforce and being led by businessman-turned-political-adviser Elon Musk.

Originally published as Peter Dutton to cut 40,000 jobs from public service in DOGE-style efficiency move