The Queensland government is set to offer public servants golden handshakes of up to 90 weeks' pay in an effort to cut 3500 jobs.
The plan is expected to cost $250 million over three years, The Courier Mail reports.
Under the deal, staff with little more than a year's work in the public sector will qualify for the base payout of 30 weeks' wages, an average of at least $35,000, the paper says.
The Bligh government is calling it a "voluntary separation program".
The Opposition Liberal National Party has accused the government of offering a deal that will squander taxpayers' money.
It says that if the government had officially classified the job cuts as a redundancy program, workers would have been paid less upfront but would be eligible for $100 million in concessions from the Australian Tax Office.
Acting Treasurer Rachel Nolan told the paper the plan offered "greater operational flexibility" and the extra cash would ensure workers were not disadvantaged by the lack of tax breaks.
She said about 3500 people would be made redundant over three years, but because their jobs would continue to exist, the cuts program did not amount to a redundancy scheme.
Wages savings are expected to be $175 million a year.
Unions are not happy, saying the public service needs more, not fewer, jobs and the move is a real concern.
"Problems with unreasonable and excessive hours of work, as well as duties of position, rank in the top 20 reasons why many of our members request union representation," Queensland Public Sector Union secretary Alex Scott said.
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