Dozens of public servants were less than humoured when they were told their jobs would be lost in a cruel April Fools ' Day prank . The Canberra based Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade workers were given an 'announcement ' on a big TV screen that their workplace was being closed and moved to Melbourne . DFAT has since reprimanded the staff member responsible for the stunt , which saw 30 low-ranking employees told they needed to apply for expressions of interest if they wanted to keep their jobs by moving to Melbourne . The Canberra based Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade workers were met with this 'announcement ' on a big TV screen . The message was displayed for five hours before one of the centre 's supervisors told workers that it was an April Fools ' Day prank . The workers had good cause to fear for their jobs : DFAT is planning to cut 500 jobs by June . The main role of the employees involved in the parnk is to ensure passport applicants meet the requirements in a process known as 'ELLO ' . The announcement said the office was undergoing 'substantial ' changes and would be moving all 'ELLO ' roles to Melbourne as a result . It comes as the Department of Foreign Affairs and Tradeplans plans to cut 500 jobs by June this year . The Community and Public Sector Union 's national secretary Nadine Flood said it was tasteless to joke about something perceived as a genuine fear , according to The Guardian . 'April Fool 's jokes are supposed to be funny . There 's nothing funny about fake job cuts when the Abbott government has cut 11,000 public service jobs for real in the last year , ' she said .
The Canberra based DFAT workers got an 'announcement ' on a screen . The message said their office was being closed and moved to Melbourne . The announcement was displayed for five hours before it was revealed . It comes as the department plans to cut 500 jobs by June this year .