Australia should reconsider how it doles out senior public service jobs following a rash of "blatantly political appointments", argues public servant-turned-Labor backbencher Julian Hill. Read More
Public servants with a dodgy past are being 'recycled' between departments thanks to inadequate recruitment checks, warns Victoria's corruption watchdog. Read More
Face-to-face communication is a powerful tool for leaders to connect with staff, but quickly becomes difficult in large organisations. There is hope for big departments, however. Read More
Confusion about how Victoria's preferential voting system works is preventing electors' voices being properly heard, says a parliamentary committee. Read More
John Lloyd breached the code of conduct, but could have taken actions to avoid this risk, says the Merit Protection Commissioner. It's now in the hands of the parliament's presiding officers. Read More
Machinery of government changes are often poorly planned, disruptive and costly, argue a group of UNSW Canberra academics. Their APS review submission outlines five priority areas for reform. Read More
Projects that vanish, ministerial over-involvement and a lack of evaluation: there appear to be some major problems with secretive aid initiative InnovationXchange, a new report argues. Read More
Sick of shock jock musings that councils should stick to "roads, rates and rubbish", the Municipal Association of Victoria has produced an amusing — and very low budget — guide to the good work local government does. Read More
The APS needs to start thinking about integrity as institutional quality rather than a set of rules, argues ANZSOG's submission to the Thodey review. Plus their other priority areas for reform. Read More
Poorly designed markets in social policy -- such as the VET system or the NDIS -- can cause great damage but governments often fear change means admitting failure, says a longtime commissioner on the Productivity Commission. Read More
An Indigenous advisory body would not just be symbolic but lead to long-term improvements in people's lives, according to an expert quoted in the interim report of a parliamentary committee. Read More
The sacking of State Trustees CEO Craig Dent shows what it takes for a senior bureaucrat to be fired. The case has now been referred to the anti-corruption commission. Read More
Employers need to stop seeing mental illness as a barrier to employment and instead see the value in diversity, argued former prime minister Julia Gillard in a speech on diversity and mental health on Thursday. Read More
University chancellor and former defence industry boss Jim McDowell has been appointed South Australia's most senior public servant. Read More
Poor conflict of interest management, bribery and fraudulent reporting are some of the key risks regulatory agencies face, says Victoria's corruption watchdog. Read More
