The Department of Veterans' Affairs has claimed the unwanted title of the worst public service department to work for in Australia, according to newly released census data from 2025.
The department recorded the lowest percentage of staff who would recommend their workplace to others, dropping below the 70 percent threshold that signals serious employee satisfaction concerns.
Worst performers in the APS
Only 67 percent of Veterans' Affairs employees said they would recommend their department as a good place to work, placing it 5 percentage points below the second-lowest rated department. This represents a slight improvement from last year's result of 65 percent, but still sees the department overtake Home Affairs, which had held the bottom position for the previous two years.
The results come at a challenging time for Veterans' Affairs staff, who are currently working to implement recommendations from the 3000-word royal commission report into defence and veteran suicides that was delivered in mid-2024.
Services Australia ranked as the second-worst public service workplace for the third consecutive year, with just 71 percent of staff recommending their employer. The massive 34,800-strong agency continues to manage changes to National Disability Insurance Scheme legislation, despite adding more than 2800 employees since last year's census.
In total, seven departments recorded less than 70 percent of staff likely to recommend their workplace, according to The Canberra Times analysis of results from 16 federal departments and the two largest agencies.
Top performing departments
At the other end of the spectrum, Treasury maintained its position as the favourite workplace among public servants, with an impressive 89 percent of employees saying they would recommend the department.
The department has held the top spot since last year, narrowly beating the Australian Taxation Office, where 86 percent of staff would recommend working.
Staff at the Attorney-General's Department and the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet also showed strong satisfaction levels, with high percentages likely to recommend their workplaces.
The overall median rating across departments and major agencies jumped significantly from 77 percent to 81.5 percent, indicating broad improvement in employee sentiment across the public service.
Biggest improvements and future plans
The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water recorded the most substantial improvement in employee sentiment, surging 13 percent from last year's results. Now 82 percent of employees would recommend the department as a good place to work.
Other notable improvers included Home Affairs, which jumped 12 percent to reach 72 percent recommendation rate, and Services Australia, which improved by 9 percentage points despite remaining near the bottom of the rankings.
Looking ahead, Veterans' Affairs has committed to working on increased transparency from senior leaders and better understanding of how to create and support an inclusive workplace, according to the department's 2025 action plan.
Services Australia plans to focus on psychological safety and streamlining processes to reduce unnecessary workload in the coming year.
The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water attributed its improvement to enhanced digital connectivity programs for staff and a campaign promoting respectful workplace behaviour throughout 2024-25.
