Overview

• The Coalition has abandoned its plan to mandate a full return to office for public servants, opting to maintain current flexible work arrangements.
• A proposal to cut 41,000 public service jobs through forced redundancies has been replaced with a strategy of natural attrition and hiring freezes over five years.
• The policy reversals were driven by significant voter criticism, particularly from suburban women, and pressure from the Labor Party.
• The initial job cuts plan was projected to save $7 billion annually by its fifth year, but the revised approach raises questions about achieving these savings.
• The Coalition aims to refocus its federal election campaign on housing, cost-of-living, and migration policies following these reversals.