Public servants still dreaming of a golden handshake from Foreign Affairs and Trade might have left it too late, with the department's redundancy program to slow down after shedding 270 bureaucrats.
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DFAT staff were told on Monday that the odds on a payout were now a lot longer, particularly if the staff were necessary to the department's "operational needs".
Assistant Secretary John Fisher said in an all-staff bulletin that more than 600 bureaucrats from DFAT and the abolished overseas aid agency AusAID had inquired about a voluntary redundancy since November 2013.
The Canberra Times revealed early in the process that nearly 14 per cent of former AusAID staff had asked for voluntary redundancies in the months immediately after its "hostile takeover" by DFAT.
By contrast, fewer than 4 per cent of their new colleagues at Foreign Affairs and Trade had put up their hands to share in the department's redundancy program. However, it is unclear how the present tally of 270 redundancies is divided.
Mr Fisher told workers on Monday that the "VR program will likely produce fewer voluntary redundancies from now on".
"The voluntary redundancy (VR) program has been running since November 2013," he wrote.
"In that time, more than 600 expressions of interest (EOI) have been received and more than 350 employees have requested a formal offer of VR.
"Of these, over 270 employees have left the department."
Mr Fisher said the redundancy program was supplementing "natural attrition" in reducing the department's headcount.
"The VR program is under constant review to determine the degree of further reduction that may be required," he wrote.
"The department regularly assesses its staffing profile requirements, and, at this point, we expect the VR program will likely deliver fewer voluntary redundancies from now on. "
Staff who applied for estimates of their redundancy payouts before July 11 could expect to get them from mid-September, the senior executive wrote, but he was not making any promises.
"Increasingly, the department will consider operational needs before preparing a financial estimate and may not proceed to offer an estimate," he said.
"Staff will be advised if they will not receive an estimate.
"It is important to note that there is no guarantee that an EOI will result in the provision of an estimate, or that all those who receive estimates will be offered a VR.
"Submission of an [expression of interest] in no way obliges you or the department in any way – it is simply an indication of your interest."
Redundancy inquiries would be treated "confidentially" Mr Fisher advised, but warned that bosses might be asked about the "operational impact" of a possible voluntary redundancy.
