Section 4: Program delivery model

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A phased approach to implementation

The APS Reform agenda has entered its second phase of implementation. This next phase reinforces and embeds early reform achievements, with further initiatives to support an APS that is unwavering in its integrity and capability.

The reform agenda is being implemented through a service-wide delivery platform, supported by the APSC. Ideas for reform are scoped and defined within the APSC, and once further developed or implemented transition to an agency/agencies as business as usual activities. Other projects of similar intent are then commenced, and follow the same life-cycle. The delivery platform brings together the APSC, initiative leads, and implementing agencies to drive a coordinated approach to embedding enduring reforms.

The APS Reform agenda has a clear implementation approach, built on concepts of committed and accountable leaders, clear purpose, outcomes and priorities, measuring and reporting on what matters, coordinated and tailored delivery plans, empowering agency-led work, and building engagement and buy-in for the process.
Early reform initiatives provided the foundation for significant operational changes across the APS.
Cultural change, particularly as it relates to leadership, capability and integrity, was targeted to ensure the APS delivers the best possible outcomes for Australians.
Agencies invested in capability uplift to address immediate skills gaps.
Lessons learned during phase one were documented to ensure an incremental and adaptive approach to future reform initiatives, underpinned by continuous improvement.

As phase one reform initiatives have progressed through the design, planning and delivery stages, the APSC has further improved its program delivery model, including through:

enhanced governance and oversight, including through the establishment of the APS Reform Program Board
a new emphasis on evaluating the effectiveness of initiatives
improved support and guidance for agencies implementing initiatives.

These improvements will strengthen delivery of the second phase of reform initiatives, which are targeted at:

bolstering integrity through legislative amendments and non-legislative initiatives
building an outwardly-engaged APS that understands and works with communities and businesses
strengthening APS capability to support the delivery of modern policy and service solutions for decades to come.

A maturing governance framework

Accountabilities for the APS Reform agenda are nested within an overarching APS Reform governance framework that enables shared responsibility for progressing reforms (see Figure 4 below). The Secretaries Board and its committees continue to hold overall accountability for delivering the APS Reform program, with development, delivery and reporting supported by a whole-of-government delivery platform.

This year, improvements in governance have been targeted towards building on the strong foundations of the APS Reform Program Board and the Program Management Office.

Figure 4 APS Reform governance

Governance body	Governance type	Decision-making role	Responsibilities
Minister for the Public Service	Decision-maker	Determine overall ambition and strategic direction Agree priorities and sequencing	Set / endorse priority initiatives Approve governance, timelines and sequencing Approve key final products and determine next steps
Secretaries Board	Decision-maker	Agree initiative-level ambition Determine initiative-level accountabilities	Establish the authorising environment Problem-solve delivery risks Help shape and set direction on APS reform
Secretaries Board Sub-committees	Decision-maker	Agree implementation path for reforms within their areas of mandate	Drive reform at an operational level across Government Provide advice and oversight within their areas of mandate Test early solutions and head off signalled implementation risks
Australian Public Service Commissioner	Decision-maker	Determine and advise Minister and Secretaries Board to delay, suspend or accelerate initiatives, in consultation with Secretary of Finance	Ensure initiatives are delivered on-time and to the intended effect to achieve APS reform ambition Assure and sign-off on appropriate planning and optimise delivery agenda
APSC Executive Board	Decision-maker	Agree APSC initiative-level funding Determine APSC initiative-level accountabilities	Drive reform at an operational level across the APSC Assure and sign-off on appropriate planning and optimise delivery agenda
Australian Public Service Reform Program Board	Oversight	N/A	Program assurance and advice on interdependencies, focussing on governance framework and risk management Identify connections, and guide collaboration on reform work
APS Reform Management Committee	Oversight	N/A	provide advice on proposed approaches to areas of work related to APS Reform provide a platform for communicating and sharing information about strategic operational matters
APSC Program Management Office	Delivery	N/A	Manage Secretaries Board sub-committee interfaces Lead APS-wide risk mitigation engagements Set and manage implementation strategy Track and report delivery of projects, outcomes and risk
Individual agencies	Delivery	N/A	Develop and execute project plans to deliver initiatives Report on delivery progress, outcomes and risk Collaborate to active network of initiative leads across agencies

The APS Reform Program Board

The APS Reform Program Board comprises senior leaders at the Deputy Secretary and Chief Operating Officer level. The Program Board oversees implementation of reform initiatives, and supports Secretaries Board and its sub-committees in relation to their overall accountability for the program.

Secretaries Board provides strategic oversight of the reform agenda, consistent with its stewardship function as set out in the Public Service Act 1999. Secretaries Board has a critical role in guiding how the APS gives effect to the government’s ambitious reform agenda, including to endorse the whole-of-program outcomes that serve as the objectives for APS Reform, and to consider initiatives to be addressed through the second phase of the reform agenda.

The Program Board monitors and reports on progress, risks and opportunities. It focuses on good program governance and overseeing the systems, processes and progress of the overall Reform program, including interdependencies and shared risks across individual initiatives. It is designed to enhance, not replace, agency-specific governance mechanisms by providing a whole-of-program perspective. This whole-of-system perspective is essential to ensure that the reform initiatives developed by a small number of agencies are scalable and repeatable across the service, and to avoid the burden of excessive coordination on any one agency.

The APS Reform Program Management Office

The APS Reform Program Management Office provides a whole-of-government delivery platform for the APS Reform agenda. It coordinates and works with key governance bodies and agencies across the APS to maximise the impact of APS Reform, monitors the progress of reform initiatives across the service, and supports agencies to make enduring changes.

A change management approach to reform

The APS Reform change management approach has been strengthened over the past year, and is providing increased support and guidance to agencies implementing reform initiatives. The APSC is working across the service to ensure that the implementation of reform initiatives aligns with the overarching objectives of the reform agenda, including through the production of an APS Reform Handbook every 6 months. The Handbook provides advice for agencies on how to implement APS Reform initiatives in their own operating context, particularly through the development of their corporate plans. The Handbook clarifies APS-wide timelines and expectations for implementation. It empowers agencies to lead change efforts and reduces implementation risks, including through its provision of clear and consistent guidance regarding governance arrangements, timelines, and deliverables.

The APSC is partnering with the APS Centre of Excellence in Change Management at the Department of Home Affairs to increase change management training offerings, and to renew the focus on the importance of change management skills at every level across the APS.

This activity is part of the APS Reform Change Management Strategy. The Strategy supports agencies and initiative leads to implement and embed enduring reform, including by guiding agencies’ consideration of the purpose and benefits of the initiative, implementation risks (such as resourcing and capability constraints), and to clarify responsibilities where multiple teams or agencies are leading and supporting delivery of the initiative. The Strategy is underpinned by collaboration and capability uplift to ensure initiative leads and agencies have the collective expertise to deliver enduring service-wide changes.

Building capability to deliver reform

Momentum for APS Reform is increasing and becoming self-sustaining across the service. As capability gaps have emerged, the APS Academy is leveraging its existing remit to build the capacity and performance of the APS workforce to drive whole-of-service investment in key capabilities that enable reform outcomes. This includes an increased focus on developing core skills underpinning effective change management, partnerships, and engagement.