Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has stated his desire to better utilize the skills and talents of public servants as part of a strategy to make the Australian Public Service an asset for the country.  

In a recent radio interview, Albanese expressed his interest in gaining more input from public servants on how to reform the federal and local government, emphasizing the need to tap into the wealth of ideas and knowledge of public servants. 

“There are thousands of really smart people who’ve gone into public service not just to tick boxes and fill in paper, but to contribute to their country. And they have ideas,” he said.  

“And we need to tap into that resource. So, I think one of the things I’ve tried to do is to use the Commonwealth public service in a more respectful way and utilise them as an asset for the country.” 

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Albanese also revealed that he had spoken with the head of each government department late last year to gather their insights on progress in the first six months of the new administration, with the goal of getting the best out of the public service. 

“We just went through, in a coordinated way, each of the departments: what they got right in the first six months of the new government, what their ideas were for the coming year and for the rest of this term,” he said. 

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The Prime Minister’s comments align with recent initiatives to reform the Australian Public Service. These initiatives include independent capability reviews for government departments, as well as a focus on the recommendations for the public sector from the 2019 Thodey review.  

Additionally, Minister for Finance and Public Service Katy Gallagher announced that the government has plans for improved training, an in-house consultancy model, and addressing representation, resource, and engagement gaps within the public service.  

Inquiries on salaries for public servants have also been approached by Labor. 

Source: Global Government Forum. Content has been edited for style and length. 

Eliza Sayon

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Eliza is a content producer and editor at Public Spectrum. She is an experienced writer on topics related to the government and to the public, as well as stories that uplift and improve the community.

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