Productivity in the APS
The Australian Public Service is identifying and implementing ways to enhance workforce productivity, and continuously improve government service delivery for the Australian people.
The APS is operating in the context of major forces identified in the 2023 Intergenerational Report:
- population ageing
- expanding use of digital and data technology
- climate change and the Net Zero transformation
- rising demand for care and support services
- increasing geopolitical risk and fragmentation.
The APS is responding by acting on opportunities to free up employee time for higher-value work and rethink the ways that services can be delivered where and when needed.
This work is taking place within the system of governance and accountability for the use of public resources established by the Public Governance and Accountability Act 2013, and new frameworks including policies to support the safe and responsible use of AI within government.
Enhancing APS workforce productivity
APS agencies are examining how to achieve greater productivity in their operating environments. A key focus is better understanding the known drivers of productivity and performance. This includes employee engagement, the quality of employee communication, and the level of support employees receive to pursue innovation.
The Australian Taxation Office is partnering with Health, Disability and Ageing and UNSW Canberra to examine productivity for public sector knowledge workers working in hybrid environments, including potential barriers and enablers like work tasks, team structures, workspaces and processes.
The tools available to the APS influence the productivity of teams and individuals. Changes in technology in recent decades have dramatically recast what can be delivered by the APS workforce. This is expected to accelerate in the coming years.
The APS is exploring how generative AI tools can be used across the service. An Australian Government trial with Microsoft 365 Copilot found that participants could save time on some administrative tasks. There is also potential to improve inclusivity and accessibility in the workplace.
Finance enables employees to use AI for low-risk activities including creating meeting minutes, summarising documents, creating and debugging code used in data analysis and searching information repositories.
GovAI is a whole-of-government service enabling employees to learn about AI, collaborate with APS AI practitioners, and build AI systems. Users can access hands-on training and guidance, explore AI use case studies, learn from others, and develop and test use cases in a purpose-built sandbox environment.
Improving Australian Government service delivery
The Data and Digital Government Strategy supports the Australian Government’s 2030 vision to deliver simple, secure and connected public services for all people and businesses through world- class data and digital capabilities. This is complemented by a Whole-of-Government Digital and ICT Investment Oversight Framework to manage digital and information and communication technology-enabled investments.
Australia is recognised as a global leader in digital government, and is ranked fifth on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Digital Government Index. Australia ranks highly for:
- using digital solutions to simplify engagement with citizens
- placing people’s needs and convenience at the centre of service delivery
- pre-empting the needs of citizens for rapid response.
Along with gains achieved through effective deployment of digital and data technologies, the Australian Government is committed to ensuring that all Australians can access and engage with the government services and programs they need. This includes omni-channel service delivery to make digitally delivered services accessible over the phone or face-to-face.
The APS is increasingly using evidence-based methods to make iterative improvements to services. This includes testing and learning through small-scale trials, behavioural nudges and rigorous evaluation processes.
Changes to streamline processes and service delivery can save time and resources. This improves customer service and makes it possible for APS employees to undertake higher value work. Services Australia trialled sending a single confirmation text to customers that had just submitted a form through their digital services. This change reduced follow-up phone calls by 11 percentage points and saved time for customers and employees.
APS agencies and employees are learning from each other on how to achieve optimal delivery of services within available resourcing, including through strong professional networks. The Australian Centre for Evaluation has established a repository for evaluations of Australian Government programs and services. This provides another way to share evidence to improve design and decision-making for better service delivery.
See also in this report
Capability and leadership in the APS – Adopting AI in the APS
Ways of working with AI in the APS
Serving the community – Behavioural economics helping Australians get better energy deals
Find out more
Treasury (2023) 2023 Intergenerational Report, Treasury website, accessed 4 September 2025.
Digital Transformation Agency (2024) Evaluation of the whole-of-government trial of Microsoft 365 Copilot, DTA website, accessed 25 July 2025.
Department of Finance (2025) Artificial Intelligence (AI) Transparency Statement, Finance website, accessed 22 September 2025.
Australian Government (2025) About GovAI, GovAI website, accessed 31 July 2025.
Digital Transformation Agency (2025) Data and Digital Government Strategy, DTA website, accessed 4 September 2025.
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (2024) Government at a Glance 2025,OECD website, accessed 4 September 2025.
Treasury (2025) ACE Evaluation Library, Treasury website, accessed 4 September 2025.