The Australian Public Service (APS) held a board meeting this month to discuss several matters regarding the findings of the digital and data committee. In the meeting, several high-level integrity issues for the service were discussed, from integrity and robodebt royal commissions matters, the Productivity Commission’s three-yearly Closing the Gap report, findings of the recently released 2022 APS remuneration report, several economic outlooks, and expansion of APSC’s role in SES recruitment.
Major issues discussed
At the 16 August meeting, Australia’s most influential public sector executives approved The first biannual report of a digital and data committee. Based on a released communique, the information contained priorities that the digital and data committee has for the rest of 2023. Endorsements were also made regarding updated terms and references.
Second, discussions held during the meeting were heavily dominated by integrity and robodebt royal commission matters, which resulted in establishing a new APS senior executive service performance leadership framework agreed upon by APS commissioner Gordon de Brouwer and PM&C head Glyn Davis. Furthermore, discussions were made in the government’s response regarding the royal commission into the robodebt scheme and updates in the inquiry into alleged breaches of the code of conduct by APS personnel, both present and former.
Other discussion made
Despite the meeting being heavily dominated by discussions regarding the Robodebt scandal, other topics were also discussed. Initially, talks centred on the early results of the “Closing the Gap Report” done by the Productivity Commission, highlighting the call for more decisive strategic leadership to hasten progress which the board further supported. Next, the committee acknowledged the 2022 APS compensation study results and pledged greater openness and transparency in the new reporting rules. Third, the department secretaries of Finance and Treasury, Jenny Wilkinson and Dr Steven Kennedy, provided budget and economic forecast updates. Fourth, updates were shared regarding prospective recruits for the APS’ new in-house consulting unit. Finally, the proposal for enhancing the APSC’s role in SES recruitment was approved.
Finally, the meeting’s goal was to give APS-wide strategic leadership in a coherent APS and to increase the function of the APSC to aid in developing confidence in the process’s integrity. On Wednesday, a separate strategic leaders group meeting was also convened. The new NACC commissioner Paul Brereton and ANAO auditor-general Grant Hehir attended the meeting. The next secretarial board meeting is scheduled for 13 September at PM&C offices. The strategic leaders’ group will meet again on 8 November.
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