NZ Social Development replacement named
Debbie Power has been named as the new head of New Zealand's Ministry of Social Development. Read More
News
Blogging the latest government news and public sector briefs ...
Full list of winners: 2018 NSW Premiers Awards for Public Service
Organised around the 12 NSW Premier's Priorities, the Premier’s Awards for Public Service recognises the teams and individuals who have contributed greatly to those priorities. Read More
ABS national overview of the public sector: ‘mild growth’ in wages and workforces
Nationwide, the public sector has seen mild growth in both wages and personnel over the past financial year, aggregated across all three tiers of government. Read More
APS Review update: panel leaning towards a small list of big ideas
The APS Review panel is planning to craft a concise set of big ideas for public service reform rather than a highly prescriptive blueprint, according to its chair. Read More
‘We’ve seen it before’: what secretaries talk about during leadership spills
The release of secretaries' board notes from the prime ministerial spill provide an insight into what APS mandarins talk about when their ministers are falling around them. Read More
GovHack 2018 challenge: 118 entries, 5 judges, 3 winners
With over 100 entries for the DTA’s GovHack challenges, how were the winners decided? Marita Baier-Gorman takes us behind the scenes of the judging process. Read More
The EL2s that are most likely to break through to SES
Who makes the cut for the career fast track will depend on a new set of talent assessment tools the Australian Public Service Commission has planned, likely replacing existing department-driven processes. Read More
Employers seeing increased value in older workers
Organisations are becoming more used to hiring older workers, with some of the key markers of workplace ageism declining, according to a major survey of human resources staff. Read More
Murray-Darling Basin Plan ‘maladministered’, South Australia will suffer the most
Critics of the handling of the Murray Darling Basin Plan say the final submission to the South Australian Royal Commission vindicates their concerns of corrupted implementation. Read More
Prisons ‘at a critical point’ in WA after years of decline, corruption watchdog warns
Serious reform in the Western Australian correctional system is now well overdue, according to the Corruption and Crime Commission, which has criticised the newly created Department of Justice for a “disturbing failure to respond to recommendations” going back as far as 2012. Read More
Movers & shakers: state department secretary cleared of code breach over relationship
Following up on earlier stories in the Mandarin: what happened to the PM&C deputy secretary who vanished from the organisation chart? And what about the Tasmanian departmental boss whose minister stepped down over their personal relationship? Read More
Jane Halton challenged over ethics of taking post-APS role with casino
Jane Halton is back in the news today for comments about the relative impact of smoking and gambling. Read More
Human Services website the first to meet the Plain English Foundation’s gold standard
The department says it puts each piece of new content through several tests before it goes up, with "communication specialists and subject matter experts" creating the content and the pre-publication checks done by the editorial team led by Watkins-Lyall. Read More
Live export regulator’s role as industry promoter ‘contradictory’, review finds
The Department of Agriculture and Water Resources' "contradictory" dual role as a regulator and promoter of the live animal export industry contributed to the industry's failure to ensure animal welfare, a long-awaited review into the department has found. Read More
First look at the new myGovID in action as Tax File Number trial begins
Everything is in place for Australians to start establishing myGovID digital identity credentials, and the first of eight pilot programs is now underway to test and demonstrate the new product. Read More