Housing ACT Staff Face Christmas Uncertainty
Treasurer Chris Steel has defended the ACT government's position on public service growth while confirming twenty Housing ACT workers will lose their jobs when their contracts expire shortly before Christmas.
The staff reductions include thirteen labour hire contractors and seven non-ongoing government employees working in housing assistance roles who have been informed their positions won't be extended beyond current engagements.
Union Condemns Timing and Impact
Community and Public Sector Union regional secretary Maddy Northam described the timing as devastating, with many workers facing unemployment on Christmas Eve. More than seventy Housing ACT staff attended a union meeting on Monday to discuss the planned cuts.
"This news is beyond devastating for these workers and their families who will go into Christmas Day unemployed," Ms Northam said. She questioned why the government was relying on labour hire for core housing work and why contracts were ending during the busiest period for housing applications.
The union warned that remaining staff had raised serious concerns about workload increases and safety issues, predicting that Housing ACT application processing times would significantly blow out without adequate staffing.
Government Defends Public Service Position
During Legislative Assembly hearings, Canberra Liberals leader Mark Parton questioned whether the government was preparing for "deep cuts to the public service." Treasurer Steel firmly rejected this characterisation.
"We've been clear that the public service will continue to grow and the expenditure on employee expenses will continue to grow. It just won't grow at the same rate," Mr Steel stated, referring to budget savings measures announced in June.
The ACT budget outlined $29.5 million in savings for 2025-26 and $282.1 million over the forward estimates by constraining spending growth across government agencies.
A Health and Community Services Directorate spokesman confirmed the staffing changes, noting that Housing Assistance uses various employment arrangements and that most employees remain permanent ACT government staff.
Annual report data showed Housing ACT employed 270.5 full-time equivalent staff on June 30, slightly down from 272 the previous year.
The budget forecasts indicate employee expenses will slightly decrease in 2026-27 before growing in subsequent years, with growth outside health and education constrained to 0.86 percent annually instead of the previously projected 1.41 percent.
