APS & ACT Government Voluntary Redundancy Rounds: Agency-by-Agency Tracker

As at 17 September 2026, at least 17 federal agencies — including Home Affairs, Education, Social Services, DCCEEW, PM&C and the ABS — plus the ACT Government are running, or have completed, voluntary redundancy rounds. Most headline numbers are expressions of interest, not confirmed exits. The tables below track every round, with sources, updated monthly.

How to read these numbers: 2,000 EOIs is not 2,000 redundancies

Which federal departments are offering voluntary redundancies?

Every federal APS agency with a verified voluntary redundancy round, as reported by the publications linked in each row.

Agencies not listed (for example the ATO, Treasury, DFAT, Veterans’ Affairs and Defence) had no verified voluntary redundancy round in the public record as at 17 September 2026 — absence from this table means no confirmed round, not a confirmed absence.

ACT Government (ACTPS) voluntary redundancies

The ACT Government runs its own schemes under its own enterprise agreements — the rules on severance, decision windows and support differ from the APS. If you work for a directorate, start with our ACT Government redundancy guide.

The whole-of-APS picture

There is no announced whole-of-government redundancy program, timetable or quota. Finance Minister Katy Gallagher has said the APS is roughly the right size, with “ons and offs in different departments” (Canberra Times, 1 May 2026). What is driving the agency-by-agency rounds is a direction for departments to find 5% annual budget savings (Canberra Times, 13 Apr 2026), against an APS average staffing level of 217,256 — up about 3,900 on the prior year (Canberra Times, 5 Jun 2026).

The Parliamentary Budget Office’s July 2026 medium-term outlook projects average staffing falling by around 28,000 to roughly 189,000 by 2029-30, and further to roughly 176,000 by 2036-37 — a budget-balance projection, not an announced policy. The “about 40,000” figure sometimes quoted in political debate is that decade-long projection, not a government plan (Canberra Times, 15 Jul 2026). In short: the reductions are real, agency-led, and mostly voluntary so far — and the finalised numbers are in the hundreds, not the thousands — Home Affairs, the largest round, finished at 679.

Your agency is listed — what now?

This tracker tells you a round exists. It does not tell you whether accepting is a good idea — that depends on your severance and tax position, your super scheme, and what the money needs to do next. Before you respond to an EOI or an offer:

• Federal (APS) employees: start with our guide to voluntary vs involuntary redundancy for Canberra public servants — how genuine redundancy tax treatment works and the decisions that come with an offer.
• Applied and missed out, or thinking of declining? Our guide to retention periods and involuntary redundancy in the APS covers what happens when your EOI goes nowhere — and the clock that starts if you say no.
• Aged 60 or over — or is your 67th birthday in play? Our guide to taking a redundancy at 60, 65 or past Age Pension age covers the tax cliff at 67, the CSS and PSS election windows, and what a payout does to an Age Pension.
• ACT Government employees: the Territory’s rules are not the APS rules. Read the ACT Government redundancy guide before you assume anything you have read about the APS applies to you.
• CSS members over 55: a VR can reopen a door many thought was shut — see CSS 54-11 and the voluntary redundancy window.
• Wondering what 54/11 actually is? Our plain-English 54/11 explainer covers CSC’s definition, the deferred-benefit calculation and who can still use it.
• CSS, PSS and PSSap members generally: your scheme changes what a redundancy means — our financial planning guide for Australian public servants covers the three schemes in detail.

If your agency is on this list and you would like a licensed adviser to look at your specific numbers before you respond, request a call back from Véurr here.

Frequently Asked Questions