Psychological safety in the APS

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What is psychological safety?

Psychological safety is defined as “the belief that one will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns, or mistakes, and the team is safe for interpersonal risk taking.”[1]

Why is psychological safety important?

Psychological safety fosters a pro-integrity culture and lays a foundation for honest communication and trust within the APS. It promotes curiosity and a growth mindset which leads to innovation and continual learning. It is fundamental to achieving high performance in teams and can support staff wellbeing, engagement and diversity and inclusion objectives.

The project to build psychological safety in the APS

In November 2023, the APS Integrity Taskforce released its report ‘Louder than Words: An APS Integrity Action Plan. The report makes 15 recommendations, including Recommendation 4: Bolster the capability of the APS to lead with integrity with a focus on ethical decision making and fostering psychological safety.

In response to this recommendation, the Secretaries Board Capability and Workforce Committee (formerly the Future of Work Sub-committee) is leading a project to build psychological safety in the APS. The project is being delivered by the Australian Public Service Commission in collaboration with key stakeholders within the Attorney-General’s Department, Comcare and the Department of Education.

Project objectives

The project aims to:

  • establish a common understanding of what psychological safety means in the APS
  • develop practical guidance and expand on existing policies and initiatives to build capability and culture
  • explore measures of success to monitor and evaluate psychological safety in the APS.

Project deliverables are being co-designed and tested with APS employees from a range of agencies, locations, classifications and job families across the APS. It is expected they will be launched to the APS in the first quarter of 2025.

If you have any questions, please contact the Capability and Workforce Committee Taskforce at CaWCTaskforce@apsc.gov.au.

Footnote

[1] Edmondson, A. (1999), Psychological Safety and Learning Behavior in Work Teams, Administrative Science Quarterly, 44(2), 350–383.

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