Chapter 11: Whole of government

In April 2004, MAC released Connecting Government. The report defined ‘whole of government’ in the APS as:

. . . denot[ing] public service agencies working across portfolio boundaries to achieve a shared goal and an integrated government response to particular issues. Approaches can be formal and informal. They can focus on policy development, program management and service delivery.¹

The rationale for examining the effectiveness of whole of government activity includes the emergence of particular complex policy challenges such as environmental, Indigenous service delivery or security issues and the need to offer sophisticated whole of government policy advice which comprehends a range of stakeholders’ views. The report also cited pressures to join up programme management, including security threats and intractable social issues such as drug dependence, as well as rising community expectations of easier access to government and better integrated service delivery.

While some of these issues are relatively new, MAC pointed out that collaborative approaches to Australian Government work are already a relative strength for Australia and are not themselves new. It also cautioned agencies to ensure that there are clear benefits to a whole of government approach before proceeding to adopt one. Nevertheless, MAC saw a role for initiatives around APS governance structures and processes, information management and infrastructure, budget and accountability support and consultative processes outside the APS, to facilitate improved collaboration. At the same time it pointed to areas in which agency culture and capability could be enhanced to support whole of government working.

1 Management Advisory Committee 2004, Connecting Government: Whole of Government Responses to Australia’s Priority Challenges, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra, p.1.

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