Key findings for 2025

• The weighted median² Base Salary increase across the APS was 4.2%. This reflects a 4.2% increase for non-Senior Executive Service (SES) employees and 4.1% for SES employees.
• The weighted median Total Reward increase was 3.5% for non-SES employees and 4.5% for SES employees.
• The overall difference in average Base Salaries between genders was 4.1%, decreasing from 4.4% in 2024.³
• By classification level, gender pay gaps were minor or non-existent with any differences in male and female Base Salaries generally within a range of +/-0.5%. This suggests that the overall APS gender pay gap stems from an uneven distribution of men and women across the classification structure, rather than unequal pay for comparable work.
• Membership in non-Commonwealth superannuation funds continued to increase moving from 29.7% of employees in 2024 to 33% of employees in 2025. Membership in the Public Sector Superannuation Scheme and Commonwealth Superannuation Scheme, which were closed to new entrants in 2005 and 1990 respectively, continued to decrease.

Influences on non-SES Base Salary increases

• Remuneration movements are affected by a number of factors such as general wage increases, salary progression through pay scales, engagements, promotions, separations and transfers between agencies.
• During the coverage period of this data release, workplace arrangements operated under the Australian Government’s Public Sector Workplace Relations Policy 2023.⁴
• APS agencies paid a 3.8% wage increase from 14 March 2025 consistent with the outcomes of service-wide bargaining through enterprise agreements. This was the second increase under a three-year package that includes a further wage increase in 2026 and ongoing reduction in pay fragmentation across the APS.⁵
• Approximately 70 agencies implemented small increases to minimum and maximum pay ranges to address pay fragmentation. These changes followed an initial 2024 realignment that targeted the largest pay discrepancies. Subsequent 2025 adjustments were much smaller, ranging from just 0.1% to 1%. These incremental changes further aligned agency pay structures with service-wide pay ranges.
• Ongoing non-SES engagements slowed from 29,859 in 2024 to 17,896 in 2025⁶ with the largest decline occurring at the APS 4 level. As new employees typically commence at the bottom of their pay scale, this slowdown - combined with existing staff progressing through pay increments - shifted staff distribution higher up classification pay scales. This change to employee distribution contributed to an increase in the median Base Salary.
• In 2025, non-SES Base Salary growth (4.2%) outpaced Total Reward growth (3.5%). The slower growth in total remuneration followed the cessation of two lump-sum payments made in 2023 and 2024. These payments had compensated non-SES employees for delayed wage increases relating to the transition to a common pay increase date.⁷

Influences on SES Base Salary increases

• The increase in weighted median Base Salary for SES employees was 4.1%. This follows a 7.4% median increase in 2024.
• Base Salary growth in 2025 was underpinned by general wage increases of up to 3.8%, consistent with Government wages policy.
• Over the last decade, SES Base Salary growth typically outpaced non-SES growth. This pattern shifted in 2025, with the increase in the non-SES Base Salary weighted median (4.2%) slightly exceeding the increase for SES (4.1%). This change followed the stagnation of SES vehicle allowance repackaging, which previously contributed to SES Base Salary growth.
• SES employees are typically employed under individual arrangements negotiated directly with their agency. SES performance-based salary progression is available in some agencies, granting additional pay advancement based on performance outcomes. SES employees may also negotiate higher levels of remuneration or adjusted remuneration packages on transfer or promotion to another agency commensurate with the scope of their duties and accountability, further affecting overall median movement.

APS Gender Pay Gap

• The average gender pay gap decreased from 4.4% in 2024 to 4.1% in 2025.
• The gender pay gap continues to be driven primarily by the different representation of females and males across classifications.
• The decrease in the gender pay gap figure across the APS over time is consistent with an increasing proportion of women at APS 6 and above, concurrent with a decreasing proportion of women at APS 5 and below. This change in proportions increases the average female salary, influencing the decline in the gender pay gap figure.
• Table 18 shows the differences between male and female median Base Salaries. Except for the APS 1 and APS 2 classifications, the difference in median Base Salaries between men and women was within a range of +/-0.5%. A negative percentage indicates a higher median Base Salary for women. Women had a slightly higher median Base Salary at the APS 2 and Graduate levels.

Employment Instruments

• A primary employment instrument is a comprehensive arrangement used to set the majority of the terms and conditions for an employee. Employees within the APS have their employment terms and conditions set by one of the following primary employment instruments:
  • Enterprise Agreements
  • Public Service Act determinations (sections 24 (1) and 24 (3))
  • Common law arrangements.
• The proportion of the APS covered by an enterprise agreement remained stable at 98%, encompassing non-SES staff across 102 APS agencies.
• SES employees were covered by individual determinations or common law arrangements.
• Table 15 provides a breakdown by classification of primary employment instrument coverage.

Individual Flexibility Arrangements

• An individual flexibility arrangement (IFA) is a written agreement between an employer and employee. It varies the effect of an enterprise agreement or an award on an individual basis and must result in the employee being better off overall.
• Table 17 provides a breakdown by classification and gender of employees with an IFA. It shows that 2.6% of employees had an IFA in 2025, an increase from 2.2% of employees in 2024. Most employees using these arrangements (81%) were at the EL 1 or EL 2 classification.
• The vast majority of IFAs (94%) were used to provide additional pay and allowances.

Performance Bonuses

• Performance bonuses in the APS are defined as at-risk, variable payments based on performance.
• Commonwealth agencies are expected to limit use of performance bonuses to roles that involve demonstrable at-risk outcomes, like those involving significant investment or public milestones.
• The number of agencies that reported paying performance bonuses decreased from six to five.
• Table 5 provides a breakdown of performance bonuses paid by classification. It shows that 374 APS employees (0.2%) received a performance bonus in 2025, a decrease from 612 (0.3%) in 2024.
• This significant reduction was driven by a decrease in non-SES bonus payments. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Enterprise Agreement 2024 ceased these payments in 2024. The phasing out of modest performance bonus payments in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade shifted the median bonus from $800 in 2024 to $27,224 in 2025.
• The increase in the median reflects a change in the composition of remaining agencies rather than a broad increase in actual bonus values. The 2025 median value was heavily driven by the Future Fund Management Agency, which accounted for 84% of the total number of performance bonuses paid that year, up from 37% in 2024. The Future Fund Management Agency’s remuneration strategy is detailed in its annual report.
• The expectations on agency use of performance bonuses are outlined in the Performance Bonus Guidance - Principles governing performance bonus use in Commonwealth entities and companies.

APS Job Family Model

• The APS Job Family Model groups job roles into related functions performed across the APS. This data is collected by the APSC in Agency submissions to the APS Employment Database.
• The APS Job Family Framework underwent a major structural refresh in late 2025. As a result, the data presented in this release does not align with the groupings published in 2024. More information is available on the APSC website: https://www.apsc.gov.au/initiatives-and-programs/aps-workforce-strategy-2025/workforce-planning-resources/aps-job-family-framework
• As at 31 December 2025, data relating to job families had been provided for 88.7% of employees covered in this data release.
• Table 13 shows the number of employees by APS job family. Service Delivery is the most common category, with the overwhelming majority of these employees engaged at an APS level. This is followed by Compliance and Regulation, then Business and Organisational Management. The largest proportions of EL employees are in Portfolio, Program and Project Management. Almost 90% of SES employees are reported in the Business and Organisational Management job family.

Footnotes

[2] For the purposes of determining whole-of-APS, non-SES and SES median percentage changes, medians of classifications are weighted to account for the number of employees at each classification. These are referred to as weighted medians. A weighted median differs from a median which is the actual midpoint of all values. ↩ Return to text

[3] Both average and median Base Salary are used to examine gender remuneration. The overall gap uses average Base Salary to calculate the gender pay gap for the APS, allowing comparison to the National Gender Pay Gap. Classification-level analysis uses median Base Salary by gender within each classification to assess differences in remuneration for comparable work value. ↩ Return to text

[4] The Public Sector Workplace Relations Policy 2023 was replaced by the Public Sector Workplace Relations Policy 2026 on 3 June 2026. ↩ Return to text

[5] Pay fragmentation refers to the difference in salary ranges between APS agencies for the same classification. It can result in employees earning more or less than other employees at the same classification depending on the agency in which they are employed. ↩ Return to text

[6] These figures are based on data from the APS Employment Database as at 31 December 2025. Trainees have been excluded, as this cohort is not captured in the APS Remuneration Survey. ↩ Return to text

[7] Non-SES employees received a realignment payment and one-off payment to compensate for delayed wage increases during the transition to the common APS pay increase date of 14 March. ↩ Return to text