Federal government departments have revealed hundreds of contractors have been working long-term without becoming official employees.
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In some departments, contractors working continuously for that department make up almost half the agency's average staffing level.
Four departments have declared the number of people they have engaged as contractors in the last two years in response to questions on notice from Senate estimates committees, while others have said it would be too much work to answer the questions.
The Department of Social Services has so far reported the highest number of contractors, both in real terms and as a percentage of its workforce. The department has an average staffing level of 1862, with 2020 people having worked as contractors for the department in the last two years. Of those contractors, 780 had worked for the department for a period of 12 months or more.
The departments were not required to report whether the contractors worked full-time or part-time hours, or to report their numbers as full-time equivalents. Average staffing levels are measured as full-time equivalent.
Social Services said the majority of the contractors worked on "technology support services" and "grant assessment support services".
The Finance Department reported it had engaged 459 contractors over the past two years, of which 97 individuals had been engaged for more than 12 months continuously. COMCAR drivers made up almost half of those engaged by the department for 12 months or more, with most of the contractors used in IT work.
Finance also declared their contract workers as full-time equivalents, declaring the 459 individuals were equivalent to 103 full-time employees in the amount of time worked. The department has an average staffing level of 1249. The number of contractors is equal to 8 per cent of the directly employed workforce.
Almost 600 contractors were engaged at the Department of Infrastructure, Regional Development and Cities over the past two years, with 216 of those engaged for 12 months or more continuously. The small department has an average staffing level of 879.
Those 586 contractors worked on everything from administration, policy work and project and program management to communications, program delivery and IT, as well as being employed for their technical and engineering skills and knowledge.
At Agriculture and Water Resources, some 671 people were engaged as contractors in the past two years, with 137 of those being engaged for a period of 12 months or more. The department has an average staffing level of 4558. The highest number of contractors was in the IT category, with 62 IT contractors used for 12 months or more.
Unions and the federal opposition have long been trying to measure the size of the contractor workforce in the public service, believing that numbers have exploded under Coalition policies that have limited spending on new public servants.
Some departments have said it isn't possible to track the number of contractors working on their projects as contracts are measured by dollar value, not by head count.
The departments of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Communications and Arts, and Industry, Innovation and Science said it would be too much of a diversion of resources to find the information requested.
The numbers only paint a section of the picture, with larger departments such as Human Services and Home Affairs yet to respond. All departments were asked for the information.
Last month it was revealed Defence had applied for security clearances for more than 30,000 contractors in the past two years.
