Workforce composition over time
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Most of the full-time employee (FTE) roles increase occurred in the health sector. Between March 2022 and March 2026, the sector grew by 37,808.33 FTE, with the health sector accounting for 53.3% of this increase. This reflects the need for healthcare services, particularly in response to population growth.
The education sector has also grown, with more teaching and support staff hired to meet the rising number of students across the state. However, while the size of the education workforce has increased, its proportion of the total public sector workforce has decreased. This is because other areas of the public sector, such as infrastructure development, public safety and community services, have increased at a faster rate to support critical functions.
| Sector type | Mar 2022 | Mar 2023 | Mar 2024 | Mar 2025 | Mar 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Education workforce | 79,444.35 | 80,155.42 | 80,669.08 | 81,706.71 | 83,578.30 |
| Health workforce | 99,482.68 | 101,037.28 | 107,583.58 | 114,766.48 | 119,633.40 |
| Rest of sector | 62,841.84 | 65,116.70 | 69,759.47 | 74,410.52 | 76,365.50 |
Source: MOHRI 2022–2026
The composition of the workforce has shifted over time, with key frontline roles, those that are critical or essential in a community, accounting for 51.7% of the five-year growth. A further 36.1% of the growth is attributed to other frontline and frontline support roles, which provide essential support enabling the development and delivery of frontline services. Corporate roles, providing organisation-wide support to the public sector, represented 12.2% of the growth.
Workforce size by agency
The following table provides a comparison of FTE role numbers for each Budget Paper 2 (BP2) agency between March 2022 and March 2026. This data highlights the distribution of the workforce across the Queensland public sector.
| Agency | Mar 2022 | Mar 2023 | Mar 2024 | Mar 2025 | Mar 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Department of Customer Services Open Data and Small and Family Business | 2,003.96 | 3,258.03 | |||
| Department of Education | 75,219.69 | 75,821.99 | 76,228.04 | 77,340.24 | 79,353.26 |
| Department of Families Seniors Disability Services and Child Safety | 5,509.51 | 5,774.49 | |||
| Department of Housing and Public Works | 4,104.02 | 4,442.66 | |||
| Department of Justice | 4,531.67 | 4,628.90 | |||
| Department of Local Government Water and Volunteers | 948.98 | 824.17 | |||
| Department of Natural Resources and Mines Manufacturing and Regional and Rural Development | 1,513.89 | 1,467.73 | |||
| Department of Primary Industries | 2,462.43 | 2,613.81 | |||
| Department of Sport Racing and Olympic and Paralympic Games | 439.18 | 370.30 | |||
| Department of State Development Infrastructure and Planning | 1,804.72 | 1,903.46 | |||
| Department of the Environment Tourism Science and Innovation | 3,042.30 | 3,047.65 | |||
| Department of the Premier and Cabinet | 412.86 | 475.75 | 460.74 | 514.30 | 552.37 |
| Department of Trade Employment and Training | 537.23 | 526.19 | |||
| Department of Transport and Main Roads | 7,414.92 | 7,672.64 | 9,668.72 | 8,101.85 | 6,573.42 |
| Department of Women Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships and Multiculturalism | 388.92 | 346.06 | |||
| Department of Youth Justice and Victim Support | 2,379.10 | 2,513.73 | |||
| Electoral Commission Queensland | 63.83 | 73.35 | 91.37 | 77.02 | 83.55 |
| Office of the Inspector-General of Emergency Management | 17.05 | 21.25 | 19.90 | 17.25 | 20.84 |
| Public Sector Commission | 64.36 | 82.73 | 92.98 | 67.02 | |
| Public Trustee | 561.60 | 586.44 | 599.33 | 623.72 | 607.83 |
| Queensland Corrective Services | 6,467.65 | 6,608.94 | 7,129.74 | 8,104.23 | 8,614.36 |
| Queensland Fire Department | 4,150.87 | 4,242.80 | |||
| Queensland Health | 99,482.68 | 101,032.28 | 107,577.58 | 114,757.48 | 119,624.56 |
| Queensland Police Service | 16,506.39 | 16,619.92 | 17,535.98 | 18,583.95 | 19,131.64 |
| Queensland Treasury | 1,153.10 | 1,307.66 | 1,413.66 | 1,853.05 | 1,876.95 |
| TAFE Queensland | 4,219.66 | 4,329.83 | 4,439.24 | 4,362.52 | 4,220.24 |
| Department of Agriculture and Fisheries | 2,040.05 | 2,091.22 | 2,148.74 | ||
| Department of Child Safety Seniors and Disability Services | 5,342.36 | ||||
| Department of Children Youth Justice and Multicultural Affairs | 5,094.49 | 5,298.20 | |||
| Department of Communities Housing and Digital Economy | 3,322.22 | 3,416.86 | |||
| Department of Employment Small Business and Training | 565.54 | 583.14 | 614.36 | ||
| Department of Energy and Climate | 418.74 | ||||
| Department of Energy and Public Works | 2,069.98 | 2,190.34 | |||
| Department of Environment and Science | 2,724.64 | 2,924.38 | |||
| Department of Environment Science and Innovation | 2,913.74 | ||||
| Department of Housing Local Government Planning and Public Works | 3,735.04 | ||||
| Department of Justice and Attorney-General | 3,467.23 | 3,681.86 | 4,071.62 | ||
| Department of Regional Development Manufacturing and Water | 555.97 | 635.65 | 709.86 | ||
| Department of Resources | 1,358.65 | 1,380.14 | 1,466.43 | ||
| Department of Seniors Disability Services and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships | 1,818.24 | 1,808.30 | |||
| Department of State Development and Infrastructure | 1,710.38 | ||||
| Department of State Development Infrastructure Local Government and Planning | 914.77 | 1,011.44 | |||
| Department of Tourism and Sport | 440.37 | ||||
| Department of Tourism Innovation and Sport | 426.49 | 472.54 | |||
| Department of Treaty Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships Communities and the Arts | 710.90 | ||||
| Department of Youth Justice | 1,951.03 | ||||
| Public Service Commission | 63.00 | ||||
| Queensland Audit Office | 192.08 | 185.22 | 197.86 | ||
| Queensland Fire and Emergency Services | 3,607.42 | 3,766.69 | 3,954.82 | ||
| Sector sub-total: Budget paper 2 (BP2) agencies | 239,740.20 | 244,060.39 | 255,633.28 | 268,245.37 | 276,686.02 |
| Economic Development Queensland | 172.08 | 180.73 | |||
| Legal Aid Queensland | 565.65 | 615.50 | 691.81 | 760.71 | 815.82 |
| Office of the Health Ombudsman | 118.51 | 129.50 | 138.12 | 153.50 | 163.00 |
| Office of the Queensland Integrity Commissioner | 15.50 | 16.08 | |||
| Queensland Academy of Sport | 117.09 | ||||
| Queensland Art Gallery | 266.17 | 316.33 | 320.80 | 277.11 | 301.41 |
| Queensland Family and Child Commission | 63.62 | 55.24 | 58.77 | 66.56 | 83.94 |
| Queensland Human Rights Commission | 44.10 | 60.34 | 60.46 | 57.44 | 68.79 |
| Queensland Museum | 266.83 | 278.16 | 274.24 | 278.65 | 263.37 |
| Queensland Pharmacy Business Ownership Council | 12.00 | ||||
| Resources Safety and Health Queensland | 315.84 | 341.43 | 355.78 | 359.83 | 387.29 |
| State Library of Queensland | 265.23 | 294.16 | 293.94 | 305.40 | 293.60 |
| Trade and Investment Queensland | 114.72 | 143.84 | 171.13 | 167.71 | 168.42 |
| Sector sub-total: Other entities | 2,020.67 | 2,234.50 | 2,365.05 | 2,614.49 | 2,871.54 |
| Norfolk Island Taskforce | 8.00 | 14.60 | 13.80 | 23.85 | 19.64 |
| Sub-total | 8.00 | 14.60 | 13.80 | 23.85 | 19.64 |
| Whole-of-sector total | 241,768.87 | 246,309.49 | 258,012.13 | 270,883.71 | 279,577.20 |
Source: MOHRI 2022–2026.
Table reference (footnote): Agencies shaded are those that are not currently in operation. Those with blank cells prior to March 2025 are agencies established following or affected by a Machinery of Government (MoG) change
Agencies can be affected by MoG changes even when a name change does not occur. For instance, the Department of Transport and Main Roads retained its name, but MoG adjustments significantly altered its staff numbers by adding the Digital Economy portfolio in 2023 and removing it in 2024. Similarly, the Queensland Police Service kept its name while absorbing State Emergency Service Queensland and Marine Rescue Queensland during the Disaster and Emergency Services Reform.