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Executive Summary
APS Reform has been an ongoing effort for a number of years and momentum is accelerating. While the Independent Review of the Australian Public Service (the Thodey Review) remains an important bedrock for the APS Reform agenda, the operating context of the Australian Government has shifted since 2019. This includes changes in the public’s expectations of the APS, and in the challenges and opportunities the service faces. The APS Reform agenda builds on a range of reform efforts to date and positions the APS to be future fit and capable of adapting and evolving to changing and rising expectations.
In addition to the Thodey Review, the APS Reform agenda draws on a broad set of source materials:
- Lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic;
- The National Partnership Agreement on Closing the Gap;
- International experience of public sector reform, including recent reforms in New Zealand and the United Kingdom; and
- The Government’s election commitments, such as commitments to establish a National Anti-Corruption Commission and achieve Net Zero in the APS by 2030.
This document outlines how the APS Reform agenda, having built on the preceding foundations of reform, supports all 40 Thodey Review recommendations, either in part or in full. It represents a non-exhaustive and once-off update on the APS’s progress on implementing the recommendations of the Thodey Review as at November 2023. Best efforts have been made to capture areas of progress across the APS, though there may be examples of progress not captured herein.
A fit-for-purpose approach to implementation and tracking of APS Reform progress has been developed to ensure clear and measurable reporting. Further detail on the current APS Reform agenda, with progress framed within the context of the Government’s agenda and its four reform pillars, eight outcomes, and underpinning initiatives, can be found in the APS Annual Progress Report. All future reporting on APS Reform progress will be structured consistent with this APS Reform program outcomes framework.
This document outlines that:
- 13 Thodey Review recommendations are complete, including:
- Recommendation 1: Implement APS transformation through strong leadership, clear targets, and appointment of a secretary-level transformation leader.
- Recommendation 19: Develop a whole-of-service workforce strategy to build and sustain the way the APS attracts, develops and utilises its people, to ensure that it can perform its function.
- Recommendation 20: Establish an APS professions model and a learning and development strategy to deepen capability and expertise.
- 27 Thodey Review recommendations are underway, including:
- Recommendation 5b: Amend the Public Service Act 1999 to reflect key principles for the APS — apolitical, stewardship, openness, integrity and adherence to merit.
- Recommendation 10: APS to work in genuine partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
- Recommendation 25: Strengthen the APS by recruiting, developing and promoting more people with diverse views and backgrounds.
Note Recommendation 2a and 2b are treated as one Thodey Recommendation and deemed underway, despite 2a marked as complete. Similarly, 39a, 39b and 39c are treated as one Thodey Recommendation and deemed underway, despite 39c marked as complete.
Note implementation of multiple pieces of Thodey guidance is subject to the passage of the Public Service Amendment Bill 2023, amending the Public Service Act 1999. This Bill was introduced into the House of Representatives on 14 June 2023 and is currently before the Parliament.
Guidance note
The status of each Thodey Review recommendation is based on progress achieved against its underlying implementation guidance. A recommendation is marked complete if all of its guidance is complete, continuing or closed. It is marked underway if at least one piece of guidance is still underway or under consideration. There are no recommendations where all underlying guidance is under consideration.
In some instances, the recommendation is broad while its implementation guidance is specific. If all guidance has been completed, the recommendation is marked complete even if other opportunities to improve exist to progress against the broader recommendation.
For implementation guidance:
Complete means all associated work has been conducted and finalised.
Continuing means work has been conducted, but this work will need to continue to ensure the guidance remains in effect (for instance by being embedded in ongoing work processes).
Closed means the guidance has been assessed alongside current reform efforts and closed for further activity as it is deemed not necessary to achieve the broader recommendation.
Underway means some level of work has already been conducted or is ongoing, including in developmental phases, though more will need to be done before the goals of the guidance are in effect.
Under consideration means further discussions are necessary to determine whether or how to give effect to the guidance.
Progress to date on Thodey recommendations
The Thodey Review provides detailed guidance on how each of the 40 recommendations might be pursued to effect change in the APS. The guiding points, which often reflect sub-recommendations and could be interpreted as a ‘blueprint’ for reform, are typically of interest to internal APS partners and external figures alike. For this reason, this section provides a status update (as of November 2023) on the 40 Thodey recommendations based on actions taken against each of the underpinning guidance notes. It is a non-exhaustive and point-in-time update of progress. In many instances, reform initiatives are underway that do not match the exact guidance notes of Thodey but nonetheless support the overarching recommendation for reform.