Commission overview

The contemporary APS is increasingly governed by values rather than rules. The Public Service Commissioner has a key role in assisting agencies with the implementation of the delegated framework, in promoting and evaluating the implementation of the APS Values and the Code of Conduct, in developing the capabilities of APS staff, and in reporting on the ongoing health of the APS.

The Public Service Commissioner has both statutory powers and policy responsibilities. Under section 44 of the Public Service Act 1999 (PS Act 1999), the Commissioner is required to report annually to Parliament on the state of the APS. This State of the Service Report, which is tabled in Parliament as a separate document, is a central component of the maintenance of accountability across the APS.

The Public Service Commissioner also has statutory responsibilities relating to the Senior Executive Service, machinery of government, people management practices and breaches of the Code of Conduct (including whistleblowing). Policy responsibilities relate to public administration and people management and include promoting the merit principle, facilitating continuous improvement, developing people management policies and practices, fostering leadership, coordinating APS-wide training and career development, and promoting and reporting on workplace diversity in the APS.

The Public Service Commissioner works closely with the Merit Protection Commissioner, whose functions are established under section 50 of the PS Act 1999 and whose primary role is to provide independent external review of actions affecting individual APS employees. This role supports the legislative obligation of Agency Heads, included in the APS Values, to provide a fair system for review of decisions for all APS employees. The Merit Protection Commissioner also has responsibilities relating to breaches of the Code of Conduct (including whistleblowing) and increasingly has a role in promoting good practice in people management.

As the Agency Head of the Australian Public Service Commission (the Commission or the APS Commission), the Public Service Commissioner provides the staff necessary to assist the Merit Protection Commissioner to perform functions under the PS Act 1999. The arrangements for the provision of staff to the Merit Protection Commissioner are set out in a Memorandum of Understanding.

Mission

The Commission’s mission is to:

"promote a value-based APS, foster organisational performance, and evaluate the State of the Service"

The Commission aims to achieve its mission by providing advice and guidance to agencies, and working in partnership with agencies to identify, develop, evaluate and promote good practice in public administration.

Commission structure

The Public Service Commissioner is assisted by the Deputy Public Service Commissioner and the Merit Protection Commissioner in providing executive leadership to the Commission. The Commission’s Management Committee (CMC), which comprises the Executive and the Group Managers, is the main decision-making body with responsibility for corporate and strategic planning. The CMC meets fortnightly to review and monitor business plans, allocate resources and monitor revenues and expenditure. It also provides a forum for discussing APS policy issues or issues of importance to the functioning of the Commission.

Each Group Manager is individually responsible for the performance of a group. A summary of their responsibilities during 2002—03, with the names of senior staff at 30 June 2003, is set out in Figure 1.

On 1 July 2002, the Commission introduced a revised organisational structure which more closely aligned with the Corporate Plan. The revised structure complements and supports the strategic directions of the Commission as expressed in the Corporate Plan and fosters a stronger performance management context for the Commission’s work in assisting agencies promote the APS Values and workplace diversity.

The Policy and Employment Group provides advice to Government and agencies on the policy and legislative aspects of a wide range of people management and public administration issues in the APS, including SES employment and related staffing matters. It also undertakes the SES Adviser function.

The Organisational Performance and Values Group provides policy advice to Government and good practice advice to agencies on the APS Values, the APS Code of Conduct, performance management, dealing with misconduct, whistleblowing, harassment and workplace diversity programs. It also promotes improved client service, including through service charters, and manages the wide range of networks operating in the Commission, including the Corporate Management Network (COMNET).

The Leadership, Learning and Development Group advises on strategic approaches to leadership, including the promotion and support of good practice and the development of capability across the APS. It develops and delivers management and skills development programs.

The Review and Evaluation Group manages the preparation of the Public Service Commissioner's annual State of the Service Report to Parliament and a modest annual evaluation program. It also maintains the APS Employment Database, from which it analyses trends and publishes key workforce statistics.

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Figure 1: Commission organisational chart at 30 June 2003

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Outcome and output structure

The Commission as a whole contributes to the achievement of a Government Outcome–in essence, a high performing Australian Public Service.

The Commission’s contribution to this Outcome is most clearly articulated through its Outputs.

The Output structure of the 2002—03 Portfolio Budget Statement (PBS) provides the basis for performance reporting in Part 2 of this report.

During 2002—03, the Commission, with the agreement of the Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Public Service, refined its Output structure to align more closely its corporate planning framework, its Outcome and Outputs structure and its organisational structure. The revised outputs were implemented through the PBS issued in May 2003 and were structured under five Output Groups to improve the transparency of the Commission’s accountability framework together with the internal and external reporting functions. The 2003—04 PBS completed the planning and management changes commenced through the Corporate Plan developed in 2002—03. The Outputs for the 2003—04 Annual Report will be aligned with the Outputs in the Corporate Plan.

The following table maps the 2002—03 budget output structure to the Commission’s new output structure which will form the basis for future Annual Reports.

The Regional Services (North East) and Regional Services (South West) Groups provide advice and services to agencies Australia-wide, including statutory functions such as review of promotion decisions, review of other employment-related actions and the establishment of Independent Selection Advisory Committees, as well as a range of employment-related activities on a fee-for-service basis. They also have an increasing role in facilitating learning and development programs for APS staff in the regions.

The Corporate Strategy and Support Group provides corporate strategic management, information, research, parliamentary and support services to assist the Commission achieve its mission. It also publishes the Public Service Gazette.

Figure 2: Budget Output structure mapped to the new Output structure

2002–03 Budget output structure	NEW 2003–04 Budget output structure
Output 1: APS policy, legislation and information • Provide advice and support to Government on APS policy. • Provide advice to Agency Heads on APS policy and legislation. • Evaluate, and provide information on, the performance of the APS through the State of the Service Report, Workplace Diversity Report and Statistical Bulletin. • Maintain the database of APS employment. • Participate in international delegations and meetings.	Output 1: APS policy, legislation and information Provides advice to Government and agencies on the policy and legislative aspects of a wide range of people management and employment framework issues in the APS, including SES employment and related staffing matters. It also undertakes the SES Adviser function, responsibility for international matters and provides secretariat support to the Management Advisory Committee.
Output 2: Leadership, performance and development in the APS • Facilitate effective leadership, performance and staff development in the APS. • Provide Service-wide development activities.	Output 2: Leadership, performance and development in the APS Builds the capability of the APS by providing a wide range of leadership, learning and development activities for all levels of APS staff, including senior executives. Activities are based on agency needs as well as the Commission’s and APS-wide objectives.
Output 3: Employment-related services and functions • Manage SES employment matters and implement administrative rearrangements resulting from machinery of government changes. • Provide other employment-related services. • Produce APS Gazette.	Output 3: Employment-related services and functions Develops, promotes and provides advice to Government and agencies on better practice approaches to organisational performance, people management and governance in a values-based environment. Assists agencies to develop and implement strategies to improve Indigenous employment in the APS.
	Output 4: Evaluation Evaluates and provides information on the performance of the APS through the Commissioner’s State of the Service Report to Parliament, and through more specific issues-based evaluation projects. It also maintains the database of APS employment as a basis for analysing trends and publishing key workforce statistics, to assist agencies with workforce planning and as a resource for projects.
	Output 5: Merit protection reviews The Merit Protection Commissioner assists agencies to meet the requirements of APS Values and the APS Code of Conduct through the provision of an independent external review of APS actions.

The outline of and allocation of resources to the Outcome is at Appendix C