Learning from failure and success
Evaluation of policies and programs together with a culture which learns from success and failure is pivotal in producing evidence for effective policy development and… Read More
APS review
APS Review sets out four priorities for change
Common pay, a professional stream model and more transparent secretarial appointments are some of the suggestions in today's interim report. Read More
No more long knives: bring back permanent secretaries, argues 1980s Treasury dep sec
Former Westpac chief executive and Hawke-era Treasury deputy secretary David Morgan has added his voice to those who argue the Australian Public Service needs leaders who don’t fear the axe. Read More
APS Review to publish ‘detailed suggestions’
The independent review of the Australian Public Service will release some ideas later this month -- and wants your thoughts on them. Read More
We need to talk about ministerial control, says APS Review panellist
Ministers, decentralised pay, secretaries cloning themselves — a panel discussion on public sector reform gave an insight into what the APS Review might hold. Read More
How can APS leaders become adept at leading through change?
Leading reform, transformation and change are increasingly a normal part of the everyday role of leaders in the APS. But are they adapting their leadership style? Read More
Will 2019 be the year of the watchdog?
One of the most compelling areas of public administration demanding attention this year is the role of regulation and oversight across government, says Verona Burgess. Read More
Martin Parkinson: public servants should school rookie MPs and ministers
The public service should provide training to new members of parliament, ministers and their staff, in the view of senior Commonwealth secretary Martin Parkinson. He also thinks his colleagues should put the spotlight on the cost of restructuring. Read More
What makes a high performance agency in a complex world?
The very understanding of what a high performance staff and culture looks like is changing dramatically says Kathy Hilyard, KPMG’s public sector partner. The speed, volatility, complexity and ambiguity of the modern world is challenging all professions, meaning “even the nature of trying to define high performance is changing.” Read More
The passion for making a difference is our greatest asset ‒ and we must preserve that
APS review panel member and Coca-Cola Amatil Australia chief Alison Watkins reveals her observations of the public service and dwells on the role of business in contributing to the reform debate. Read More
The case for an evaluator-general: why we need it and how we should configure it
The APS Review has been considering what role evaluation of public programs will have in its findings. Australia’s leading evaluator-general proponent, Dr Nicholas Gruen, on the design and implementation issues that will need to be addressed. Read More
The Fifth Risk and what it means for Australia
What is happening in the US public service right now makes an interesting laboratory study from which we could draw lessons for the Thodey Review. Read More
Can former political staffers turn into impartial public servants?
A better system is needed to acknowledge experience in a ministerial office to enable public servants to transfer back at a higher level and non-public servant staffers to have their service recognised in the APS, says Verona Burgess. 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
Canberra ‘too remote’ from most Australians, says de Brouwer
Government risks becoming separated from the people, warn a group of mandarins, as policy and service functions move apart. Read More