Department of Employment

Administrative orders: Home Affairs to grow

Here are the machinery of government changes following the federal government's re-election. Read More

The future of education: with careers predicted to span 60 years, how will education and training evolve?

Education policy in Australia has many emerging issues it must contend with, not least of which is the imminent collision between an ageing population and rapidly changing workplaces driven by technological advancement. Read More

We don’t know what’s coming: the ever-changing face of leadership

The pressure on public sector leaders to adapt rapidly to challenges of managing a far more diverse and distributed workforce is greater than ever. Now agency heads from across Australia heads are coming together to thrash out what cuts it and what doesn't in a swiftly modernising government. Read More

A department that doesn’t exist anymore is having work Christmas drinks

The brief existence of a former super-department, created solely to accommodate an awkward campaign decision from then opposition leader Kevin Rudd, is so fondly remembered by some of its employees they want to hold a work Christmas function for it -- more than four years after its was abolished. Read More

Should family violence be considered a workplace issue?

As of last week, WA public servants now have access to 10 days paid domestic and family violence leave. The Mandarin Associate Publisher James Judge looks at the problem of family violence and different government agencies' responses. Read More

Design gurus: turn policy development upside-down to solve tough challenges

Delegates at the recent Explore Design conference, an APS initiative hosted in its second year by the Department of Employment, heard that old top-down models need to change for design thinking to be applied to policy development. Read More

Innovative workplaces: how flexible is too flexible for the public service?

Five principles for staying innovative from a service startup; plus tweaks fostering innovation at the ATO, Treasury and employment departments, such as letting public servants get close to their stakeholders. Read More

Comcare befuddled by ‘structural complexity’ of offshore detention centres

Workplace health and safety was a big theme of the latest Senate inquiry into offshore detention. The committee criticised the complex administrative arrangements that have left Comcare out in the cold, and called for a WHS Act review to make it clear where the regulator stands. Read More

Nothing but nudges: behavioural economics comes of age

Nudges have taken the public sector by storm, expanding all over government. One of their chief promoters around the world is confident they aren't a passing fad, but warns against complacency and overuse. Read More

Same message, same audience — how to reset stakeholder relationships

ALL THINGS P: Mobile apps offer the opportunity to reset relationships. Here are two case studies in helping agencies engage with stakeholder groups and even between management and rank-and-file employees. Read More

Renee Leon: crowdsourcing and ideas ownership in policymaking

When your stakeholders can't fit in a room, or keep being told "no, we've tried that before", rethink the traditional approach to policymaking. The Employment secretary says her department is learning how to listen again. Read More

Terry Moran sticks with policy, joins CPD

The former APS top mandarin has a new role keeping him tied to the pulse of Australia's public sector challenges. He's not being shy about critiquing the paucity of policy capacity in the service he once led. Read More