Operating context
The Australian Government is undertaking major reviews and initiatives across portfolios, to move from the response and recovery phases of the COVID-19 pandemic and other recent crises, to reform and renewal to position Australia for the future.
It has announced a plan to build a stronger Australian Public Service through public sector reform. APS Reform is a service-wide undertaking to strengthen and empower the public service and increase trust and confidence in Australia’s public sector institutions.
The APS Capability Reinvestment Fund is investing in projects to address common capability challenges. It supports scalable and impactful activities that strengthen the APS to deliver for the Australian community now and into the future.
The APS is building capability to support the whole-of-government approach to deepening engagement in the region, using all elements of statecraft.
More than 40 countries adopted the OECD Luxembourg Declaration on Building Trust and Reinforcing Democracy in November 2022, committing to address pressing challenges facing democracies today.
The Luxembourg Declaration supports action on key governance challenges facing democracies. This includes ministerial action plans on combating misinformation and disinformation, enhancing representation, participation and openness, and governing in a sustainable way.
In 2022–23, levels of trust in Australian public services remained stable, with 61% of respondents to the Survey of Trust in Australian public services indicating they ‘strongly trust’, ‘trust’ or ‘somewhat trust’ these services. Distrust is also stable at 18%. This survey found that 72% of respondents are satisfied and getting what they need from Australian public services, a small decrease from 73% in the previous year.
The Australian Government has committed to achieving net zero emissions in the APS by 2030. Australia was one of 19 global partners to launch the world’s first Net Zero Government Initiative at the 27th annual summit of the Conference of the Parties (COP27) in November 2022.