Annual Report 2004-05

Workforce Overview

Staffing by Average Strength

Civilian Reduction Program

A programmed reduction in civilian staffing numbers was implemented in 2003-04 as part of the $200m per annum Program of Administrative Savings. Together with the outsourcing of the Defence warehousing function, this program was designed to yield a reduction of 1,428 full-time equivalent average positions by the end of 2005-06, including 638 for the outsourced contract.

Due to delays in outsourcing the warehousing function and the requirement to fund an additional 180 project management, intelligence, air traffic controller and information technology positions, Defence was not able to achieve the run down in staffing numbers as quickly as envisaged in the original plan. Also, since establishing the savings baseline in the 2003-04 budget, increases to the civilian staffing baseline have been approved for:

• a number of new budget measures approved by the Government for which additional funding and staffing cover was provided, or which Defence was required to absorb; and
• the replacement of Professional Service Provider positions with more cost effective civilian staff (these positions are offset by corresponding reductions in the Professional Service Provider workforce).

As a consequence of these changes, the adjusted civilian staffing target for 2004-05 was 17,971. In summary, Defence was some 217 positions below its adjusted savings targets as shown in Table 3.4.

Note

1. In order to provide more clarity, the presentation of the civilian savings program baseline differ from that published in the Portfolio Budget Statements of 2004-05 (Table 5.3, p. 207) to clearly identify the savings targets.