By Mitch Gaynor
A ROUND of redundancies that cut almost 130 positions from Sunshine Coast Council has done little to change the organisation’s unusually high indoor-to-outdoor workforce ratio, with new figures showing it still employs almost four-and-a-half indoor staff for every outdoor worker.
The figures come after the council handed down one of its toughest budgets in years, featuring a 9.7 per cent minimum rates increase, an operating deficit of about $12 million in 2025/26 and a major organisational restructure aimed at restoring its long-term financial position.
A GC&M News analysis of Queensland Local Government Comparative data shows the council’s workforce has become increasingly weighted towards indoor staff over the past decade, leaving it with one of the highest indoor-to-outdoor staffing ratios among major south-east Queensland councils.
The state data shows the ratio rose from 3.87 indoor staff for every outdoor worker in 2015-16 to 5.01 in 2024-25, before easing to 4.47 following the council’s recent redundancy program.
During that period, indoor staffing increased from 1320 to 1603 full-time equivalent employees, while outdoor staffing fell from 341 to 320.
By comparison, Brisbane recorded 1.52 indoor staff for every outdoor worker, Moreton Bay 2.48 and Ipswich 2.58. Only Redland recorded a higher indoor-to-outdoor ratio among the major south-east Queensland councils examined.
As at July 7, council employed 1451.14 indoor full-time equivalent staff and 324.94 outdoor FTEs, giving a total workforce of 1776.08 FTEs.
The workforce restructure includes the loss of 80 positions through redundancies and the removal of 50 vacant positions
A Sunshine Coast Council spokesperson said the indoor/outdoor ratios should be viewed in context.
“Comparisons between councils can vary significantly due to differences in service delivery models, growth rates, geographic areas and organisational structures,” the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said council engaged contractors and external service providers where specialist expertise or additional capacity was required but had not undertaken a like-for-like assessment of work performed internally and externally over the past decade.
A separate GC&M News analysis of council budgets shows employee expenses have increased by about 74 per cent over the past decade to almost $212 million, while rates revenue has climbed about 117 per cent to almost $550 million over the same period.
Council said spending on contractors, labour hire and external service providers was not reported as a standalone category in its budget papers, with those costs incorporated across broader expenditure categories including materials and services.
Council said its long-term financial plan assumes annual cost increases of 4.5 per cent to reflect rising service delivery costs and population growth.
The plan does not separately identify spending on contractors, consultants, labour hire or outsourced services.
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