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February 10, 2026
The opposition has set its sights on public service training costs, taking aim at overnight "luxury junkets" for senior commonwealth bureaucrats as the latest example of what it deems to be profligate federal spending.
Responses to questions on notice, received by opposition finance spokesman James Paterson, reveal the cost of 10 off-site leadership courses held by the Australian Public Service Commission's APS Academy, an initiative established by the Morrison government. Between May 2024 and July 2025, 247 senior public servants took part in the four-day training programs at a cost of $370,866.83, averaging about $370 per participant per day, the documents show.
The training was facilitated by a mix of APS employees and other external contractors.
Staff from the Defence Department and Services Australia were the most active participants, with representatives from both organisations attending each of the 10 training programs.
Senior bureaucrats from the Home Affairs, Health and Aged Care, and Social Services departments alongside the National Disability Insurance Agency also attended regularly. An additional "stewardship" program for band 3 staff the highest ranking members of the commonwealth's senior executive service cost a further $43,087.82.
That five-day program held last September in Bowral hosted 16 APS participants, averaging $548.60 per participant per night.
Senator Paterson described the scale of the spending as a "slap in the face" to households facing inflation pressures.