Three of the four biggest federal government agencies had an external IT workforce that was larger than their internal one last financial year, with almost 7500 IT contractors split between the trio. The Digital Transformation Agency revealed the size of the internal and external IT workforces in answers to questions on notice [pdf] from a parliamentary probe into the Australian Public Service (APS).
It represents one of the most comprehensive snapshots of IT contracting in the federal government to date, with more than 77 agencies baring the size and shape of their IT workforces.
The data, which relates to the “average ICT staffing levels” for agencies in the 2019–20 financial year, was collected by the DTA in October 2020.
The DTA said contractors may be used to source specialised skills or to augment staff during peaks periods, though – as the data reveals – they have become business-as-usual at some agencies...MORE
