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APS Values at work

Senator The Hon Chris Ellison
Special Minister of State
The Building the Foundation Conference
Canberra - 24 February 1999

Commissioners, ladies and gentlemen.

I am pleased to have this opportunity to speak with you today about an issue of importance to the Government's public sector reform agenda. I know my colleague, David Kemp, is disappointed that his overseas commitments prevent him from being here at your Conference, which I believe is the first such conference dealing with the Australian Public Service Values.

As Helen Williams indicated, in my short time in the ministry I have been involved with a number of Commonwealth Departments -firstly, Health and Family Services, and after that, Attorney-General's, the then Department of Industry, Science and Technology, Customs and Consumer Affairs, the Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs and now the Department of Finance and Administration. That experience has given me a snapshot of the Commonwealth public service. The first thing that overwhelmed me were the acronyms! The other thing which impressed me was the standard of Commonwealth officers that I came across. I want to place on record the high standard of service that I have experienced from five Commonwealth Departments in just two years. I think that not many people realise the work that is carried out by the Australian Public Service and the services provided to the Australian people.

The focus of this Conference today is on the Values of the Australian Public Service - Values that the Government has, for the first time in March 1998, enshrined in legislation.

The timing of the conference is appropriate, as it is now twelve months since the Government announced that it would proceed with its public service reform program, where possible, through administrative means. Giving legislative effect to the Values was an essential component of that administrative reform package, designed to strengthen public confidence in the integrity of the public service and the professionalism of public servants.

The Government's reform program

Achieving a more relevant, efficient and innovative, high performing, world class Australian Public Service is a key objective of the Government. We are determined to build on the strengths of one of the key institutions supporting Australia's democratic system of government, and make it even more effective.

The performance of the Australian Public Service is a key factor to Australia's success. The globalisation of economies is placing sustained and strong pressure on governments to improve competitiveness across the board.

What the global economy is teaching us is that the rigidity arising from excessive prescription in our organisations and regulatory frameworks undermine our efforts to achieve greater prosperity for our future.

We have a more educated and diverse society; our citizens have greater expectations of what the government should be providing and they are demanding more choices and greater efficiencies. We have to respond to this maturing of our democracy. This is a major force for change and the Government is responding through exploring and adopting demanding tests of what services should be provided and by whom; by opening the provision of services to competition, being a purchaser rather than a provider of services and shedding non-core functions.

A vibrant high performing public service is essential to meet these challenges.

A high performing Public Service

On coming to office in 1996, the Government realised that it needed to provide the framework and the conditions necessary for a high performing and competitive public service. New legislation was quickly progressed in three key areas that were crucial to the competitiveness of the APS - workplace relations, financial management and the Public Service Bill.

I had the carriage of that Bill in the Senate and I also represent David Kemp on matters pertaining to the public service in the Senate. The Public Service Bill is an essential part of the reform agenda and is still to pass and the Government remains committed to the reforms contained in that Bill.

We have also responded to citizens' expectations of improved service through the implementation of Service Charters, an area I first assumed responsibility for as Minister for Consumer Affairs. The majority of Service Charters are in place or are on track for completion by June of 1999. At the moment, they number around 100. Service Charters are critical to establishing the standards that staff are required to meet and informing the public about the quality of service that they can expect. They are already proving to be powerful tools for fostering cultural change. They require the setting of rigorous and meaningful standards of service developed in consultation with customers, enabling agencies to respond more effectively and innovatively to changing customer needs. Agencies are committed to these standards and their performance will be judged against them. I don't think many Australians realise that there are innovations such as this in hand. It is a shame that this is not known more widely.

The Government, through these actions, has substantially put in place a new legislative and administrative framework for a 21st Century public service. The foundations are in place. The Government has provided the conditions necessary for Australian public service agencies to become high performance organisations.

High performing organisations have a number of common characteristics:

they have a strong performance culture, with strong committed leadership;
they are customer focused, continually benchmarking and improving their performance;
they have a strong strategic vision and they judge themselves by their results in a competitive environment; and
most importantly, and particularly pertinent for the APS, high performing organisations are values-based, rather than rules-based.

The Government's vision for a high performance public service and the inclusion of the APS values in legislation are not coincidental. Globally it is clear that strong organisational values are a key to performance. They provide a common point of reference for everyone in the organisation; they are a compass for people when they seek guidance and direction. In the APS they play an even more important role because they define the essence of the public service's unique contribution as advocates of the public interest.

The public interest policy analysis skills of the career public service in the next century must be exceptionally strong. Policy advice itself today is increasingly contestable. There are a growing number of analytical think tanks and lobby groups, which actively voice their private interests in policy advice. The public service is no longer the sole source of advice to governments, but it does remain the Government's key advisory voice in the public interest. To understand, analyse and advise from multiple sources of advice requires the skills and creativity of the public service itself to be higher than ever.

Goals for the Australian Public Service

We need an Australian Public Service that can:

position Australia in a global environment to ensure that we are future-focused and seeking out the changes that will guarantee our national future - hence that key role in Australia's success;
benchmark itself against all sectors to determine what it does best, what it can improve, and what is more effectively delivered by the market;
provide frank and fearless and innovative advice to government; and
access the best service delivery skills, at an appropriate quality and cost, wherever they might reside, and of course today that is becoming increasingly important.

The APS Values are one of the tools that can be used to achieve this.

Why the Values are important

How can a values based system contribute to this vision?

Firstly, it gives the APS the flexibility it needs to respond innovatively and creatively to these challenges. As well as being often rigid, slow and inefficient, the traditional rules-based Service required people to understand how they did things but not necessarily why. A values-based APS has the capacity to bring out the creativity and innovative ideas that might otherwise be stifled.

Secondly, the Values themselves provide a clear commitment to the achievement of a high performing APS. They emphasise responsiveness, innovation, commitment to the achievement of outcomes and service to the community. They also maintain the standards and principles which have underpinned the APS for many years but which still provide the basic foundation for high performance. These include professionalism in the provision of advice, the importance of merit as the basis for careers, the elimination of workplace discrimination and disadvantage and a core code of ethics.

Finally the values provide the standards against which the performance of the APS can be judged by the stakeholders, the community, Ministers, the Government and Parliament. The removal of centrally imposed rules and process is essential if we are to meet the management challenges of a modern public service.

What the Values collectively flag is that accountability is no longer simply about adherence to rules; it's about performance.

Understanding and implementing the Values

It would be trite though to say that the APS Values are important without trying to understand them or implement them.

To have real impact it is important that there is a shared understanding about what the Values mean. The Values should be clear, meaningful and transparent.

It is also important that the Values are published so that the public can understand more clearly what these values mean, so that they can judge the performance of the public service.

The Public Service Commissioner and APS leaders have a major responsibility for promoting the Values, both within their own agencies and across the Service. The Commissioner must also report annually to the Parliament on how well agencies are performing in upholding these Values. Today's Conference is a significant initiative in developing the strategies, which will ensure that that happens.

The responsibility for the Values does not stop there. Changing from rules-based to values-based management and decision-making does require leadership but it also requires the commitment from each and every individual public servant to uphold the Values.

Values must not be simply nice words that exist on plaques and wall posters. They must be much more than this.

They must be an integral part of the workplace ethos.

They must act as the criteria upon which staff make their decisions, as the tools which enable them to focus their goals and as the measures against which their performance is judged.

Your conference is a practical way of understanding the APS Values and I note that your Keynote address and panel discussions involve speakers from diverse backgrounds but most importantly they involve the implementation of those values.

Conclusion

What holds the Australian Public Service together, what creates a unified Service, is the shared values and ethos of public service. Together with the Code of Conduct and accountability requirements, we have, for the first time, a coherent statement of the public interest.

Public servants must understand the Values and be guided by them in everything they do. This is essential if the APS is to meet its goals to the standard that the community - and the government - expect.

This is your challenge and your responsibility.

I believe that as we go into the next Century, the next decade, more and more demands will be placed on the APS - you play an essential role in the success of this country. I want to thank you for the continued service that you give to the people of Australia and I wish you all the best for your Conference.