Victoria's three main integrity agencies agree they need more consistency in their powers and independence from the executive. Ombudsman Deborah Glass also wants the power to investigate serious matters.
Public sector commissions are looking at how future entry to the public service will change. Beyond graduate programs, should government introduce students to the public service earlier, preparing them to navigate workplace issues?
What does radical incrementalism really mean? Whose job is it to defend the public service? What can you do if you have an ethical crisis working on current government policy? DFAT's boss answers burning questions from APS.
Improving whole-of-government use of data will lead to better policy and services — but co-operation is needed to find hidden data sets, Productivity Commission head Peter Harris tells The Mandarin.
VIDEO: The public service needs to "move away from the tyranny of the current", the DFAT boss emphasised in his valedictory address. Watch the full video of his address to the Institute of Public Administration Australia.
SPEECH: Outgoing DFAT secretary Peter Varghese shared his reflections on more than 38 years as a public servant at the latest IPAA secretaries series event and offered advice to the next generation of public service leaders.
Only coming to light due to whistleblowers, the Victorian Ombudsman reveals systemic suspect conduct in local government. Her new report illustrates the issues with governance, monitoring and culture that councils face.
INTERVIEW: Environment secretary Gordon de Brouwer takes over as president of IPAA ACT this week. He tells The Mandarin that contested debate — in public, not in code — is how public administration will improve.
Social procurement needs to move from being ad hoc to a key part of government process. Social enterprise managers hope risk aversion isn't an excuse for not taking out opportunities for social outcomes via procurement.
OPINION: If elections are about offering a direct choice, shouldn't it be informed? Australia's policy strip-tease is blamed on tactical need. Then why can UK parties release a complete policy document so much earlier?
If silos are a fact of life, governments can focus on developing people who can work across them and link up different teams. New research has identified the skills and attributes of an effective boundary spanner.
OPINION: Increasing women’s workforce participation is a game-changer, says one of Australia's top engineers. Australia lags in policies that support professional women, especially in the critical family formation years.
AFSA statistics show only 19% of personal bankruptcies are due to business-related reasons. CPA Australia's chief executive urges caution before ripping out public interest disqualifying rules in the guise of promoting innovation.
What are the qualities of an ethical leader and how might someone with those qualities think and act? Here are five traits to keep in mind.
SPEECH: The Commonwealth's newest diarchy is less than a year into its integration and establishment of new national capability. The Immigration secretary says advanced skills and automation are its future.
