Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

I seek leave to have the second reading speech incorporated in Hansard.

Leave granted.

The speech read as follows—

This bill makes amendments to the Public Service Act 1999 and is a key element of the Albanese Government's APS Reform agenda.

The need for ambitious and enduring reform of the APS is clear.

The Independent Review of the Australian Public Service, led by Mr David Thodey, concluded that the APS lacked a unified purpose, was too internally focused, and had lost capability in important areas.

The Thodey Review called for a public service that is trusted, future-fit, responsive and agile to meet the changing needs of government and the community with professionalism and integrity.

This bill delivers on several important recommendations of the Thodey Review, recognising that the case for reform has only strengthened in recent years.

The COVID-19 pandemic, natural disasters, geopolitical disruptions and increasing economic volatility have highlighted the importance of an APS that acts with agility and common purpose.

The experience of recent years has also highlighted the enduring importance of the existing APS Values: to be impartial, committed to service, accountable, respectful and ethical.

To model these values and embody integrity, the APS needs to be honest, truly independent and empowered to provide frank and fearless advice, and to defend legality and due process.

The APS needs to listen to and engage with the Australian community—developing policy and delivering services with empathy and in a spirit of partnership.

We should expect greater transparency about the state of the service and its ability to deliver—that helps build trust in government.

We want the APS to be confident and capable: acting with a clear purpose, demonstrating thought leadership, and taking a long term view on the implications of each decision and action.

Reform of such a large and complex organisation takes time and sustained effort. That's why we need reforms that stick, reforms that last.

For these reasons, the Albanese Government is introducing amendments to the Public Service Act to embed reform in the legislation that guides and governs the public service.

APS reform agenda

The Albanese government's APS Reform agenda has four priorities. They are:

First: An APS that embodies integrity in everything it does

Second: An APS that puts people and business at the centre of policy and services.

Third: An APS that is a model employer.

And fourth: An APS that has the capability to do its job well.

This bill supports each of these priorities.

At its heart, this bill and the Albanese Government's broader APS Reform agenda is about restoring the public's trust and faith in government and its institutions.

The reforms in this bill will strengthen the APS' core purpose and values; build the capability and expertise of the APS; and support good governance, accountability and transparency.

Strengthen the APS's core values and purpose

The APS is a complex organisation, made up of tens of thousands of people working across dozens of departments and agencies. The work of the APS is incredibly varied and diverse.

To ensure the APS works as an integrated organisation—as one APS—the Thodey Review recommended strengthening the APS' purpose and values, and promoting a shared understanding of its role.

Amendments in the bill deliver on this intent and support the government's APS Reform priority to create an APS that acts with integrity in everything it does.

APS Value of Stewardship

This bill adds a new APS Value of Stewardship.

The APS Values articulate the culture and operating ethos of the APS. They reflect expectations of the relationship between public servants and the government, the parliament and the Australian community.

The new stewardship value has been developed through extensive consultation, with responses from over 1500 APS staff across the country—from graduates to senior executives.

Informed by this consultation, the bill outlines the stewardship Value as meaning 'the APS builds capability and institutional knowledge, and supports the public interest now and into the future by understanding the long-term impacts of what it does'.

By requiring all APS employees to uphold stewardship, the bill will strengthen the important and enduring role that all public servants play as stewards.

Stewardship involves learning from the past and looking to the future.

It involves conservation and cultivation—leaving things in a better place than you found them.

It involves seeing your role as part of the whole—preserving public trust and promoting the public good.

Stewardship has deep roots in Australia. First Nations Australians are this country's original stewards—caring for country over tens of thousands of years, and multiple generations.

APS Purpose Statement

To complement the addition of stewardship as an APS Value, this bill will require the Secretaries Board to oversee the development of a single, unifying purpose statement for the APS.

This will provide a common foundation for collaborative leadership, aligned services and shared delivery across the many departments and agencies that make up the service.

It will contribute to a shared sense of purpose for tens of thousands of APS employees, reinforcing a one-APS approach.

This purpose statement will be developed through consultation—by the service for the service—and it will not be set in stone. The bill requires that it be refreshed every five years, accounting for the APS's evolving role over time.

The purpose statement should guide the way the APS works. Under this bill, Agency Heads will be required to uphold and promote the new purpose statement as well as the APS Values and Employment Principles.

Limitations on Ministerial directions to Agency Heads

The first APS Value is for the APS to be impartial. This value is crucial to the successful operation of the service and to maintaining public trust. It is important that we defend it.

Having an apolitical and merit-based approach to APS employment matters—devoid of political interference—is key to maintaining an impartial public service.

This bill will strengthen the relevant provision in the Public Service Act to make it clear that Ministers cannot direct agency heads on individual APS staffing decisions.

This will reaffirm the apolitical role of the APS and provide confidence to Agency Heads to act with integrity in the exercise of their duties and powers.

Building the capability, expertise and thought leadership of the APS

The bill also embeds ongoing measures to build the APS' capability and expertise.

Talented, committed people are the foundation of the APS.

To be future-fit, the APS needs to continually build the capability of its staff to create a skilled and confident workforce, and remain a robust and trusted institution that delivers modern policy and service solutions for decades to come.

The APS must work in genuine partnership with the public to solve problems and co-design the best solutions to improve the lives of the Australian community.

The APS need to be future-focussed, looking ahead to solve the challenges facing Australia.

The Thodey Review noted concerns that the capability of the APS has been eroded over time.

This bill seeks to address those concerns and embed an expectation that the APS continuously assesses its strengths and weaknesses, and takes action to uplift its capability, including by engaging with the Australian public.

The reforms in this bill deliver on the APS Reform priorities for an APS that has the capability to do its job well, and that puts people and business at the centre of policy and services.

Capa bility reviews

This bill will make regular, independent and transparent capability reviews a five-yearly requirement for each Department of State, Services Australia and the Australian Taxation Office.

Capability reviews are independent, forward-looking and assess organisational strengths and areas for development in view of the agency's operating environment, now and into the future.

Capability review reports and action plans responding to findings will be released publicly, with limited exceptions.

This bill will ensure the APS maintains a culture of continuous improvement to deliver for the Government and Australian community.

Long-term insights reports

The Thodey Review called for the APS to strike a better balance between short-term responsiveness and investing in the deep expertise required to grapple with long-term, strategic policy challenges.

This bill will help the APS maintain that balance and build expertise by requiring Secretaries Board to commission regular, evidence-based long-term insights reports, developed through a process of public consultation.

Long-term insight reports will explore some of the medium-term and long-term trends, risks, and opportunities that Australia faces.

These apolitical and evidence-based reports will encourage the APS to engage with academics, experts, and the broader Australian community on long-term policy challenges.

By partnering in this transparent way, the APS can build trust in its expertise and understanding of cross-cutting issues that matter to all Australians.

Supporting good governance, accountability and transparency

Transparency can shine a light on the culture and make-up of the APS, and prompt changes to ensure it remains a great place to work for people from all walks of life.

Best-practice governance arrangements should also ensure APS employees are empowered and supported in their roles—with opportunities to apply and extend their skills and experience.

Amendments in this bill address these objectives and deliver on the APS Reform priority to create an APS that is a model employer.

Publishing annual APS Employee Census results

The APS Employee Census is an annual survey used to collect information about the attitudes and opinions of APS employees. It is an opportunity for APS employees to share their experiences working in the APS.

Under this bill, agencies will be required to publish their aggregate APS Employee Census results, along with an action plan responding to those results.

By doing this, the government aims to foster a culture of transparency and accountability for continuous improvement within agencies.

It also aims to improve the APS's position as a model employer—one that not only listens to but addresses the thoughts, concerns, and ideas of its employees.

Enablin g decision-making to occur at the lowest appropriate classification

Being a model employer also requires that you create a culture of trust and support for your employees.

The Thodey Review called for the APS to adopt best-practice ways of working by reducing unnecessary hierarchy and empowering APS employees to make decisions.

This recommendation was prompted by findings that decisions involving risk tended to be increasingly escalated upwards in the APS.

This bill introduces a healthy counterweight to that tendency, by including a provision to require Agency Heads to implement measures that enable decisions to be made by APS employees at the lowest appropriate classification level.

To be clear, this isn't about pushing work or risk down to an inappropriate level.

Instead, it is about ensuring that decision-making is not raised to a higher level than is necessary.

Ultimately, it is about improving decision-making processes, reducing bureaucratic bottlenecks, empowering staff, and fostering professional development.

Conclusion

The challenges facing Australia over the coming decade are immense. The APS will continue to play an integral role in meeting the changing needs of government and the community with professionalism and integrity.

The Thodey Review provided an important blueprint for ongoing public sector transformation that can endure while adapting to changing needs and circumstances.

The Albanese Government has responded with its ambitious APS Reform Agenda.

By amending the Public Service Act, this bill advances that agenda significantly, and locks in important reforms.

Through this and other measures we can uphold and build the public's trust and faith in government and one of its most important institutions—the Australian Public Service.