The Gillard Government is pursuing smarter and more efficient ways of delivering government services.
The 2012-13 Budget will show that there has been a reduction in Australian Public Service staffing levels by about 3,000 jobs.
Overwhelmingly these job losses are a result of natural attrition and voluntary redundancies.
As part of its focus on efficiency, the Government has also imposed a cap on the number of senior public servants that agencies can employ - effectively halting what has historically been a rapid growth in numbers.
Decisions that result in staff reductions are not made lightly and the Gillard Government recognises the importance of ensuring the public service remains strong.
While the Government has a strong focus on achieving efficiencies, we are continuing to invest in frontline services. This Budget commits $203 million over four years to provide a better and more efficient call centre service to people accessing government assistance, through Medicare and Centrelink.
The Governments efficiency dividend imposes a strong discipline on the expenses of its own departments and agencies.
In the coming financial year, departments and agencies will need to find extra efficiencies equal to 4 per cent of the spending on their own operations, up from 1.5 per cent in 2011-12.
Our efficiency measures build on the methodical approach the Government has taken to identifying savings in the public sectors own operations.
Since coming to Government, Federal Labor has delivered substantial efficiencies across government operations. For example:

• $1.8 billion in savings from 2009-10 to 2015-16 through more efficient and effective management of ICT
• Whole-of-government travel arrangements which will deliver savings of $240 million from 2010-11 to 2015-16
• Revised recruitment advertising guidelines which has reduced expenditure by around $30 million per annum since 2010-11
• Spending $100 million a year less, for four years in a row, than the Howard Governments 2007 advertising spend of $254 million.

We will continue to build on these significant savings in the coming years.
The Gillard Government is determined to ensure the public sector delivers the best services for Australians as efficiently as possible, and with the best value to taxpayers.