asked the Minister representing the Minister for Defence, upon notice, on 21 March 2011:

With reference to the White Paper and the Strategic Reform Program 'Indicative Workforce Implications – Civilian Workforce': For the period 1 July to 31 December 2010, how many personnel, including full-time and part-time, were employed as Australian Public Service staff or contractors.

The Minister for Defence has provided the following answer to the honourable senator's question:

The workforce data detailed in the White Paper and the Strategic Reform Program 'Indicative Workforce Implications' are based on approved allocations at the time of publication and reflect full-time equivalent average numbers. Using the full-time equivalent (FTE) approach, Defence counts full-time and part-time service as one overall average quantity.

Over the period 1 July to 31 December 2010, Defence employed 21,029 full-time equivalent average civilian personnel, of which 653 were contractors.