Department of Communications scales back dramatic job cuts

The federal Department of Communications is understood to have dramatically reined back major cuts that had been expected to see as many as 125 of the 550 positions within the department go.

Mumbrella understands only around 20 positions have so far been made redundant after the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) pushed the department to abandon a proposal made in February for a department wide “spill and fill”, which would have forced all employees to reapply for their positions.

The department looks after areas including online security and safety, the NBN and policy governing TV and radio broadcast licenses.

The full job cuts within the department will not be completed until September, but it has chosen only to conduct the “spill and fill” with middle management positions at the public service rankings of EL1s and EL2s. The Australian public service grades all staff, with ELs representing middle management, APS representing junior staff and senior management at SES level.