Key findings for 2024

• The weighted[2] median Base Salary increase across the APS was 3.8%. This reflects a weighted median increase of 3.8% for non-Senior Executive Service (SES) employees and 7.4% for SES employees. The disparity in median non-SES and SES median movement in 2024 was significantly influenced by the deferral of SES wage increases originally scheduled for 2023.
• The weighted median Total Reward increase was 4% for non-SES employees and 5.8% for SES employees.
• The difference in overall average remuneration between genders was 4.4%, decreasing from 4.5% in 2023. On a classification by classification basis there were only small differences between male and female average Base Salaries. Most differences were less than 1%.[3]
• On a classification by classification basis there is a small or no gender pay gap. This suggests that the overall APS gender pay gap is not due to unequal pay for comparable work, but rather the distribution of females and males across the classification structure. Refer to data table 18 for a breakdown of female and male median Base Salary by classification.
• Membership in non-Commonwealth superannuation funds increased to 29.7% of employees, up from 25.7% of employees in 2023. 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 report, workplace arrangements operated under the Australian Government’s Public Sector Workplace Relations Policy 2023.
• APS agencies paid a 4% wage increase from 14 March 2024 consistent with the outcomes of service wide bargaining through new enterprise agreements (or other workplace arrangements). This formed part of a three year package that included further wage increases in subsequent years and a reduction in pay fragmentation across the APS.[4]
• As a first step in reducing pay fragmentation, 35 agencies implemented new negotiated service-wide minimum salary ranges within an enterprise agreement. To achieve this minimum, lower paid employees received additional wage increases ranging from 0.1% to 11.2% on commencement of the agreement.
• During 2024, non-SES employees also received two lump sum payments to compensate for delayed wage increases related to the transition to the common pay increase date of 14 March 2024. Employees received a one-off payment of 0.92% of Base Salary and, in 19 agencies, a realignment payment of between 0.24% and 0.88% of Base Salary. These payments were not incorporated into Base Salary but increased employees’ Total Remuneration Package.
• From 2023 to 2024, ongoing non-SES engagements increased by 15%, adding an additional 29,778 new employees.[5] Newly engaged and promoted employees in non-SES roles tend to commence on salaries at the lower end of their pay scale. This change to employee distribution across pay scales, particularly at the APS 4 level, is likely to have lowered the median relative to overall remuneration increases.

Influences on SES Base Salary increases 

• A combination of factors drove the 7.4% SES weighted median Base Salary increase.
• The trend of repackaging motor vehicle related allowances into SES Base Salaries continued in 2024. This led to larger SES Base Salary increases for around 13% of SES employees and a decrease in the proportion of SES employees paid a motor vehicle related allowance (from 18.9% in 2023 to 4.4% in 2024). The repackaging of motor vehicle related allowances is consistent with the slower growth of SES Total Remuneration Package and Total Reward compared to SES Base Salary increases.
• A substantial proportion of SES employees also received two wage adjustments in 2024, related to an increase deferred from 2023 and a scheduled pay increase in 2024. In addition, some agencies paid SES employees a payment to realign the SES pay cycle with the common pay increase date of 14 March 2024. This contrasts with 2023, when a large number of SES employees did not receive any wage increase.
• SES employees are typically employed under individual arrangements negotiated directly with their agency. SES performance based salary progression is available in some agencies allowing employees to receive additional pay based on their performance. SES employees may also negotiate, or be offered, higher levels of remuneration or a different remuneration package on transfer or promotion to another agency. These factors are likely to be a further driver of the 7.4% SES median Base Salary increase.
• SES Base Salary movement since 2020 has generally been higher than non-SES movement. The year 2020 was an exception due to the suspension of SES wage increases (until June 2021) in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

APS Gender Pay Gap 

• The gender pay gap continues to be driven primarily by the different representation of males and females across classifications.
• The difference in average Base Salary between genders continued to decline, albeit at a lower rate. In 2024, the difference was 4.4%, compared with 4.5% in 2023.
• In 2024 a higher proportion of women were engaged in lower classifications compared to men. This likely contributed to the slower decline in the gender pay gap for 2024.
• 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. For 9 of the 12 classifications the difference in median Base Salaries between men and women was within a range of +/-0.5%. A negative percentage value indicates that females in this classification received a higher median Base Salary. In 2024 there were 3 classifications in which women were paid more than men.

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.
• Almost all APS agencies put in place a new enterprise agreement in 2024. As a result the proportion of APS employees covered by an enterprise agreement increased from 77% in 2023 to 98% in 2024.
• Table 15 provides a breakdown by classification of primary employment instrument coverage.

Individual Flexibility Arrangements

• An individual flexibility arrangement 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 individual flexibility arrangement. It shows that 2.2% of employees had an IFA in 2024, a decrease from 2.9% of employees in 2023. Most employees using these arrangements (83%) were at the EL 1 or EL 2 classification.

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 these bonuses to roles that involve demonstrable at-risk performance outcomes, like those involving significant investment or public milestones.
• Table 5 provides a breakdown of performance bonuses paid by classification in 2024. It shows 0.3% of APS employees received a performance bonus in 2024.
• The median performance bonus paid in 2024 was $800, a decrease from $1,000 in 2023. The decrease is due to fewer higher value bonuses resulting from a reduction in SES recipients, two agencies removing a performance bonus provision from an enterprise agreement and one agency, previously reporting performance bonuses, reporting none.
• The expectations on agency use of performance bonuses is 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 within the APS. Job family data is collected by the APSC and collated in the APS Employment Database.
• As at 31 December 2024, data relating to job families had been provided for 84.3% of employees covered in this report. More information about the APS Job Family Model can be found on the APSC website: https://www.apsc.gov.au/initiatives-and-programs/aps-workforce-strategy-2025/workforce-planning-resources/aps-job-family-framework.
• Table 13 shows the number of employees by APS job family. Service Delivery is the most common job family, with the overwhelming majority of employees in this job family engaged at an APS level. This is followed by Compliance and Regulation then Portfolio, Program and Project Management and Administration. The largest proportions of EL employees are in the Policy and Portfolio, Program and Project Management job families. SES employees reside almost exclusively within the Senior Executive job family.