New figures show government employs 46,000 engineers in Australia, up from 32,600 in 2006 but still nowhere near the estimated 100,000 engineers employed in the 1980s before privatisation and outsourcing took off.

According to Engineers Australia analysis of 2016 Census figures, State Governments collectively employ almost 20,000 engineers with a similar number employed by the Federal Government. Local Government employs over six thousand engineers.

Despite the recent rise in the number of engineers employed, government still too often lacks the depth and seniority of engineering expertise needed for optimal results – a shortcoming Engineers Australia is working to highlight.

If the public service doesn’t have enough engineering expertise at the right levels, the government can’t act as an informed buyer of engineering-heavy projects, leading to second-rate solutions and potential cost blow-outs.

Ideally, engineers need to be involved in deciding what solution to commission (road or rail, tunnel or bridge, investment in training more engineers or increased migration…) not just how to deliver it.

Even when delivery is outsourced, as the client, government needs engineers to set good tenders, assess bids, create realistic timelines and manage projects.

The loss of engineering expertise in government has increased costs by an estimated 20 per cent, while non-financial costs include political embarrassment and projects that do not meet the needs of end users.

The other major issue is that governments which lack technical expertise become prescriptive and risk-averse because they are not able to understand, and manage, the risks associated with an innovative solution.

For more information, please see our detailed report Government as an informed buyer (published 2000, updated in 2012).