Capability and Workforce Committee
The Capability and Workforce Committee provides advice to the Secretaries Board on opportunities to strengthen APS workforce and organisational capability, including developing the best value proposition for the APS in the employment market, through two key work streams:
- Attraction, Employment and Retention
- Capability
The Terms of Reference were updated and officially endorsed by Secretaries Board on 10 July 2024.
Priority actions
Priority actions within the two work streams directly support the Government’s APS Reform Plan. They include:
- APS adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other emerging technologies
- APS employee value proposition
- APS Leadership Edge – EL2 leadership & management capability development program
- APS Location Framework
- APS Reskilling
- Attract and retain in-demand workers and other specialists
- Specialist career pathways
- Attract and retain in-demand workers
- Behaviour and outcomes based performance management
- Career pathways
- Capability Review Program
- Improving the employment experience for diversity cohorts
- The APS CALD Employment Strategy and Action Plan
- Improving the employment experience for people with disability
- Innovative Hiring Practices
- International (Asia-Pacific) strategic knowledge
- Pilot: data and digital APS Academy Campuses
- Principles of Flexible Work in the APS
- Psychological safety in the APS
- Reduce reliance on contractors and consultants
- Understanding, leveraging and uplifting capability across the APS
- Uplift specialist capability, expand and mature professions
- Work arising from the Hierarchy & Classification Review
Membership
The Committee is co-chaired by Ms Katherine Jones PSM, Secretary of the Attorney-General’s Department and Dr Gordon de Brouwer PSM, Australian Public Service Commissioner.
Committee members include:
- Mr Jim Betts, Secretary, Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts
- Ms Jody Broun, Chief Executive Officer, National Indigenous Australians Agency
- Ms Jacqui Curtis, Head of HR Profession, Chief Operating Officer, Australian Taxation Office
- Mr Chris Fechner, Head of Digital Profession, Chief Executive Officer, Digital Transformation Agency
- Mr Adam Fennessy PSM, Secretary, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
- Ms Stephanie Foster PSM, Secretary, Department of Home Affairs
- Mr Ray Griggs AO CSC, Secretary, Department of Social Services
- Dr David Gruen AO, Head of Data Profession, Australian Statistician, Australian Bureau of Statistics
- Mr David Hazlehurst, Chief Executive Officer, Services Australia
- Ms Natalie James, Secretary, Department of Employment and Workplace Relations
- Ms Jenny Wilkinson PSM, Secretary, Department of Finance
Meetings
No more than three months will pass between Committee meetings. Meetings will be scheduled around Secretaries Board meetings.
Communiques
In line with the Secretaries Board’s commitment to model transparency with regard to communicating its priorities and decisions, the Committee will publish a communique after each of its meetings, detailing the key points of discussion and decisions.
Communiques were established from the October 2022 meeting.
18 October 2022 meeting communique.
8 December 2022 meeting communique.
15 March 2023 meeting communique.
5 May 2023 meeting communique.
13 July 2023 meeting communique.
25 August 2023 meeting communique.
8 December 2023 meeting communique.
8 March 2024 meeting communique.
3 May 2024 meeting communique.