Maximus, Inc. Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

Business combinations and disposals - K-12 Education (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands		3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	May 09, 2016	Sep. 30, 2016	Jun. 30, 2016	Mar. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015	Sep. 30, 2015	Jun. 30, 2015	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Sep. 30, 2016	Sep. 30, 2015	Sep. 30, 2014
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Gain on disposal										$ 6,880	$ 0	$ 0
Revenue		$ 623,091	$ 617,094	$ 606,453	$ 556,722	$ 578,683	$ 572,301	$ 481,794	$ 467,043	2,403,360	2,099,821	1,700,912
Operating income (loss)		81,308	$ 84,609	$ 77,900	$ 42,786	61,527	$ 71,067	$ 62,007	$ 65,231	286,603	259,832	225,308
Identifiable assets		1,348,819				1,271,558				1,348,819	1,271,558
Liabilities		$ 595,679				655,859				595,679	655,859
K-12 Education
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Gain on disposal	$ 6,900
Revenue										2,200	4,700	9,400
Operating income (loss)										$ (200)	900	$ 2,800
Identifiable assets						1,500					1,500
Liabilities						$ 2,700					$ 2,700