APSC capability review response

To position the APS workforce for the future to ensure it meets the demands and expectations of the Australian Government and people

The Australian Public Service continues to face many challenges, such as changing community expectations of Government, rebuilding public trust and institutional integrity in the APS, achieving net zero, digital transformation and the adoption of artificial intelligence, workforce mobility, and competition for diverse skills and talent. In addition, the APS Reform agenda builds on a range of reform efforts to date and is repositioning the APS to be future fit and capable of adapting and evolving to meet changing and rising expectations. To address these issues, the APS needs a strengthened Australian Public Service Commission, fulfilling a central role in Government to steward the APS.

Capability reviews are valuable resources for building organisational capability to better position departments and agencies for the future. The APSC Capability Review made a range of findings that fall into two broad categories:

improving the APSC’s value proposition, influence and impact across the APS, and
improving how we operate as an agency including how we plan, prioritise and resource, and how we attract and retain the right people to deliver our services.

The APSC Capability Review findings inform work currently underway within the APSC to build capability and reposition the organisation to ensure we are well placed to deliver on our forward agenda. This will support our efforts to deliver the Government’s APS Reform agenda, strengthen integrity across the APS, strengthen our commitment to a diverse workforce that represents the Australian community, and ensure the APS has the capability to meet future challenges and achieves outcomes for the Australian community.

The findings of the APSC Capability Review will guide us to become a stronger central agency and better partner to APS entities. Building the APSC’s capability will take time, effort and commitment, and we are taking a staged approach to transformation. The change will be managed in a way that supports psychological safety and strong engagement with our staff.

The APSC has commenced a project to assess our future state and strategic priorities, setting out a roadmap for change. This project will be completed in late 2023 and will inform specific actions of the APSC Capability Review Response. Accordingly, this Response will be iteratively updated after completion of the project. Further updates will be provided in future Corporate Plans and Annual Reports.

The APSC’s initial focus will be on making improvements with immediate impact and benefits for our people and stakeholders. We will then progress to longer term initiatives. In response to the APSC Capability Review findings, we have identified a range of key actions in priority areas, many of which have already commenced.