Nearly 150 middle managers have taken a redundancy package from Social Services this year, prompting a department insider to warn of a sharp drop in morale.
The department's handling of the redundancy program, as well as the widening gap between how front-line managers and senior executives were viewed by staff, were among the chief reasons for growing discontent among employees, the department insider told The Canberra Times.
Nearly 150 middle managers left the department in the 2025-26 financial year, one of whom was paid at least $188,000.
The proportion of employees who would recommend the department as a good place to work dropped by about 17 percentage points compared to the 2025 results, with most measures "going backwards ... across almost all domains" apart from flexible work arrangements, the insider said.
The department carried out a voluntary redundancy program earlier in 2026, with 302 staff accepting the offer.
In answers to questions on notice from Deputy Opposition Leader Jane Hume, the department revealed that redundancy payouts totalled about $26.6 million between July 2025 and May 2026.
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The department also revealed that just under half (47 per cent) of staff who accepted redundancies were Executive Level (EL) 1 and 2.
In addition, 80 Australian Public Service (APS) 6 staff and 61 APS 5 staff were granted voluntary redundancies.
The 2026 APS census results were presented to all staff members in the department.
The insider said although staff still felt a strong connection to the department's work and mission, confidence in the executive leadership had eroded, with survey data suggesting senior leaders were not seen as working together and change was neither managed nor communicated well.
"The mood in the department is not great," the insider said.
"People are asking how DSS ended up in a financial position in which such a large voluntary redundancy program was needed, and there's a real sense that there hasn't been enough accountability or strong ownership from leadership.
"A lot of staff feel they're working above capacity and are starting to burn out, even after an internal 'keep, start, stop' exercise that was meant to reassess priorities."
Another long-serving staff member in the department said the department was "more worried about an image as opposed to a true outcome".
"There are a lot of staff being put under a lot of pressure at the lower levels without enough true management support," they said.
The highest voluntary redundancy payout went to an EL 2 officer, with other staff in a similar position receiving payouts between $173,000 and $178,000.
When asked about the results of the employee census, a department spokesperson said its leaders remained "committed to listening to staff and have been working through our census results both at a departmental and local level".
"We have gone through a period of change to realign our work to better support our priorities, including breaking cycles of entrenched disadvantage and reducing rates of domestic, family and sexual violence," the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson also said the department "takes seriously our responsibility in making a difference for Australian families, individuals and communities".
The full census results remained subject to continuing analysis, with the data expected to be publicly available in November.
