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Coalition abandons ‘end’ to work from home, walks back 41,000 job cuts

A Coalition demand for “all” public servants to return to the office has been abandoned, and the party has beat a major retreat on its promise to slash 41,000 Commonwealth jobs.

The Coalition has committed the about-face one week into the federal election campaign, after its promise to end work from home arrangements in the public service landed with a thud among voters.

The Coalition now says it will not change current flexible working arrangements, including work from home policies.

It is a reversal of shadow finance minister Jane Hume’s initial demand that “it will be an expectation of a Dutton Liberal government that all members of the APS work from the office five days a week”, and a further retreat from Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s comments just days ago that return to office orders would only apply to public servants in Canberra.

“We have listened, and understand that flexible work, including work from home, is part of getting the best out of any workforce,” Senator Hume said in a statement.

“We need the best from our public servants, and that is why there will be no change to flexible working arrangements or working from home arrangements for the public service under a Coalition government.”

No ‘forced redundancies’ to achieve 41,000 APS job cuts
The Coalition has also promised not to slash 41,000 workers through forced redundancies — instead, it will attempt to achieve that reduction over five years through a hiring freeze and natural attrition.

The military and army reserves will be exempted from the freeze, and frontline and national security positions will be preserved.

The shift could put a hole in the opposition’s funding plans, since the Coalition had previously said it would use the estimated $24 billion in savings to help pay for more than $8 billion in health spending and other commitments.

The Coalition says it remains committed to ending Labor’s “wasteful spending and largesse”, such as an $870,000 spend on five pieces of art for an overseas embassy, or a $450,000 spend over two years on Welcome to Country ceremonies in Commonwealth departments.

The previous Coalition government instituted a hiring freeze on the APS in order to limit taxpayer spending.

But it was ultimately found to have caused a costly ballooning in private consultants to fill gaps in demand in the APS.

This time, the Coalition will only look to external advice where expertise is temporarily required, or on a project basis, and where it is more cost-effective.

Backflip neutralises Labor efforts to link Dutton to Musk’s DOGE
Labor has relentlessly attacked the Coalition policy since it was announced, saying it punishes mothers and has echoes of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency in the United States, which has undergone a slash and burn campaign through US departments since President Donald Trump’s inauguration.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers had mocked the opposition leader as “DOGE-y Dutton” in response to his promise to slash 41,000 Commonwealth jobs,

Overnight, Labor released its own analysis examining the impact of limiting flexible working arrangements for women.

It argued that families where women were forced back into job sharing and had to reduce their hours to the equivalent of three days a week would be as much as $740 a week worse off in their gross pay packet, on average.

That analysis assumed women who were currently working full time — but on a flexible basis where two days were from home — had to ditch those days once they were forced into the office.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the ability to work from home suited many families.

“Many parents work full-time, while making time for family. And with cost-of-living pressures, many families can’t afford it any other way,” he said.

“Peter Dutton and the Coalition want to end that flexibility, and it would have real consequences for Australian families.

“When Peter Dutton cuts, you pay.”

Labor had planned to pursue the issue throughout the campaign as one that would resonate with women in particular, however the Coalition has now sought to neutralise the attack by backing down on its push to limit work from home arrangements.

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