1.2 Supporting a smooth transition of power
The ultimate test for Australian democracy is how we conduct elections that are free and fair, and how we achieve high levels of confidence of our people in the integrity of the outcome. This need is sharpened when there is a change of government following a Federal election.
The APS performed in an exemplary manner in the lead-up to the 21 May 2022 Federal election, and during the transition to the new Albanese Labor Government. Federal elections are always complex undertakings, but the planning and delivery challenges this year were unprecedented. The election coincided with high levels of the COVID-19 pandemic in the community, prompting measures to support safety in thousands of booths around the country, as well as legislative and APS staff surge measures to rapidly implement telephone voting for the first time. This was in addition to addressing significant election security and disinformation concerns and contending with labour force shortages on the one hand and high service delivery expectations on the other.
Following the election, the transition between governments occurred smoothly and peacefully. While Australians may take this for granted, its immense value should never be underestimated.
Prime Minister Albanese met with departmental secretaries and staff at the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C) on 18 July 2022. He made it clear that his government intends to make full use of the creativity and intelligence of the APS.
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One APS delivers the Secure Telephone Voting Service |
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Although the 2022 Federal election was the most complex in Australia’s history, it gave electors the opportunity to exercise their right to vote in an accessible, safe manner. This was critical to successful delivery. Efforts involved more than 100,000 staff, nearly 8,000 polling locations and work to serve over 15 million electors in just over two weeks. This all unfolded as COVID-19 cases were increasing in the lead-up to polling day, driven by the Omicron strain of COVID-19. |
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| Image caption - A counting centre in operation in Port Melbourne during the 2022 Federal election (Image: AEC) | ||
| To ensure voters subject to quarantine or isolation requirements could vote, the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) partnered with multiple government agencies to design and deliver the Secure Telephone Voting Service. This was rapidly developed and implemented in less than four months. It is a great example of agile, cross-agency collaboration on behalf of the Australian community, with electoral integrity and service to the public at the heart of the solution. | ||
| Agencies involved included Services Australia, Department of Education, Skills and Employment, Australian Taxation Office, Department of Defence, Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), Department of Home Affairs, Department of Social Services, Australian Centre for Cyber Security, Australian Public Service Commission (APSC) and PM&C. | ||
| A Secure Telephone Voting Inter-Departmental Committee and associated taskforce provided robust project governance and a platform for all agencies to provide suggestions, manage risks and consider potential design options. | ||
| Open and transparent communication underpinned this effective collaboration. | ||
| The workforce included over 7,000 committed public servants working across 26 Services Australia sites nationally. As a result of this whole-of-government collaboration, over 75,000 eligible voters from across the country safely cast their vote using the service. The integrity of the voting process was protected. | ||
| 'The key is to build trusting partnerships, which we quickly achieved in the Inter-Departmental Committee through openness and transparency.'
- AEC Deputy Commissioner, Jeff Pope |
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| Immediate support for the newly elected Government | ||
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| Following the Federal election on 21 May 2022, the APS supported the transition of government from the Morrison Coalition Government to the newly elected Albanese Labor Government. | ||
| Within hours of Mr Morrison’s concession speech late on the evening of 21 May 2022, Incoming Government Briefs were delivered to the new Prime Minister. Early on the afternoon of 22 May 2022, senior officials from PM&C met with the new Prime Minister in Sydney. Briefings included immediate policy and operational priorities and arrangements for recommending a new ministry to the Governor-General. | ||
| Imposing an urgent timing imperative, a meeting of Quad Leaders was scheduled in Tokyo on 24 May 2022, only three days after the election. For Mr Albanese to attend this significant international event as Prime Minister, the APS moved swiftly to facilitate the swearing in of an interim ministry within 36 hours of the outcome of the election being known. | ||
| During this time, PM&C and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade also worked urgently to make the necessary arrangements to have Mr Albanese, Senator Wong, and their delegation in Tokyo by 24 May 2022. This included travel arrangements as well as policy, operational and logistical briefings, many of which could only be conducted once the party departed Sydney on the afternoon of 23 May 2022. | ||
| The efficiency, effectiveness and professionalism of the APS during this time shows the public service operating at its best to support the democratic institutions of government at the most pivotal times. It demonstrated the capacity of the APS to provide expert advice, practical guidance and pragmatic support. | ||
| Each government makes changes to the way departments and their resources are organised, to reflect and achieve its priorities. Machinery of Government changes are a normal feature of the APS. They involve the movement of functions, resources and people from one agency to another. Changes are implemented as quickly as possible, ensuring public services and the administration of government continues uninterrupted. The degree of movement across multiple portfolios can be significant and challenging, and agencies must work co-operatively with a One APS mindset to prioritise whole-of-government outcomes. | ||
| Following the 2022 Federal election, Machinery of Government changes were jointly announced by the Prime Minister and the Minister for Finance on 1 June 2022 and took effect from 1 July 2022.[8]
As a result, by 30 September 2022, almost 7,000 employees across 12 agencies had moved to their new agencies. Key changes included:
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Working with Ministers and their offices
A productive partnership between ministers and their offices and officials is integral for effective government. Public policy outcomes are enhanced where there is a strong understanding of, and respect for, the complementary roles each plays.
A strong, impartial APS is crucial to ensuring that advice to Government is oriented toward public outcomes, is based on cross-portfolio insights and data, and is developed and delivered in partnership with community and stakeholders. The APS must consider the integrity of government processes and legal risk.
That the APS understands the ministerial operating environment is equally essential. The APS builds credibility and trust with ministers by providing astute advice and recognising the work and time pressures ministers and their offices are under.
In 2021, the Australian Public Service Commissioner appointed a Ministerial Liaison Reference Panel to progress practical ways to support the APS to develop strong partnerships. This took forward a recommendation made by the 2019 Independent Review of the Australian Public Service (the Thodey Review).[9]
Drawing on their consultations, the panel developed the Strengthening Partnerships SES Learning Program, and guidance to support the APS. This included:[10]
- Working with Ministers – how a strong partnership is characterised by a responsive and proactive APS who engage in regular, informed discussions and interactions.
- The Operating Environment of a Ministerial Office – how a fast-paced, constantly changing environment presents a daily set of competing and often complex priorities in the service of the Australian community.
- Departmental Liaison Officers – supporting ministers on portfolio matters in an apolitical manner, and working cooperatively to ensure effective relationships and appropriate communication between ministers and departments.
- Ministerial Transitions – managing the change of a Minister, Secretary or senior ministerial staff effectively ensures continuity of government and has a lasting impact on the partnership between the APS and government of the day.
In 2022, a total of 22 Senior Executive Service (SES) officers from across the APS participated in a pilot delivery of Strengthening Partnerships – SES Learning Program. The program has now been added to the APS Academy course calendar, with five courses scheduled for delivery in 2023.
Development of a toolkit, comprising resources to support the APS workforce to work effectively with ministers and their staff, is underway.
Membership of the Ministerial Liaison Reference Panel was renewed in late 2022 and will now focus on the development of a new learning program: Strengthening Partnerships – Working with the APS. Designed for staff engaged under the Members of Parliament (Staff) Act 1984, this program aims to strengthen understanding of the role of the APS and ensure an effective partnership between ministers and their offices and the APS. When these different components of Australian democracy work effectively together is when you see governance at its best.
| Strengthening Partnerships – SES Learning Program | ||
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| Designed for our most senior leaders, the unique Strengthening Partnerships SES Learning program was developed with the Ministerial Liaison Reference Panel and APS Academy Faculty to ensure it reflects the experience of ministerial advisers and senior APS leaders. | ||
| Highly contextual and practitioner-led, the program engages respected leaders from ministerial offices and the APS, coaching participants through case studies and reflections and exploring options for navigating complexity, often at high-pressure moments. | ||
| The 22 public servants, from across a broad range of agencies, functions and roles, who participated in the pilot, reported that Strengthening Partnerships was highly valuable. The program has also helped build awareness of the ministerial environment, improving participants’ ability to shape sound, timely advice, and consider how to expand approaches through a partnership approach. | ||
| Following an evaluation of the pilot, the program will now be offered more widely through the APS Academy, providing all SES with the opportunity to participate. | ||
| 'The importance of empathy in engaging with ministers and their staff was insightful for me … as well as the advice to be prepared for when the window opens. I learned about understanding context to making advice influential, the bandwidth of the office and how to get ahead of reactive transactional relationships.'
- Strengthening Partnerships program participant November 2021 |
Footnotes
[8]PM&C, Delivering a Better Government, 1 June 2022.
[9] Commonwealth of Australia, Our Public Service, Our Future. Independent Review of the Australian Public Service, 13 December 2019. Recommendation 11.
[10] APSC (Australian Public Service Commission), Strengthening Partnerships: Ministerial Liaison Reference Panel Final Report, 23 May 2022.