Annette Michaux and Nat Kendall-Taylor outline the five major strategies for moving forward on child protection that resulted from a major national research project involving more than 7600 Australians. They say that how safe our children are from abuse and neglect and whether we support them to develop in a healthy way is an important measure of how healthy our communities are.

Amid the ongoing search for the holy grail of “local” service-delivery design, one of the very few certainties is the APS is nowhere near ready to deploy digital regulation to social services. When it comes to people, good policy outcomes do not equate to the best relationship outcomes.

Early career advice for public servants: know thyself and thine own goals — and don't be distracted by important-sounding job titles — recommends former Victorian public servant Claire Bayford.

Be open about your ambitions (without being arrogant) and figure out what makes your superiors tick, a panel of young high achievers advise their colleagues.

Federal Attorney-General Christian Porter has released a draft package of religious freedom bills, including the much-anticipated Religious Discrimination Bill. These bills respond to earlier inquiries into the protection of religious freedom under Australian law. They implement some of the recommendations of the Expert Panel on Religious Freedom (known as the Ruddock review).

'The Fifth Risk' can tell us a great deal about the dangers to the professional nature of public sector work and alert us to warning signs here. This is an important book, not for the politics or the tabloid drama of the Trump administration’s comic stupidity, but for what it says about public administration.

THE BIG INTERVIEW by Martin Stewart-Weeks: An in-depth Q&A with a key player in the Australian public sector or political space. The series starts with the Sarah Pearson toolkit for influence and getting stuff done.

Scott Hamilton and Stuart Kells provide a detailed timeline of Australia's handling of the Indigenous reconciliation issue.

In a world where governing is becoming increasingly difficult and the pressures on public servants are rising, how can leaders navigate transformation and disruption? Being skilled at communicating with all types of staff and communities and understanding their values and needs can help define progressive outcomes.

Twenty-eight years of economic prosperity has led to spending becoming the default policy lever, worries Victorian Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions boss Simon Phemister. Plus, why he thinks ministers do value frank and fearless advice and is wary of private-sector plants.

Where are the guardians of Western civilisation when you need them? The Prime Minister’s address to the public service on 19 August should ring alarm bells in every public office in the country, especially those of conservative orientation.

The Morrison government's proposed Commonwealth Integrity Commission might struggle for credibility. It has opponents lining up inside and outside federal parliament, including many senior members of the legal profession, some of which are actively campaigning for a stronger model. Those critics do not appear ready to let it go.

In this world of the machine, or the artificial, there are a number of challenges to accountability. First and foremost, we need to create herd immunity through digital literacy. We need to know what these new systems are, what they can do, how they work and what the limitations are.

Accountability is a term often thrown around as a worthy goal in government and business dealings, especially in the cyber space. So, it is worth spending a moment considering what we mean – and what governments mean, when they commit to accountability in dealing with information.

Elections have special requirements. Ballot privacy is mandated by law. And elections must demonstrate that the result accurately reflects the choice of the people. So, what has iVote proven?