Part Two

The Performance Review provides a more detailed discussion of the Commission’s performance against each of our outputs.

 

Output 1: APS policy and employment services

Output 1 is drawn from the Public Service Commissioner’s statutory role as outlined in section 41 of the Public Service Act 1999 (the Act), in particular her responsibilities to develop, promote, review and evaluate Australian Public Service (APS) employment policies and practices, including the APS Values, Code of Conduct and whistleblowing provisions, and to provide advice and assistance to agency heads on APS employment matters.

This output also relates to the Commission’s work in helping governments and organisations in the Asia–Pacific improve public sector governance and performance, and to contribute to international networks.

Additionally, Output 1 is drawn from the statutory responsibilities as outlined in section 16 of the Public Service Act 1999 to inquire into whistleblower reports. Information on whistleblower reports made to the Merit Protection Commissioner are provided in Part four.

Achievements

The Commission’s achievements under Output 1 were delivered against a background of increased demand for support from the new Government and agencies in dealing with financial and administrative policy. Significant new work was progressed in parallel with a large increase in demand for the Commission to exercise its statutory powers.

Achievements included:

Price for Output 1

The total price for Output 1 was $14.406 million. This is $0.337 million higher than the estimated price of $14.069 million published in the Portfolio Budget Statements 2007–08.

Output 1.1 Advice and support to Minister, Executive and agency heads

The Commission’s role under Output 1.1 involves providing advice to government and agencies on the policy and legislative aspects of public administration, people management and employment frameworks. The Commission also provides advice and support to agency executives to develop, promote, review and evaluate APS employment policies and practices.

Table 2: Performance information—Output 1.1 Advice and support to Minister, Executive and agency heads
Target Result
Note: For completeness and effectiveness of reporting of ‘items to Ministers’, all areas within the Commission are presented in this table.
Quantity
1. Number of items to ministers:
  • responses to ministerial correspondence—estimate 28
 Achieved. 28 responses to ministerial correspondence.
  • question time briefs—estimate 21
 Underestimated. 38 new question time briefs.
  • ministerial requests for briefings—estimate 57
 Underestimated. 113 ministerial requests for briefings
2. Number of reports and responses to requests for information and advice:
  • responses to correspondence—estimate 39
 Overestimated. 12 responses produced
  • Commission Adviceline enquiries—estimate 2500
 Achieved. 2484 enquiries received
  • reports, circulars and publications—estimate 10
 Underestimated. 9 circulars and 15 publications
  • advice and support to regional senior staff—estimate 150
 Overestimated. 84.
Quality
1. Percentage of items rated satisfactory or higher in terms of relevance, quality and timeliness—target is 100%. No longer rated.
2. Agencies satisfied with quality of advice. Achieved. Agency feedback continues to indicate satisfaction with the advice provided.
Estimated price: $2.001 million Actual: $2.262 million

Achievements that contributed to this output included preparing advice and support for initiatives under the Government’s enhanced probity, accountability and transparency agenda, the development and publication of advice for agencies on building better governance, and a new quarterly electronic newsletter bringing leadership issues and advice to the attention of the SES.

Advice and support to the Minister

A central role of the Commission is to provide high quality, timely advice and support to the Minister. In 2007–08 the Commission provided 28 responses to ministerial correspondence, 38 question time briefs and 113 ministerial briefings. The last two items exceeded estimates largely due to election of the new federal government in November and the increased activity in implementing a new policy agenda.

Formal quality assessment of ministerial briefs ceased in January 2007 at the request of the then Minister, the Hon. Joe Hockey, MP, and has not been reinstated.

The Minister, Senator the Hon. John Faulkner, plays an active role in the Government’s ethics agenda, and the Commission has supported Government efforts to restore Westminster traditions.

Merit-based selection of agency heads

New arrangements have been introduced for merit-based selection of APS agency heads (other than Secretaries and their equivalents) and statutory officers working in, or in conjunction with, APS agencies.

In limited circumstances, the Prime Minister may grant an exemption from this process where, for example, a Minister wishes to appoint someone already at a similar level, or there is an ‘eminent’ person available.

The Commission’s role is to help agencies understand and implement the new policy and to support the Commissioner’s role in selection processes.

Pages from the guidelinesMerit-based selection of agency heads

In February the Government announced the introduction of a new policy requiring transparent merit-based selection of APS agency heads (other than Secretaries and their equivalents) and statutory officers working in, or in conjunction with, APS agencies.

The Commission developed a practical policy that the Government accepted and in February released the policy guidelines entitled Merit and transparency: merit-based selection of APS agency heads and statutory office holders.

Under the new policy, a transparent merit-based process applies for filling vacancies, including:

  • advertising, at a minimum, in the national press and on the APSjobs website
  • overseeing the process and assessment of applicants’ claims by the relevant departmental Secretary and the Public Service Commissioner
  • making a merit-based selection against a core set of selection criteria
  • a report from the Secretary to the Minister recommending short listed candidates.

The Secretary and Public Service Commissioner may either personally participate in the process or select appropriate representatives.

To date, 14 vacancies (covering a number of positions) have been advertised in accordance with these new procedures.

Maintaining employment conditions for staff in new agencies

The Government abolished four existing APS departments, and created five new ones, with effect from 3 December 2007. The abolished departments were: Communications, Information Technology and the Arts; Education, Science and Technology; Employment and Workplace Relations; and Industry, Tourism and Resources. The new departments are: Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy; Climate Change; Education, Employment and Workplace Relations; Innovation, Industry, Science and Research; and Resources, Energy and Tourism.

As well, some functions moved between portfolios, for example, privacy and freedom of information functions moved from the Attorney-General’s portfolio to the Prime Minister and Cabinet portfolio; and the National Archives moved from the former Communications, Information Technology and the Arts portfolio to Finance and Deregulation.

To ensure that staff maintained their terms and conditions of employment following the machinery of government change, it was necessary in some instances for Senator the Hon. John Faulkner, in his capacity as Public Service Minister, to issue determinations under section 24(3) of the Act. Two such determinations were issued.

The Commission worked closely with DEEWR to provide guidance and advice to departments and agencies affected by the changed arrangements and issued a number of determinations under section 72 of the Act to move affected staff between agencies. The Commission was involved in developing the section 24(3) determinations, including briefing the Minister on their implementation.

Review of the Public Service Act 1999 and subordinate legislation

In 2005–06 the Commission undertook a review of the operation of the Act and subordinate legislation. It was a low-key review to identify issues that had arisen since the legislation was introduced in 1999. At the completion of the review, the then Government decided not to proceed with proposed changes due to other priorities.

Following the change of government, the Commission is developing further advice on the matter for the Minister, following consultation with the Community and Public Sector Union.

Advice and support services to the Executive

Advice and support were provided to members of the Commission’s Executive, including provision of research on public sector matters, preparation of briefs and correspondence and delivery of speech writing services.

Speeches and presentations by the Commission’s Executive continue to provide important opportunities for engaging with agencies and external stakeholders, advancing public service issues and stimulating debate.

The Commissioner delivered 32 public speeches and presentations including:

A full list is available at <www.apsc.gov.au/about/pscommissioner.htm>.

The Commission’s role in providing advice and support to agency heads incorporates advising on the implementation of machinery of government changes and developing materials and guidelines to improve APS performance.

Building better governance

In October the Commission launched four publications in its Contemporary Government Challenges series, providing information and advice to help APS agencies improve their performance including Building better governance which case studies demonstrate what some APS agencies have done to improve governance.

See also Output 3.4—Research and evaluation for more information.

Supporting the SES

Consistent with promoting a leadership culture and a professional senior executive cadre in the APS, the Commission piloted a new SES newsletter—SES notes—and following positive feedback, it published four further editions—October, December, March and June—to an SES audience of over 2000.

As a quarterly online newsletter, SES notes provides views and information from the Commission and other organisations on current leadership and other issues relevant to the SES. The content focuses on whole-of-government issues and topics of wider interest to senior executives.

As well, the SES pages on the Commission’s website were redesigned and further developed in September to make information more relevant and accessible to SES employees.

Providing information to complainants

The Commission released guidelines for agencies on what information they can or should give to complainants about the outcome of their complaint. The guidelines were developed in consultation with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner to address concerns that some agencies tend to overstate Privacy Act 1988 requirements when deciding not to provide information on the outcome of a complaint, particularly Code of Conduct investigations, to the complainant.

Public servants and the lobbyist code

The Government released the Lobbying Code of Conduct in March 2008; it came into effect on 1 July 2008. Its main aim is to ensure that government representatives (including APS employees, Ministers and their staff, and Australian Defence Force personnel) who are approached by professional lobbyists are aware of the interests those lobbyists represent and can make informed judgments about what they are trying to achieve.

In consultation with the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, the Commission issued guidelines for agencies to ensure the APS complies with the Code.

While the Code is not intended to affect ongoing technical and professional cooperation between the APS and businesses and organisations, the guidelines encourage agencies to ensure lobbyists with whom they deal are registered and that they know who lobbyists represent and what they hope to accomplish.

The Code places time restrictions on former government representatives, including former SES employees, from lobbying on matters with which they were involved in their previous roles. The guidelines require agencies to institute systems to ensure lobbyists comply with these restrictions.

Public servants and the media

In December the Commission issued new guidelines covering public servants’ participation in public information and awareness initiatives. The guidelines were issued when debate over public servant participation in information campaigns highlighted the need for clearer and more up-to-date advice. It also addresses the appropriate use of new media, such as the Internet.

The guidelines require agencies to institute arrangements to ensure public servants understand their roles in explaining new or ongoing Government policies and programmes to the public and other stakeholders and to establish processes for effectively and ethically managing contacts with the media. The guidelines incorporate the Government’s policy not to use public servants in government advertising unless that role is essential to communicate an important message on an issue such as public health or similar for which the Commissioner has first given approval.

Public servants and the new workplace relations environment

The Commission contributed to the Government’s review of the policy framework for bargaining over remuneration and employment conditions. In February DEEWR issued advice to agencies on the new bargaining framework for agreement-making in the APS, which incorporated guidance on redundancy and mobility issues for which the Commission is responsible.

The bargaining framework continues to provide flexibility for agencies, ensuring they have scope to provide pay and conditions that enable them to recruit and retain key employees. With the phasing out of AWAs agencies must use other instruments to tailor pay and conditions to individual circumstances where necessary. The Commission has worked with DEEWR to assess the options and provide agencies with information on the two main alternatives—common law contracts and determinations under section 24(1) of the Act.

The Commission will continue to assess aspects of draft collective agreements and determinations to ensure agency proposals comply with the government policy framework (see also Output 1.2.).

Australian citizenship and the public service

In December, the Commission released a new online publication, Citizenship in the Australian Public Service that aimed to bring together, in one place, information and advice about citizenship requirements in the APS. As well as Act requirements, the publication included up-to-date information on migration and work visa requirements from the Department of Immigration and Citizenship and information on security matters from the Attorney-General’s Department.

Employment Policy Adviceline and advice to regional senior staff

The Commission’s Employment Policy Adviceline provides information to APS agencies on a range of matters relating to APS employment policy. Callers from an agency’s human resource or corporate area, or senior managers, can seek advice on the legislative and policy framework in areas such as recruitment, termination of employment, redundancy, the APS Values and Code of Conduct, performance management, and better practice.

While agency heads are responsible for most APS employment matters in their agencies, the Adviceline helps agencies in a variety of ways, including how to find the most relevant publicly available information, including on the Commission’s website.

The Adviceline received fewer enquiries in 2007–08 (2484) than in 2006–07 (2773); calls about APS employment issues again dominated (Table 3). The reduction was mainly due to a February 2007 efficiency decision to provide Adviceline assistance primarily to human resource areas and senior managers within APS agencies. Previously, the Adviceline received a significant number of enquiries unrelated to the Act, and from individual APS employees that were better dealt with by agency human resource areas.

The number of requests for advice made by email decreased by 1% compared to last year, with 745 enquires in 2007–08 being emailed to <employmentadvice@apsc.gov.au>.

Table 3: Main categories of employment policy Adviceline calls, 2005–06 to 2007–08
Subject 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08
Staffing matters 935 1103 933
General legislative issues 416 138 135
Separations 261 259 190
Conditions/entitlements 259 235 351
Review matters 233 111 88
APS Values/Code of Conduct 212 204 265
Workplace diversity issues 80 47 29
SES matters 54 60 50
Mobility/reciprocal mobility 48 29 35
Competencies/qualifications 48 20 6
Other 743 567 402
Total 3289 2773 2484

Commission staff in regional offices provide advice and support to regional SES and senior regionally-based staff on the Commission’s role and services. Assistance provided relates to the APS Values and Code of Conduct, capability development, better people management, and employment policy and services. Where advice is complex and/or time consuming, the details are recorded for later accountability. During the year, advice was provided to senior regional staff on 84 occasions.

SES adviser role

The Commission’s Group Manager Policy is the SES adviser. She received 53 calls during the year. This function gives SES across the APS the opportunity to call a senior member of the Commission to seek advice about applying the employment framework or interpreting the APS Values. The Group Manager also helps SES officers understand how the redeployment, retirement and redundancy provisions of the Act apply to them.

In addition, all members of the Executive (the Commissioner, the Deputy Commissioner and the Merit Protection Commissioner) provide advice to senior SES and agency heads on sensitive management matters.

Circulars

The Commission issued nine circulars notifying agencies of changes in APS people and performance management. They covered a range of subjects including the new Lobbying Code of Conduct, the APSjobs website, public servant involvement in publication information campaigns, release of information to complainants, and post separation employment. See also <www.apsc.gov.au/circulars> and <www.apsc.gov.au/publications>.

Output 1.2 Employment services

The Commission provides a range of employment services to APS employees and agencies to help them meet their legislative responsibilities.

Table 4: Performance information—Output 1.2 Employment Services
Target Result
Quantity 
1. To provide Gazette services to enable agencies to satisfy legislative requirements to notify certain employment actions—50 gazettes produced per year. Achieved. 50 Gazettes produced in accordance with requirements.
2. Perform statutory responsibilities:  
a) Number of SES engagements, promotions and terminations—estimate 240. Exceeded. 280 SES employment matters dealt with.
b) Services to support any machinery of government changes, approval of delegations, and whistleblowing report responses provided by the Commissioner—estimate 55 cases. Exceeded. 34 machinery of government cases, 11 consents to delegations of powers to outsiders and the Commissioner responded to 20 whistleblowing reports.
3. Estimated number of fee-for-service employment-related services—estimate 750. Exceeded. 886 fee-for-service employment-related services were conducted.
Quality  
1.Percentage of Gazette entries accurately published in accordance with legislative requirements—target 100%. Achieved. No significant errors or omissions identified.
2. a) 95% of agency SES employment recommendations able to be endorsed within one week of receipt of documents. Achieved. 100% of SES staffing requests from agencies finalised within one week of receipt.
b)
  • 100% of machinery of government changes completed within legislative timeframes
 Partly achieved. 100% completed within legislative timeframes when the Commission was given prior notification.
  • 95% of approvals of delegations to outsiders completed within five working days
 Achieved. 100% of agency requests finalised within five working days.
  • 100% of requests for consultation on, or approval for, re-engagement completed within five working days
 Achieved. 100% of agency requests finalised within five working days.
  • a high level of satisfaction of clients with the accuracy, quality and timeliness of individual cases.
 Achieved. Day-to-day client feedback continues to indicated a high level of satisfaction with the services provided.
Estimated price: $5.997 million Actual: $6.783 million

A significant achievement that contributed to this output was the management of the machinery of government changes to implement the new APS organisational structure.

The development and launch of the APSjobs website and enhancements, which incorporates the Gazette, was another significant achievement which contributed to this output. Given the Commission’s capacity to offer improved services from the site, the performance measures for 2008–09 have been tightened.

Producing the Public Service Gazette

The Commission finished redeveloping the online Public Service Gazette—rebranded APSjobs—into an APS employment portal in August 2007 consistent with the Management Advisory Committee’s 2005 decisions in its report Managing and sustaining the APS workforce.

The new site provides an up-to-date more attractive and coherent image of the APS for job seekers. It has several new features that make it easier to find out about the APS as an employer and apply for jobs, including those incorporated into the electronic APS Employment Gazette.

The Commission produces the weekly Employment Gazette to inform the public of APS employment opportunities, recruitment outcomes and certain other APS employment decisions. The Commission produced 50 Employment Gazettes in 2007–08; the number of notices lodged decreased by 4.52% compared to the number lodged in 2006–07 (Table 5).

Table 5: Comparative number of Gazette notices lodged, 2002–03 to 2007–08
Year Number of notices lodged Percentage difference on previous year (%)
2002–03 39,100 –
2003–04 31,900 – 18.41
2004–05 39,000 + 22.26
2005–06 47,918 + 22.87
2006–07 58,044 + 21.13
2007–08 55,418 – 4.52

Photographs from the launch of APSjobsAPSjobs

The new APSjobs website was launched in August. Further development continued this year, with the aim of producing a modern online employment portal for the APS.

Two separate development phases were carried out to add a range of new functionality. The website now offers:

  • interactive email alerts for job seekers
  • a plain English guide to getting a job in the APS
  • improved searching capability
  • mobility opportunities and major recruitment campaigns
  • a register of former APS employees for agencies to draw upon
  • improved online lodgment processes
  • reporting functions that allow sophisticated monitoring and related statistics.

Further refinement of APSjobs to support the Commission’s Finance Jobs recruitment campaign and the Career Transition and Support Centre is continuing.

Managing SES engagements, promotions and retirements with incentives

A number of SES staffing actions, particularly those relating to SES promotions, engagements and offers to retire with an incentive, require the Commissioner’s agreement before proceeding.

The Commissioner considered and endorsed 254 SES selection exercises, a slight increase from the previous year. As well, she examined and endorsed 36 SES retirements with an incentive under section 37 of the Act—a similar number to recent years.

Both the Commissioner and the Deputy Commissioner were involved in a range of senior selection exercises. The Commission maintained a timely and effective turnaround when dealing with SES casework. (See also, the APS statistical bulletin 2007–08, produced as part of the Commissioner’s State of the Service Report 2007–08.)

Implementing machinery of government changes

The Commission managed 34 machinery of government changes in 2007–08, an increase on recent years due to the change of government in November 2007 and the implementation of a new APS organisational structure. Five changes were for agencies moving staff into the APS (22 determinations); 29 were for moves within the APS (49 determinations).

The most significant changes arose from the Government’s decision to abolish four departments and create five new ones. Other changes of note included:

In addition, following the then government’s decision to assume responsibility for the Mersey Campus of the North West Regional Hospital in Tasmania, Tasmanian state government employees working at the Mersey Campus were offered employment in the APS with effect from 23 November 2007. The Commission’s role included detailed policy advice and assistance to agencies as well as execution of the determination to effect the changes.

In December the Commission released a revised online version of Implementing machinery of government change: a good practice guide, incorporating updated information and minor corrections.

Ensuring leadership continuity in the APS Senior Executive

The Commissioner again collected information on the skills and capacities of the Senior Executive Band 3 group, which represents a major feeder group for future Secretaries and other APS agency heads. She also collected information on selected Senior Executive Band 2 employees in terms of their capacities to move to higher levels in future. The Commissioner uses this information to provide the Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet with an assessment of APS succession management issues, both in general terms as well as in relation to specific appointments.

Performance assessment for Secretaries

The Commissioner and the Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet provided information to the Prime Minister on Secretaries’ performance during 2006–07. The Commissioner separately advised the Prime Minister on the four Executive Agency Heads’ performance in 2006–07. This information was used by the Prime Minister to determine appropriate performance bonuses for Secretaries and officers for that period.

Delegations to outsiders

The Commissioner received nine requests from agencies seeking consent under section 78(8) of the Act to allow the relevant agency head to delegate his or her powers under the Act and subordinate legislation to ‘outsiders’, such as people not employed under the Act. As the people concerned possessed the relevant experience and knowledge to effectively exercise powers under the Act the Commissioner agreed to each request.

Employment-related services on a fee-for-service basis

Under section 41(1)(k) of the Act, the Commissioner is able, on request, to provide advice and assistance to agencies on public service matters. Some of this work is conducted on a fee-for-service basis; the Commission responded to 886 such requests.

Most of the requests for employment services made to regional offices related to the recruitment and selection of staff. The Commission provided a number of agencies with convenors, panel members and support for selection advisory committees. Other fee-for-service activities included alternative dispute resolution services and reviews of organisational structure.

Among the most frequent users of Commission services were the Department of Defence, the Department of Immigration and Citizenship, and the Australian Taxation Office. Agencies using the Commission’s employment-related services for the first time included the Private Health Insurance Ombudsman and the Australian Electoral Commission. Some regions experienced a downturn in requests for services during the post election and pre Budget periods while other regions, such as Tasmania, experienced increased interest in the support the Commission can provide.

Employment related fee-for-service activities include those provided under the Merit Protection Commissioner’s functions, such as Independent Selection Advisory Committees. See the Merit Protection Commissioner’s annual report at Part four of this report for details.

Remuneration and workplace agreements

The DEEWR provides the Commission with copies of draft agency collective agreements for review against the Commission’s responsibilities provided for in the Australian Government employment bargaining framework. Commission staff also reviewed collective section 24(1) determinations.

In particular, the Commission assesses redeployment, reduction and retrenchment arrangements in agreements to ensure agencies include compulsory redundancy arrangements while being satisfied that any changes do not enhance existing arrangements.

The Commission received 38 requests from DEEWR to assess redeployment, reduction and retrenchment arrangements in agreements and determinations (Table 6). Of those, 40 (87.5%) were conducted within the five-day assessment period agreed with DEEWR (or the average turnaround time of four days). The delays to the remaining assessments were caused by the complexity of the matters dealt with in the agreements.

Table 6: Remuneration and workplace agreement assessments, 2004–05 to 2007–08
  2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08
No. received 32 60 73 45
No. conducted within agreed period 32 53 70 40

Public interest whistleblowing

Section 16 of the Act prohibits victimisation of, or discrimination against, an APS employee who reports a breach or alleged breach of the APS Code of Conduct. Agency heads must establish procedures for dealing with such reports. The procedures must observe procedural fairness, comply with the Privacy Act 1988 and provide that APS employees may report breaches or alleged breaches of the Code to the agency head, the Commissioner or the Merit Protection Commissioner. Except in exceptional circumstances, the expectation is that the report is initially made to the agency head.

The Commissioner received 22 reports in 2007–08 (Table 7). Thirteen were from employees and nine were from private citizens, two of which were still on hand at the end of the reporting period. Four reports from APS employees were on hand from the previous reporting period, three of which met the criteria for investigation by the Commissioner. In all three cases, the Commissioner concluded there was no evidence to support a recommendation to the relevant agency head that they consider the allegations under their Code of Conduct procedures.

Of the 13 reports received from employees, the Commissioner considered a disclosure about the conduct of an agency head and two other agency employees, and concluded after an inquiry that there was a possible breach by one employee and none of the other allegations were substantiated. Of the remaining disclosures from APS employees, seven did not meet the criteria for the Commissioner to investigate. At the end of the reporting period, three disclosures that met the criteria for investigation were on hand, but not finalised, and the two remaining reports were still being considered.

Table 7: Public interest whistleblowing reports, 2004–05 to 2007–08
  2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08
No. received 19 17 21 22
No. finalised 16 18 19 20
No. on hand at end of reporting period 3 2 4 7
Source:
  • Employees
 10 9 11 13
  • Private citizens
 9 8 10 9

Where disclosures did not meet the criteria for consideration, advice was provided on ways in which concerns could be addressed either by referral to the relevant agency head or other administrative review bodies, such as the Commonwealth Ombudsman.

Information on whistleblowing reports sent to the Merit Protection Commissioner is separately reported at Part 4 of this report.

Inquiry

In June 2008, the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry released the report of the Callinan inquiry into the outbreak of equine influenza in Australia. Among other things, that report identified a number of systemic issues in the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and referred to the actions of particular employees. The Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry requested the Commissioner to examine the report and advise whether it disclosed any matter which might warrant action under the APS Code of Conduct.

The Commissioner conducted an inquiry consistent with section 41(1)(d) of the Act. The Commissioner recommended that the conduct of some employees mentioned in the report be further considered by the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry to determine whether they may have breached the Code of Conduct.

Career transition and support centre

In March, the Minister announced establishment of the Career Transition and Support Centre to help redeploy excess and potentially excess staff. The centre was established to minimise the personal impact of the Government’s efficiency measures and to ensure experienced public servants and those with specialist skills were retained.

The centre opened for business on 1 May 2008 and is working with agencies to provide best practice advice on redeployment, including application of redeployment principles, and to provide case management services to centre clients.

Output 1.3 International assistance and organisations

The Commission partners with AusAID to deliver programmes that support public sector reform in the Asia–Pacific region. The Commission also supports international public sector reforms through its input to the OECD Public Governance Committee and the Board of the Commonwealth Association of Public Administration and Management, and shares information and knowledge on public sector reform by hosting visiting delegations.

Table 8: Performance information—Output 1.3 International assistance and organisations
Target Result
Quantity
1. Deliver high quality technical assistance overseas in line with records of understanding with AusAID priorities: Pacific, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. Achieved. The Commission supports two deployed officials in the Papua New Guinea Department of Personnel Management and two deployed officials in Indonesia who provide advice to the Indonesian Minister for Administrative Reform. The Commission has run a human resource managers conference and a work attachment program for eight Pacific Island public servants.
2. Share information, knowledge and skills with visiting officials in Australia. Achieved. Commission staff have presented to visiting Indonesian officials, Pacific human resource managers and a work attachment programme of eight Pacific human resource managers.
3. Number of overseas delegation visits coordinated and hosted—estimate 20. Achieved. The Commission has coordinated and hosted 20 visiting international delegations.
Quality 
1. High level of satisfaction with the quality and timeliness of reports, advice and services provided. Achieved. The Commission received direct positive feedback and support for its international work from the Indonesia Minister for Administrative Reform and the head of the Ministry for Administrative Reform. The Commission also received positive feedback from independent reviews of its Pacific work undertaken by AusAID, with multi-year funding approved by AusAID for the first time.
2. A high level of satisfaction of the delegations as advised by third-party organisers. Achieved. Consistently high levels of satisfaction expressed through evaluation forms, feedback in formal letters of appreciation and informal emails of thanks from visiting delegations.
Estimated price: $2.906 million Actual price: $2.478 million

Important achievements during 2007–08 included contributing to the human resource capability of Pacific Island nations by co-facilitating a Pacific Human Resource Managers Conference and contributing to brokering Australian-based work placements which aim to increase the capacity and strategic capability in Pacific Island public sector managers.

Managing international responsibilities

The Commission actively collaborated with AusAID to support Australian Government efforts to maintain professional, impartial public services and to facilitate public sector reform in the region. Feedback from partner countries in the region confirms they benefit from exposure to Australia’s governance arrangements and experiences with public sector reform. The challenge they face is to adapt this to their local situation and scale. The Commission strives to ensure its programmes and activities strategically align with the country strategies of both AusAID and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Supporting public sector reform in the Pacific

Conference participants

Pacific Human Resources Managers Conference: group portrait, Canberra, April 2008

The Commission contributed to human resource capacity building in the Pacific by facilitating a Pacific Human Resource Managers Conference for 20 Pacific human resource managers in partnership with the Commonwealth Secretariat. Participants workshopped human resource issues affecting the region and identified areas where information sharing among Pacific countries could help address these issues.

The Commission contributed to increasing capacity and strategic capability in middle to senior Pacific Island public managers by brokering Australian-based work attachments for 14 Pacific island officials. These attachments were run in two groups; one focused on finance and the other on human resource management. The programmes provided a variety of learning experiences across federal and state governments.

The Commission organised regional work attachments for five Pacific island officials that provided regionally relevant experiences that are transferable to participants’ home agencies.

The Commission’s active participation in the Pacific village online, a tool for Pacific public sector professionals, enabled it to share practice related experiences, knowledge and resources to help improve public service governance in the region.

Under the Strongim Gavman programme, the Commission contributed to public sector reform in Papua New Guinea by supporting two officials deployed to the Government of Papua New Guinea. The officials provided strategic human resource advice and industrial relations support to the Secretary and senior staff of the Department of Personnel Management.

The Commission worked closely with AusAID and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to implement the Prime Minister’s new Pacific Engagement Strategy that focuses on providing Pacific public service capacity building. The Commission has devised a number of new initiatives for future work with the Pacific.

Supporting public sector reform in Indonesia

The Commission continued to work with its three counterpart Indonesian civil service agencies—the National Civil Service Agency, the Ministry for Administrative Reform and the National Administration Institute—on human resource policy issues including merit-based engagement and promotion processes and competency-based training. The Commission supports two employees in Jakarta who provide policy advice and support to counterpart officials.

The Commission provided information sessions on its personnel databases to an Indonesian delegation sponsored by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and on executive leadership development and training, the APS Values and Code of Conduct, and the Career Transition and Support Centre to a delegation from the Indonesian Fiscal Policy Office sponsored by the Department of the Treasury; and administrative assistance to a Ministry for Administrative Reform delegation seeking to learn more about service delivery systems.

Participating at international forums

The Commissioner participated in a number of international forums, namely:

The Deputy Public Service Commissioner attended the 36th and 37th OECD Public Governance Committee meetings in Paris, 16–17 October 2007 and 17–18 April 2008 respectively.

The Group Manager, Programmes, attended a CAPAM conference on Leadership, Learning, Institutes and Public Service, in Ghana, 7–9 November 2007, where she updated members on the Commonwealth Secretaries Conference and the Commonwealth Ministers’ Forum and delivered a presentation on the Commission’s Integrated Leadership System.

Hosting visits by overseas delegations

Conference photo - see caption

Pacific Human Resources Management Conference: group portrait, Canberra, April 2008

Twenty international delegations visited the Commission to discuss public sector reform and the Commissioner’s roles and responsibilities. Most visitors to the Commission were from Indonesia followed by China; others were from Bangladesh, Bhutan, Canada, Germany, India, Iraq, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and the OECD.

During the year the Commission’s Melbourne office hosted nine delegates from eight Pacific nations as part of a work attachment programme under AusAID’s Pacific Government Support Programme. The office facilitated visits to the Department of Human Services, Victoria and the State Services Authority Victoria, and delivered training in practical application of the Integrated Leadership System and recruitment and selection.

Output 1.4 Merit protection and other services

The Merit Protection Commissioner’s functions are detailed in section 50 of the Act and Part 7 of the Public Service Regulations 1999.

An individual may report a whistleblower allegation to either the Merit Protection Commissioner or Public Service Commissioner. Where the report is made to the Merit Protection Commissioner, the Act provides that the Commissioner will make available staff necessary to assist the Merit Protection Commissioner perform her statutory functions through a memorandum of understanding. Commission staff members undertake several activities on behalf of the Merit Protection Commissioner, including in her role as Parliamentary Service Merit Protection Commissioner. These activities include:

Table 9: Performance information—Output 1.4 Merit protection and other services
Target

Result
Quantity 

1. Conduct reviews and respond to whistleblowing reports.
Estimated number of:

  
  • reviews—238
 Exceeded. 261 review applications received
  • whistleblowing report responses—5
 Achieved. 5 whistleblowing report responses
2. Policy and advice services provided to the Merit Protection Commissioner, Parliamentary Service Merit Protection Commissioner and Parliamentary departments—estimate 80 activities. Achieved. 74 activities for policy and advice services
Quality 
1.
  • Review processes accepted as being impartial, fair and effective.
 Achieved. Feedback from agencies and employees indicated a high level of acceptance of processes as being impartial, fair and effective.
  • 70% of reviews completed within published timeframes.
 Not achieved. 57% of reviews completed within published timeframes
  • 100% of whistleblowing reports receive an initial response within six weeks, with any further investigations conducted in a timely and objective manner.
 Not achieved. 80% of whistleblowing reports received an initial response within six weeks.
2. A high level of satisfaction, of the Merit Protection Commissioner and Parliamentary Service Merit Protection Commissioner, with the relevance, quality and timeliness of advice and support provided. Achieved. Feedback from the Merit Protection Commissioner, including in her role as Parliamentary Service Merit Protection Commissioner, has indicated a high level of satisfaction with the support services provided in respect of her role.
Estimated price: $3.165 million Actual: $2.883 million

The Merit Protection Commissioner’s report is at Part four of this report.

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Part Two

Summary of performance Output 1 Output 2 Output 3