Public Servants Urged to Share Hiring Freeze Impacts

Public sector employees have been blindsided by the SA State Budget 2026 – ’27, delivered on June 4, with the plan to cut 1,000 full-time jobs this financial year. 

Agencies are able to fill one in every two vacancies for ‘non-frontline’, full-time-employment roles in the state’s public sector, with the goal of saving $120 million. 

This could mean public servants are burdened with heavier workloads, reduced support and South Australians are left with fewer public services. 

The Public Service Association (PSA) holds serious concerns about the impact this decision will have on members, public services and the South Australians who rely on them.

Public sector workers are the backbone of essential services. 

They provide housing support to vulnerable South Australians, undertake critical responses to disasters — such as the Algal Bloom — and ensure frontline workers, such as paramedics, firefighters and police officers, have the resources they need to do their jobs. 

This announcement is a headline policy designed to grab public attention and appear financially responsible, without addressing the growing costs of contractors and consultants that cost SA taxpayers $1.4 billion dollars last year. 

The state government is creating a house of cards by substituting permanent and invaluable public sector workers for temporary labour hires — passing the cost and long-term impacts onto taxpayers, with reduced accountability and transparency. 

At the same time, there is no commitment to reduce the ever-growing number of highly paid executives across the public sector. Executive numbers continue to rise, while the workers who deliver government services are expected to carry an ever-increasing workload. 

The PSA is seeking testimony from public servants impacted by the hiring freeze and ongoing monitoring to ensure we capture the impact of any decision not to fill a vacancy as a result of the SA State Budget 2026 – ’27. 

In unity, 

Charlotte Watson 

PSA General Secretary