APS Academy

The APS Academy supports an APS-wide culture of learning that builds core public service capabilities and drives high performance.

Guided by the APS Workforce Strategy, and the APS Learning and Development Strategy and Action Plan, the APS Academy builds APS Craft skills, offering a broad range of experiences to ensure staff at all career stages succeed in their learning journeys.

The APS Academy’s position at the centre of public administration capability, and its partnership framework, is pivotal to sharing expertise, solving challenges and harnessing learning and development opportunities. This approach enables the APS Academy to be agile in delivering on high priority capability requirements such as AI literacy.

In 2024ꟷ25, the APS Academy delivered more than 152,000 learner engagements through facilitated courses, eLearning offerings, and events. This includes over 14,000 registered participants at MasterCraft webinar events, with participants hearing from experienced APS practitioners.

Adapt Action Plan

The APS Learning and Development Strategy outlines a shared vision for a high-performing workforce, skilled to deliver for the Government and the Australian community. In May 2025, the Australian Public Service Commission released the Adapt Action Plan, marking the next horizon in realising this vision.

The Adapt Action Plan builds on the progress of previous action planning horizons, and draws on detailed current state analysis and extensive consultation. It outlines 17 practical actions to help agencies reduce duplication, improve efficiencies and embed a strong learning culture.

The plan reinforces a One-APS approach to developing capability, with a focus on investing in the workforce, aligning effort, and building capacity to achieve a high-performing, future-ready APS.

Practitioner-led learning

The APS Academy continued to draw on the expertise of those who know the unique and complex APS operating environment, to optimise learning and development and APS Craft. This puts into practice the new APS Value of Stewardship by encouraging employees to contribute to institutional knowledge and capability uplift.

At a strategic level, the APS Learning Board and Academy Faculty, comprising senior APS practitioners, continued to advise on capability needs and guide the direction of the APS Academy.

At a design level, practitioners contributed subject matter expertise to align learning offerings with the lived experience of APS employees and be responsive to learner needs. Practitioners played a role in delivery, as facilitators, coaches, sponsors and presenters, and contribute to evaluation and improvement.

During 2024ꟷ25, participants in APS Academy courses and events consistently highlighted the value of authentic contributions by APS practitioners.

The APS Academy continued to refine its practitioner-led approach, and partnered with the Australia and New Zealand School of Government to explore broader application in the public sector.

Building leadership capability

The APS Academy continued to support the development of leaders who can deliver for Australia, shaped by a deep understanding of the unique leadership craft required in the APS.

The approach to developing APS leadership capability was endorsed by Secretaries Board Capability and Workforce Committee in late 2024. It focuses on developing current and future leaders at critical stages of their APS careers. This includes:

• building leadership from the start, through the APS Graduate Development Program
• expanding a focus on critical middle leaders, through APS Leadership Edge
• supporting First Nations leaders to succeed in the senior executive service, through the Yawarra (SES) and Bulabul (EL2) programs, in partnership with the First Nations Unit
• refining immersive development programs for Senior Executive Service and equivalent statutory leaders.

The approach capitalises on opportunities offered by growing leadership maturity in the APS, and increasingly explicit expectations to build SES capability and support leaders earlier in their careers, through the new APS Value of Stewardship and the SES Performance Leadership Framework.

The APS Academy is expanding its learning offerings, with growing reach and continuously improving learner experiences. Signs of change, through assessment of senior leaders and APS Employee Census data, indicate a more capable service.

See also in this report

APS agency benchmarking – Perceptions of SES leaders

APS agency benchmarking – Perceptions of immediate supervisors

Find out more

Australian Government (2025) APS Academy, APS Academy website, accessed 25 July 2025.