Hundreds of jobs to be cut from Victoria’s public service

Bureaucrats are facing hundreds of job cuts as the Andrews government scrambles to find money to fix the health crisis and boost its major projects.

Public servants are bracing themselves for big job cuts across departments as the state government scrambles to find money for hospitals and its Big Build infrastructure program.

Staff at the Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions, which until last year’s state election was known as Jobs, Precincts and Regions, are expected to bear the brunt of the cuts which could see up to 300 jobs disappear within months.

The bureaucrats working in areas of the department dealing with trade and investment, small business and sports and recreation are being targeted, a government insider told the Herald Sun.

The source said the government was desperate to find money to fix the health crisis and to deal with the blowouts in costs on major projects.

In December Simon Phemister, who as secretary of the then DJPR, had presided over a big increase in the number of senior executives left the department.

His successor is expected to be given the task of pruning that number.

Shadow Treasurer Brad Rowswell wants a guarantee Victoria’s service delivery will not be affected. Picture: Wayne Taylor

The imminent job cuts which are expected to be followed by larger cuts following May’s budget.

It is understood that efficiency dividends forecast in previous budgets which have already been “banked” by the Department of Treasury can only be met through large scale job cuts.

“The cuts will be deep and long,” a source said.

Another source said staff across government were growing increasingly gloomy their programs would not be renewed, meaning they could be out of a job.

High level meetings are understood to have been held to address potential “shortfalls and disasters”.

The government’s employee expenses remain the state’s largest expense.

The state’s wages bill has almost doubled from $18bn in 2014 to $33bn, representing a one per cent increase as a proportion of GSP.

Victoria’s public servants are bracing themselves for big job cuts. Picture: David Crosling

Last year’s budget forecast the state’s wages bill to grow to $35.3bn by 2025-26.

Victoria’s public sector, as a proportion of the total employed population, is the largest in the country.

A Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions agreed staff were being moved out of the department but denied these were cuts.

“Due to ministerial portfolios moving from the Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions, staff are moving to other departments,” she said.

“There are no job losses as a result of these changes.”

Shadow Treasurer Brad Rowswell called for a guarantee Victoria’s service delivery would not be affected.

“With Victoria’s debt set to exceed that of New South Wales, Queensland and Tasmania combined, Labor has created a massive debt problem. Victorian jobs are being cut because Daniel Andrews has run the state’s bank accounts dry,” he said.

“Every job lost is a wage that could support a family to make ends meet in these tough times, to help pay the mortgage, school fees and rising energy bills.

“The Victorian people deserve an immediate and unqualified assurance that state service delivery will not be affected as a result of Labor’s mismanagement.”