Labor's $11.1 Billion Budget Lie Confirmed

Media Release

14 February 2025

Labor’s $11.1 billion black hole has been confirmed in a costing released by the independent Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) today. 

The publication of this costing comes only days after both Senator Wong and Senator Ayres, failed to clarify how the Government would pay for the cost of its bloated bureaucracy.  

Minister for Finance and the Public Service Katy Gallagher has repeatedly committed to maintaining the size of the Australian public service, which has expanded by 20%, or 36,000 people, since Labor came to office less than three years ago. 

However, the PBO’s analysis shows that Labor’s Budget assumes that the public service will decrease by more than 20,000 in over four years from 1 July 2025 compared to the current level of 209,150. The cost of retaining the public service at its current level, as Labor proposes, would cost the Budget an additional $11.1 billion over the four years from 1 July 2025.

Shadow Minister for Finance and the Public Service, Senator Jane Hume said Labor has lied about the state of its Budget. 

“Labor needs to come clean about how they are going to pay for this $11 billion black hole or why they were using dodgy assumptions to improve their books.

“Minister Gallagher has repeatedly claimed she wants more honesty in the Budget - but she is guilty of an $11 billion deception that Australians will pay for.

“Senator Gallagher's statements about maintaining the size of the public service are wildly different to what her Budget says. 

“These numbers must be corrected in the March Budget, or the Pre-Election Economic and Fiscal Outlook, to show the true cost of Labor’s bloated public service.

“Australians deserve to know why Labor’s budget doesn’t account for their bureaucrat binge and how Minister Gallagher is going to find $11b to pay for them.”

The PBO costing is available here.