APS Hierarchy and Classification Review

Overview

As part of the Australian Government’s APS reform agenda, Delivering for Australians, the Australian Public Service Commission (APSC) commissioned a review of SES and non‑SES classification levels against best practice and emerging workforce needs in early 2021.

The APS Hierarchy and Classification review addresses the Independent Review of the Australian Public Service  recommendation to streamline management and adopt best-practice ways of working to reduce hierarchy, improve decision-making, and bring the right APS expertise and resources (Recommendation 32).

An independent panel was appointed to oversee the Review, bringing a wealth of experience and understanding of the APS operating environment. The panel was comprised of Dr Heather Smith PSM, Ms Kathryn Fagg AO FTSE and Mr Finn Pratt AO PSM. You can read more on the Terms of Reference page.

The panel was supported by the Commission’s project team to carry out strategic engagement and to draw on domestic and international learnings – including lessons from the APS’s role in supporting the Government’s response to, and recovery from, COVID-19.

The final report was delivered to the Australian Public Service Commissioner in December 2021.

Once the report has been considered by Secretaries in early 2022, it will be publicly available on this page.

For journalists, please direct all media enquiries to media@apsc.gov.au.

For any questions on the Review, please contact the APSC at HCReview@apsc.gov.au.

Submissions

Thank you to everyone who has made a submission to APS Hierarchy and Classification Review. Your experiences and ideas have been invaluable to the Panel in preparing their recommendations.

About Submissions

At the close of our submission process on 7 of June 2021, the review had received 105 contributions over a four week period.

Most of the submissions received came from individuals, largely employees of the Australian Public Service. Submissions were also received from a number of government entities and staff associations.

Submissions can be viewed via Converlens APS Hierarchy and Classification Review Submissions - APS Hierarchy and Classification Review

Publishing Submissions

Authors chose if they wanted their submission to be published, and were also able to request anonymity (i.e. that their name not be published with the submission).

Of the total submissions:

• 74 were published
• 31 remain private

Of the published submissions:

• 18 are published named
• 55 are published unnamed

The published submissions exclude those that:

• indicated they did not want their submission published;
• contain offensive remarks; and/or
• include material manifestly unrelated to the review itself or blank submissions.

Submissions were checked for privacy requirements in our terms and conditions. Some were published with personal information or third party references redacted.

The submissions published on this page are owned by the relevant organisations and individuals, and as such they are responsible for the factual accuracy of these documents at the time of publishing. The views contained in these submissions represent the views of the authors and are not necessarily those of the APSC or the Australian Government.