Photo: Unsplash / RNZ
National campaigned on slashing "back-office expenditure" as part of its "Back Pocket Boost" tax plan. Finance Minister Nicola Willis asked public service departments to identify savings options of either 6.5 or 7.5 percent. (Departments that had grown by more than 50 percent since 2017 were allocated the higher percentage.)
At Budget 2024, the government said it has met its baseline savings target of $1.5 billion average operating savings per year.
Have you been affected by job cuts in the public sector? Contact hamish.cardwell@rnz.co.nz.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said savings "across the public sector" were being reinvested in frontline services and tax reductions.
Ministries and agencies have been announcing job cuts. Beyond those core departments, other public sector agencies have made cuts despite not being directed to by the Finance Minister. Some cite tough economic times.
For example, Crown entities such as WorkSafe and Callaghan Innovation have made cuts, along with Crown research institute NIWA.
RNZ is keeping track of the job losses, and is counting roles going across the wider public sector.
Not all cuts are the result of government savings requirements: some are projects that are no longer going ahead under the coalition government, and others are vacancies that are no longer being filled.
At the Public Service Commission’s annual review on 2 November, Heather Baggot said meeting the Government’s savings targets had removed 2250 roles and closed 1150 vacancies, with more roles dropped due to programmes ending or identified efficiencies.
She said there had been 865 redundancies this financial year (as of 30 June), about half of which were voluntary – with that number likely to increase when new data comes out next week.
Public Service Minister Nicola Willis said that the smaller number of job losses compared to counts by the media was because about a third of those tallies were from unfilled vacancies.
She said many government agencies were holding vacancies open and using the funds intended for those roles for other purposes and her Government has stopped that practice.
Public Service Commission workforce statistics showed a 34 percent increase in headcount from June, 2017 to June, 2024.
It was increasing about 5 percent a year from 2017 to 2022. But in the year from June 2023 it rose 0.7 percent.
At the end of June 2024, there were 63,537 full-time equivalent staff - up slightly on a year prior, but down from 65,699 in December 2023.
Note, these numbers refer only to the public service, not the broader range of organisations comprising the public sector.
About half (44.5 percent) of public servant roles, or 28,000 full time roles, are in the Wellington region.
Here's what we know about the job cuts.
Ministry of Social Development (employs 9482 staff)
In April, MSD accepted voluntary redundancy requests from 217 people.
It then ran change processes across four business groups which was proposed in May, confirmed in June, and completed in September.
That resulted in a net reduction of 86 full time jobs, with final outcomes still being determined for an additional 7 people. Otherwise, its change process is complete.
Outside of those change processes there has been reduction of 638 full time roles since December 2023 due to attrition, holding vacancies, and fixed term contracts ending.
Ministry of Education (employs 4509 staff as of December 2023)
The Ministry of Education has proposed to cut a total of 755 positions, of which 316 are vacant. The cuts include nearly 100 regional and frontline roles directly supporting schools.
The PSA said on 21 May it understood the ministry had confirmed at least 605 of those cuts. And on 11 June, RNZ reported a further 119 roles going in the ministry's digital division.
The Ministry said it was still working through its change process, and it would proactively release the final decision documents once the change process is completed around early December.
Department of Internal Affairs (employed 2824 staff)
672 roles have gone at DIA.
The biggest tranche were the 400 staff working on the previous government's national water reform, with the final few leaving in June.
On 13 April, DIA announced eight roles were being cut at the National Library, 20 in the Māori Strategy and Performance team and another 18 roles in the department's legal and communications teams, as well as the enterprise portfolio management office.
On 22 April, it signalled another 59 roles (including teams working with child exploitation, money laundering and counter-terrorism) were to go - but 42 were already vacant.
That became 66 roles on 1 May when organisational capability and services, the government Chief Privacy Office and six other roles related to information security were added in.
Then, on 19 June, DIA confirmed 75 roles were to be axed in its Regulation and Policy Branch, of which 40 were currently vacant.
Here's a breakdown of what roles that includes.
On 30 October, DIA announced changes to its senior leadership team which saw 17 further jobs gone.
It has indicated there could be further cuts in 2025.
Kāinga Ora (employed almost 3300 staff as of April 2023)
A total of 540 jobs have gone at Kāinga Ora, across a range of teams.
That included merging its urban planning, housing delivery and construction teams into one, given the agency is slowing down the number of homes it's building under the coalition government.
It had also planned to halve the team set up to meet Māori housing needs and fulfil Treaty of Waitangi obligations.
Health New Zealand (estimated workforce 90,000 as of July 2023)
About 2000 jobs are already gone or proposed to go at Health New Zealand, according to RNZ’s count.
That includes more than 500 redundancies confirmed by HNZ, as well as about 1500 other roles in data and digital and the national public health service. (HNZ disputes the PSA's figures on potential losses in the public health department but the union stands by its numbers).
It comes after previous proposed cuts announced in a number of teams including in commissioning, speciality services, as well as in senior leadership and the Maori health director and chief advisor.
Oranga Tamariki (employs 5100 staff)
On 26 June, Oranga Tamariki confirmed 419 roles are to go at the ministry.
Its change process is complete.
Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (employs 6650 staff)
MBIE confirmed 402 full time roles had gone between the end of December and the end of September. That was due to the ending of some work programmes, closure of vacancies, restricting recruitment, offering voluntary redundancy, and a number of formal change processes.
Restructures were ongoing, and MBIE reports on its workforce data quarterly, so data to the end of December will be available in January.
Ministry for Primary Industries (employs 3767 staff)
The ministry has confirmed it's cutting 391 jobs, or about 10 percent of its workforce. That was slightly more than the 384 it originally proposed in March, following consultation with staff.
Of those set to go, 65 people have left due to natural attrition or early redundancy, 193 are vacant positions, and 133 are directly affected by the decisions.
Its change process is complete.
Police (employs about 15,000 staff)
On Budget day 2024, the police commissioner emailed staff that about 175 non-sworn jobs in corporate services were proposed to go, with the government asking police to save $55m.
The Police Association says an additional 200 back-office roles are also already vacant due to a hiring freeze.
Defence Force
NZDF confirmed 145 civilian staff had accepted voluntary redundancy. More cuts were likely for its civilian workforce as it tried to stay within its allocated budget - but no changes were planned for uniformed personnel.
ACC (employs 4400 staff)
On 26 June, ACC confirmed 300 jobs are to go.
Its board has also endorsed a plan to reinvest some of the proposed savings in approximately 250 additional client-facing roles. The exact nature of these roles is yet to be finalised.
Its change process is complete.
New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (employs 2907 people as of April 2024)
Waka Kotahi said there were 287 fewer permanent jobs than it did at the end of November last year.
More than 100 roles went after some programmes were canned or scaled back by the change of government: the clean car discount, climate emergency response fund, regional fuel tax, and Let's Get Wellington Moving.
The agency had also made changes to its engagement and partnerships, system leadership, business support services and transport services teams.
Its change process is complete.
Department of Corrections (employs 9793 staff)
In total, 207 jobs have gone at Corrections. 163 vacant roles were disestablished. In addition, 44 roles in its High Impact Innovation Programme (HIIP) have gone, because that team is set to be combined in a new team which sits under the Ministry of Justice. 25 positions will be available in the new combined team.
Its change process is complete.
Stats NZ (employs 1491 staff)
Change processes at StatsNZ began in December 2023, and since then there had been a net loss of 178 roles.
341 jobs were disestablished, and 165 new jobs were created.
However it is worth noting that Stats NZ does not report on vacant roles that have been disestablished or left unfilled.
Ministry for the Environment (employs 988 staff as of July 2024)
So far, the Ministry has reduced its workforce by 157 full-time equivalent staff - dropping from 993 to 836 - since it released a change proposal in May.
But the number of jobs lost would rise over time, with the ministry projecting the number of full-time equivalent staff would further reduce to 714 FTE in June 30 2025, and then 707.5 FTEs in January 2026, as some staff have taken delayed redundancy.
WorkSafe (employed 644 people as of December 2023)
WorkSafe had previously announced 128 jobs were going - but in October confirmed it was consulting on a plan to remove another 20 jobs.
Ministry of Justice (employs 4758 staff)
In August the Ministry of Justice confirmed 127 roles will go as a result of government mandated cost cutting measures.
On 6 June the Ministry of Justice said it was proposing a net reduction of 123 roles: a total of 11 percent of staff in its national office which does corporate services, policy, legal and strategy functions, and operational support. Sixty-seven of the roles are currently vacant.
A further 21 roles are being disestablished in the ministry's Senior Directorate, which is combining with the Department of Corrections' High Impact Innovation Programme (HIIP). However 25 positions will be available in the new combined team, which sits under the Ministry of Justice.
Its change process is complete.
Department of Conservation (employs 2797 staff)
The Department of Conservation has confirmed 124 roles will go - six fewer than its original proposal. That number would be reached by disetablishing 257 permanent positions (of which 114 were already vacant) and creating 133 new ones. The changes would take effect on 1 July.
Its change process is complete.
New Zealand Qualifications Authority (employs 471 staff as of March 2024)
NZQA proposed workforce changes after the NCEA change programme was postponed.
It confirmed 66 roles were disestablished and 32 new jobs were created, resulting in a net loss of 34 jobs.
Its change process is complete.
Ministry of Health (employs 806 staff)
The ministry was proposing to cut 134 jobs in total - some of them already vacant.
A quarter of all positions would be disestablished (271), while 137 new positions were proposed.
Consultation was set to close on 26 April and a final decision made in June.
On 13 June, the Ministry confirmed a net job loss of 123 roles - nine fewer than was previously indicated.
Ministry of Culture and Heritage (employs 165 staff)
The ministry has confirmed it will shed 32 full time staff. The reduction includes 10 voluntary redundancies, roles being disestablished and replaced with fewer roles, and fixed-term contracts coming to an end.
Its change process is complete.
Ministry of Housing and Urban Development - Te Tūāpapa Kura Kāinga (employs 386 staff)
On 13 June the ministry released an update with 71 jobs slated to go, 45 from positions not being back-filled since mid to late 2023.
The Ministry has confirmed further workforce reductions are to get to around 315-320 staff, with more changes to come in August-September.
Ministry of Māori Development - Te Puni Kōkiri (employs 464 staff)
Te Puni Kōkiri has had a net reduction of 38 roles, or 8 percent of its staff.
Its change process is complete.
Office for Māori Crown Relations Te Arawhiti (employs 187 staff as of end of 2023)
43 jobs are set to go at the Office for Māori Crown Relations Te Arawhiti.
RNZ understands about 20 to 30 percent of roles at the agency are considered to be duplicating roles at Te Puni Kōkiri, or are considered no longer needed with the stripping back of Te Arawhiti's functions.
Public Service Commission (employs 202 people)
38 jobs have gone at the Public Service Commission. That included the disestablishment of its pay equity taskforce that works for equal pay for women.
Its change process is complete.
Ministry for Pacific Peoples (employs 121 staff)
The ministry confirmed it was shedding 57 positions - nearly half its total roles. That included 36 currently vacant positions. Originally, it had planned to cut 63 roles but revised this number down.
Its change process is complete.
Ministry of Transport (employs 232 staff)
The Ministry detailed a number of changes that resulted in a reduction of about 40 jobs - and it was consulting on proposals to remove a further 11.
There was a restructure process in late 2023 which saw 24 roles gone, and 8 roles were disestablished due to the cancellation of the Auckland Light Rail Project. The Major Projects team with 6 jobs has been disestablished, while a consolidation of teams meant another two roles were gone, and after a "vacancy review", 13 more jobs were disestablished.
The Ministry was consulting on disestablishing 7 roles in the search and rescue secretariat, and 4 in its insights, data and evaluation team. The outcome of those proposals would be revealed in late November.
Ministry of Housing and Urban Development (employs 386 staff)
MHUD has made changes in three phases, which has resulted in a net reduction of 44 positions after 104 were disestablished, and 60 were created. On top of that, 45 vacant positions were slashed - taking the net loss to 89.
Its change process is complete.
The Treasury (employs 650 staff)
Treasury has cut 50 jobs through attrition, ending fixed term contracts and closing vacancies.
Its change process is complete.
Commerce Commission (employs 428 staff)
The Commission created a new organisational structure which saw a net loss of 13 positions. The new structure came into effect at the beginning of September.
Its change process is complete.
National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (employs 700 staff)
Up to 90 jobs were going at Niwa, according to the PSA, with 30 of them currently vacant. Niwa said the cuts would have no impact on its core work, according to the union.
Its change process is complete.
Ministry for Ethnic Communities (employs 77 staff)
In March, the Ministry for Ethnic Communities began consultations about reducing the number of permanent staff and its work out of regional government offices in Hamilton, New Plymouth, Napier, and Dunedin.
It has confirmed its proposed reduction of nine roles, about 12 percent of its staff. That comes from 32 positions being disestablished and 23 new roles being created.
The ministry said the reassignment process for the new roles would be undertaken throughout May.
Serious Fraud Office (employs 73 staff)
The office confirmed that 12 roles had been disestablished - five of which were vacant - and seven new roles had been created. That left a net loss of 5 roles.
Its change process is complete.
Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet (employs 256 staff)
DPMC has confirmed it's disestablishing 12 roles, 8 of which were vacant. Another six roles are vacant and will remain so indefinitely, but have not been disestablished, it said.
Its change process is complete.
Customs (employs 1366 staff)
79 jobs have gone at Customs - and 33 people accepted voluntary redundancy or early retirement, it said.
110 positions were disestablished - 41 of which were vacant - and 31 new jobs were created.
Its change process is complete.
Land Information New Zealand
There was a net loss of 74 jobs at LINZ, as the agency meets the government's demands to cut costs.
The agency continued to take a "disciplined approach" to financial management, it said.
Crown Law Office (employs 229 staff)
At Crown law there has been a net loss of 2 jobs, after 19 roles were disestablished and 17 new jobs were created. Its change process is complete.
Environmental Protection Authority (employs about 216 staff)
The EPA consulted with staff on a plan to cut 42 jobs - about 16 percent of its workforce.
It landed on a net reduction of 38 jobs, with the new structure in place in early November.
Its change process is complete.
Education Review Office (employs 250 staff)
ERO said it had disestablished 16 full time roles. The PSA said that included review officers who assess how well school and early childhood centres were educating children.
Its change process is complete.
Callaghan Innovation (employs 382 staff)
In April, Callaghan Innovation began consulting on proposed cuts of some science and engineering jobs. It since confirmed that resulted in 29 jobs gone - but it was still consulting on further changes. More information on that was expected around the end of November.
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment-funded research organisation said it had not been asked to make a specific percentage of savings, but its board had directed a refocus on its original purpose, which was to support industry-led science and technology-based innovation - and its commercialisation.
Tertiary Education Commission (employs 363 staff as of 30 June 2023)
The commission has cut 28 roles - nine of which were vacant - and created two new positions, so there are 26 fewer jobs in total.
Its change process is complete.
The PSA said the jobs gone were mainly held by women, and included administration and clerical positions.
New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (employs 651 staff)
In response to cost savings directives, NZTE slashed 29 roles - eight of which were vacant.
Its change process is complete.
Scion (employs 348 staff as of 2023 annual report)
The Crown forestry institute has cut 31 roles, or about nine percent of its workforce. 25 people left the organisation, and six vacant roles were not filled.
Its change process is complete.
After forecasting the work it expected to be contracted for it was clear there would be a reduction in workload, so it could not retain the same number of staff, it said.
AgResearch (employs about 650 staff)
About 22 roles in science support to go from redundancies, both voluntary and enforced. A separate round of redundancies a few months ago saw eight other roles cut.
Its change process is complete.
Sport NZ (employs about 300 staff)
Sport NZ has disestablished 22 roles, and created five new ones, resulting in a net loss of 17.
However it said three of the five new roles were "on hold", and one was a short term role as an interim backfill.
Its change process is complete.
Ministry for Women (employs 42 staff)
At the Ministry for Women, five vacant jobs were set to go - but in the end the number was seven including two senior roles.
Its change process is complete.
Education New Zealand (employs about 100 staff)
The organisation which promotes New Zealand as a study destination has reduced its headcount by four roles.
Its change process is complete.
GNS Science (employs 528 staff)
In July, GNS Science announced 66 roles were likely to go, with consultation with staff under way. In September it updated that figure to 59.
About a third of the roles are already vacant, with both science and back office jobs affected.
Its change process is complete.
Landcare Research (employs 520 staff)
The Crown Research Institute for land, environment and biodiversity said it had reviewed its non-science roles in areas like corporate support, people & culture, and communications.
That resulted in a net reduction of 14 jobs spanning senior leadership, management, and mid/junior roles.
In October is said it would review science roles "over the coming months".
Institute of Environmental Science and Research (employs 600 staff)
ESR has proposed cutting 51 jobs - or 8 percent of its workforce - to ensure it remains financially sustainable.
It was consulting with staff on the proposal in November.
Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (employs 128 staff)
Following a restructure at EECA, its headcount reduced by 24 full time roles.
Its change process is complete.
Climate Change Commission
The Commission undertook an organisation-wide restructure "to align with the Government’s priority for fiscal sustainability and to support the changing focus of the Commission’s work programme".
That resulted in a net loss of 30 roles. It now has 75 full time roles - but five of those are fixed term contracts.
Its change process is complete.
Tourism New Zealand (employs about 160 staff)
Tourism New Zealand's baseline budget dropped by $5.6m for the 2025 financial year, forcing it to reconsider its spending. As a result, there was a net loss of 15 full time roles.
Its change process is complete.
Health Quality & Safety Commission
The Commission, which works to improve health and disability support services, confirmed a net reduction of 18 jobs.
40 roles were disestablished, but 22 new roles were created. The changes came into effect in early July.
Its change process is complete.
Productivity Commission
The Productivity Commission was being axed entirely, with about 20 staff losing their jobs.
Human Rights Commission (employs about 60 staff)
The Commission said it had been directed to find 10 percent savings. "This followed a programme of change that had already taken place in 2023, and so the Commission was required to find significant savings in an already very lean operation," it said.
It completed change programmes in its Engagement, Administrative & Support, Ahi Kaa and People and Culture teams, as well as one round of voluntary redundancies. As a result, there are 11 fewer jobs.
Its change process is complete.
Retirement Commission (employs 37 people)
The Retirement Commission has disestablished two roles - both of which were vacant.
Broadcasting Standards Authority (employs 8 people)
The BSA has not restructured, but chose not to fill one vacancy early this year.
* RNZ's job loss numbers are based on statements from the ministries and the PSA. Total staff numbers are based on Public Service Commission figures from 31 December, 2023 or more recent ones provided by agencies.