Australian Public Service (APS) agencies are grouped into categories or ‘functional clusters’ to allow comparisons to be made between agencies with similar primary functions. The five functional clusters applied to APS agencies are as follows:
- Policy: organisations involved in the development of public policy.
- Smaller operational: organisations with less than 1,000 employees involved in the implementation of public policy.
- Larger operational: organisations with 1,000 employees or more involved in the implementation of public policy.
- Regulatory: organisations involved in regulation and inspection.
- Specialist: organisations providing specialist support to government.
Micro Agency (Less than 20 employees)
| Agency | Function |
|---|---|
| Asbestos Safety and Eradication Agency | Policy |
| Australian Law Reform Commission | Specialist |
| Climate Change Authority | Specialist |
| National Mental Health Commission | Specialist |
| Office of the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security | Specialist |
| Professional Services Review Scheme | Specialist |
| Screen Australia | Specialist |
Extra Small Agency (20-100 employees)
| Agency | Function |
|---|---|
| Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research | Specialist |
| Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity | Specialist |
| Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care | Specialist |
| Australian Institute of Family Studies | Specialist |
| Australian Office of Financial Management | Specialist |
| Cancer Australia | Specialist |
| Commonwealth Grants Commission | Specialist |
| Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority | Specialist |
| Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House | Specialist |
| National Blood Authority | Specialist |
| National Capital Authority | Specialist |
| National Health Funding Body | Specialist |
| National Portrait Gallery of Australia | Specialist |
| Office of the Australian Information Commissioner | Regulatory |
| Office of the Inspector-General of Taxation | Specialist |
| Organ and Tissue Authority | Specialist |
| Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency | Regulatory |
| Workplace Gender Equality Agency | Specialist |
Small Agency (101-250 employees)
| Agency | Function |
|---|---|
| Australian Aged Care Quality Agency | Regulatory |
| Australian Building and Construction Commission | Regulatory |
| Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission | Regulatory |
| Australian Fisheries Management Authority | Regulatory |
| Australian Human Rights Commission | Specialist |
| Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies | Specialist |
| Australian National Maritime Museum | Specialist |
| Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority | Regulatory |
| Australian Public Service Commission | Policy |
| Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency | Specialist |
| Australian Research Council | Specialist |
| Australian Skills Quality Authority | Regulatory |
| Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority | Regulatory |
| Australian Transport Safety Bureau | Smaller operational |
| Digital Transformation Agency | Smaller Operational |
| Food Standards Australia New Zealand | Regulatory |
| Future Fund Management Agency | Specialist |
| Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority | Specialist |
| National Film and Sound Archive of Australia | Specialist |
| National Health and Medical Research Council | Specialist |
| National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority | Regulatory |
| Office of National Assessments | Specialist |
| Office of Parliamentary Counsel | Specialist |
| Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman | Specialist |
| Productivity Commission | Specialist |
| Royal Australian Mint | Specialist |
| Safe Work Australia | Policy |
| Torres Strait Regional Authority | Specialist |
Medium Agency (251-1000 employees)
| Agency | Function |
|---|---|
| Aboriginal Hostels Limited | Smaller operational |
| Administrative Appeals Tribunal | Smaller operational |
| Australian Communications and Media Authority | Regulatory |
| Australian Competition and Consumer Commission | Regulatory |
| Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission | Specialist |
| Australian Electoral Commission | Smaller operational |
| Australian Financial Security Authority | Smaller operational |
| Australian Institute of Health and Welfare | Specialist |
| Australian National Audit Office | Specialist |
| Australian Sports Commission | Smaller operational |
| Australian Trade and Investment Commission | Specialist |
| Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre | Regulatory |
| Australian War Memorial | Specialist |
| Clean Energy Regulator | Regulatory |
| Comcare | Smaller operational |
| Defence Housing Australia | Smaller operational |
| Department of Communications and the Arts | Policy |
| Department of Parliamentary Services | Specialist |
| Department of the Treasury | Policy |
| Fair Work Commission | Smaller operational |
| Geoscience Australia | Specialist |
| Murray-Darling Basin Authority | Policy |
| National Archives of Australia | Specialist |
| National Library of Australia | Specialist |
| National Museum of Australia | Specialist |
| Office of the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions | Smaller Operational |
| Office of the Fair Work Ombudsman | Regulatory |
Large Agency (1001-10,000 employees)
| Agency | Function |
|---|---|
| Attorney-General’s Department | Policy |
| Australian Bureau of Statistics | Specialist |
| Australian Securities and Investments Commission | Regulatory |
| Bureau of Meteorology | Larger operational |
| Department of Agriculture and Water Resources | Larger operational |
| Department of Education and Training | Policy |
| Department of the Environment and Energy | Policy |
| Department of Finance | Policy |
| Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade | Policy |
| Department of Health | Policy |
| Department of Industry, Innovation and Science | Policy |
| Department of Infrastructure, Regional Development and Cities | Policy |
| Department of Jobs and Small Business | Policy |
| Department of Social Services | Policy |
| Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet | Policy |
| Department of Veterans’ Affairs | Larger operational |
| Federal Court of Australia | Larger operational |
| IP Australia | Larger operational |
| National Disability Insurance Agency | Larger operational |
Extra Large Agency (More than 10,000 employees)
| Agency | Function |
|---|---|
| Australian Taxation Office | Larger operational |
| Department of Defence | Larger operational |
| Department of Home Affairs | Larger operational |
| Department of Human Services | Larger operational |