A group of public servants vying for union leadership roles are pushing back against the Victorian government’s mooted public sector job cuts with a cost-saving plan of their own, calling instead for reductions in “executive bloat”, halving consultant spending and reducing office space.
The group, known as the Voice for Members (AVFM), on Tuesday released an 89-page report, dubbed the Gold Review – a nod to the government’s review into the Victorian public service (VPS) led by Helen Silver – outlining $13bn in cost-saving and revenue-generating measures.
The report argues that large-scale job losses can be avoided in part by “culling” 450 executive-level roles, which they estimate would save $123m in the 2025–26 financial year and $530.1m over the forward estimates to 2029–30.
The report said the number of senior executives at the VPS had “spiralled out of control”, growing from 647 in 2014 to 1,887 in 2024. Over the same period, median executive salaries rose from $190,000 to $269,426 annually.
It also recommends halving consultant use, which it says would save $134.9m in 2025–26 and $584.7m by 2029–30, and consolidating government office space, citing the move to hybrid work. The move would save $100m in 2025–26 and $430.9m over the forward estimates.
In addition, it calls for an end to fossil fuel subsidies and switching all government banking to a public option, saving $282.1m over the forward estimates.
To raise revenue, the group proposes introducing a new 0.05% levy on major banks operating in Victoria, which would generate $6.13bn over the forward estimates, and increasing the online betting tax from 15% to 20%, raising $800.6m by 2029–30.
Resourcing the State Revenue Office more efficiently to collect existing taxes would also generate $415.6m in 2025–26 and $1.85bn over the forward estimates.
The AVFM claims its plan would deliver up to five times the savings expected from the Silver review, which was announced by Jacyln Symes just months after she became treasurer.
Symes has said the review aims to reduce duplication and return the VPS to its pre-pandemic size, with anticipated workforce cuts of between 5% and 6% – roughly 2,000 to 3,000 jobs. Frontline roles won’t be affected.
In her budget last month, she announced $3.3bn in savings from cutting 1,200 jobs, with more expected following Silver’s recommendations, due on 30 June.
The Gold Review, however, said the VPS as a proportion of the public sector was “now smaller than its pre-pandemic size”. While it made up 17% of public sector employment in 2021, it was now 14.98%, which is also lower than 15.72% in 2019.
They also argue that every dollar cut from the public service may yield only 60 cents in “real savings”, once costs from redundancies, increased consultant use and impacts on frontline services are considered.
AVFM candidates are running for leadership roles in the Community and Public Sector Union’s Victorian branch. For the first time in many years, all positions are being contested, including state secretary, a role Karen Batt has held for more than 30 years.
Mitch Vandewerdt-Holman, the AVFM candidate for assistant secretary, said the report was complied by a group of public servants over six weeks using public data and “in their own time”.
“On weekends, weeknights – some people took a little bit of annual leave,” he said.
It would be a “sample of the work” the group would do if elected to convince the government to take a different approach, Vandewerdt-Holman said.
“There are alternatives to public job cuts, and our plan actually achieves what the government’s setting out to do in a much better way that doesn’t cut jobs, that doesn’t make people unemployed.”
During a budget estimates hearings on Tuesday, Symes said the $3.3bn in public sector savings contained in the budget included measures beyond job cuts, such as “corporate savings” and ending “lapsing programs”.
She also confirmed executive roles were within the “scope” of the Silver review, and that reducing the size of the public service should not result in an increased reliance on consultants.
“This is not about outsourcing the public service. This is about efficiency, consolidation and best practice,” Symes said.
Ballots for the CPSU election will be sent out on 10 June and must be returned by 8 July.
