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Picture: Foundations launch, Lynelle Briggs, David Bohn, Kathie Potts and Peter Shergold
A ‘groundbreaking publication’
Foundations of Governance in the Australian Public Service
The Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Dr Shergold AM, and the Australian Public Service Commissioner, Lynelle Briggs, joined forces on 1 June 2005 to launch Foundations of Governance in the Australian Public Service, a new information resource for agency heads and senior managers.
In launching the publication, Ms Briggs said
the foundations of governance have changed considerably over the last 25 years. Public expectations and new forms of service delivery have necessitated greater administrative flexibility and less reliance on central rules and processes.
Ms Briggs also noted that, while agency heads have benefited from greater flexibility and devolution, a strengthening of accountability and reporting arrangements have accompanied the benefits.
Foundations is a publication and Internet resource that for the first time draws together key agency head responsibilities and is designed to help agency heads meet their obligations and responsibilities. It covers a wide range of agency head responsibilities including:
- accountability requirements
- the financial management framework
- the employment and workplace relations frameworks
- management of government information.
Ms Briggs said that the breadth of information covered and the ready accessibility of the resource was its great strength. Foundations will be of particular value to those newly appointed to such duties, by providing them with concise information about the key elements of the legislative and policy framework within which agency heads operate. The resources will also be of considerable assistance to many senior managers—for example, heads of corporate.
The Australian Public Service Commission led the Foundations project, with the support of a reference group, comprising both central and line agencies. The Foundations resource reflects input from the reference group, and from many other agencies. Collaboration with central and line agencies was critical to bringing the project to fruition—and will be crucial to keeping the Internet resource up to date in the future.
The Internet resource is available at www.apsc.gov.au/foundations
