Operating context
Environment
The public service is being challenged to adapt to changes in Australia’s political, economic, technological, environmental and social domains, both locally and globally, in the interests of Australia. The Commission has a key role to play in supporting the public service to meet the Government’s visions for the future to deliver simple, secure and connected services for Australian people and business.
In a complex environment, we will work to ensure the public service has the right people, the right skills and the right workforce policies in place so that the APS can deliver high quality and effective services and programs for Australians. Working collaboratively across government, business, academia, and other sectors to share expertise, we will help solve workforce challenges such as skill shortages, the growing demand for specialised expertise and the need for cultural change to support collective effort, innovation and the inclusion of diverse cohorts.
In Australia’s rapidly evolving operating environment, strong public servant capability is essential to delivering effective, responsive, and trusted government services. With increasing complexity in policy challenges public servants must be equipped with the skills, capabilities and ways of working to deliver high quality outcomes. We will foster a public sector culture of continuous learning and ongoing development that is essential for navigating change and meeting new challenges. Through the APS Academy we will provide learning programs and leadership development opportunities in the areas of APS Craft, leadership and management, and integrity and ethics.
Integrity—honesty, transparency, and fairness—is a cornerstone of public trust in government and the public service. In today’s complex and rapidly evolving operating environment, where public expectations are high, maintaining and strengthening integrity is more critical than ever. We are committed to upholding the highest standards of ethical conduct across the public sector. To achieve this, we will provide targeted, strategic support to agencies—enabling them to embed good practice, foster ethical leadership, and proactively prevent workforce integrity issues before they arise. This approach supports a resilient, trusted, and future-ready APS that can confidently meet the challenges of modern governance.
To support a contemporary and fit-for-purpose public service, we will monitor and respond to emerging economic and technological advancements to ensure the public service has the right settings in place and the capability to harness opportunities and meet future demands.
To achieve our purpose and vision, we will inform, respond to, and learn from various legislative and regulatory changes, reviews and findings, as well as listening to those with lived experience, to drive a culture of ongoing review, evaluation and improvement.
Capability and enablers
Governance
The Commission’s committee structure works to promote good governance and establishes the Commission’s strategic direction, priorities and accountability. Our governance arrangements promote decision-making that is evidence-based, ethical, efficient and effective to meet compliance obligations and support our teams to achieve our purpose and deliver on priorities.
Executive Board
The Executive Board is the primary advisory and decision-making body for the Commission. The Board provides advice to the Commissioner on the direction and strategic priorities for the Commission. It ensures that the Commission’s operations are effective, economic and ethical.
The Board is supported by the following committees:
- Audit and Risk Committee provides independent advice to the Commissioner regarding the appropriateness of the Commission's fiscal and performance reporting, systems of risk and internal controls.
- Executive Committee explores priority policy and organisational challenges, and shares leadership messages and information on upcoming priorities.
- Technology, Digital and Data Committee oversees the integration of effective technology, digital and data practices within the Commission to ensure that they are aligned to objectives and needs.
- IT Project Board governs, directs, oversees and monitors the Commission's IT programs and projects, reporting to the Technology, Digital and Data Committee.
- Workplace Relations and Work Health and Safety Committee serves as a mechanism for consultation and engagement on workplace relations, and health and safety matters.
People
Our people are our greatest asset. We are committed to building and maintaining a diverse, capable, inclusive and professional workforce, supported by enhanced tools and processes that enable our staff to perform at their best.
Over the next 4 years, the Commission will focus on maturing the capability of our workforce to ensure we have the right skills at the right time and in the right place, now and into the future.
Looking forward we are developing a workforce plan that will identify the current state of our workforce and set a pathway to deliver a fit-for-purpose future state.
Strengthening the Commission’s capability is critical to delivering on our purpose. Investing in our people and systems enables us to lead by example, uphold public sector values, and build the flexibility and expertise needed to meet evolving government and community expectations.
To ensure we can do our job well, we are focused on reflecting the diversity of the Australian community in our workforce and creating a safe, respectful and inclusive workplace. Our policies and guidance will continue to shape and support this work over the coming years.
With a focus on excellence, we will continue to invest in our people through a wide range of learning and development opportunities, including leadership programs and building our digital, data, HR and policy capability. At the same time, we are prioritising improvements to our assets, technology, systems, tools and processes so our people can do their jobs well.
In a highly competitive labour market, we continue to adapt our attraction, recruitment and workforce planning approaches to secure the skills and expertise required, now and into the future.
We will fully develop and implement a National Property Strategy that ensures our properties and their amenities enable our staff, geographically dispersed across the country, to collaborate and connect in a way that is efficient and caters for the variety of work we undertake.
Supporting the wellbeing of our people is equally important. We are committed to providing access to contemporary wellbeing supports and reasonable adjustments to ensure everyone can thrive at work. Our focus on both physical and psychological health reinforces our goal to be an employer of choice and maintain a psychologically safe and pro-integrity culture throughout our workplace.
Technology
Our ambition is to use modern technology and contemporary digital services to support the Commission to be a valued, credible and trusted partner to the APS.
Recent advancements in areas such as data analytics, artificial intelligence and assistive technology represent great opportunities for us to innovate. To make the most of these opportunities, we are focused on improving our technology foundations.
Our current technology strategy (2024–27) offers a carefully considered, structured approach to tackling this challenge. The strategy is guided by the following six core principles that will shape implementation over the next 3 years and help us respond effectively to current needs and emerging technology opportunities.
Table 1: Six core principles of our technology strategy
| Core principles | How we will apply the principles |
|---|---|
| User-centred | We prioritise the needs and experience of our users – the Commission’s staff and clients – to deliver digital services that are intuitive, accessible and responsive. |
| Reliable | We ensure our technology is consistently available, performs as agreed, is well supported and recovers quickly from disruptions. |
| Secure | We protect the Commission’s technology, digital and data assets from unauthorised access, data breaches and other cyber security threats. |
| Sustainable | We prioritise technology investments that improve the long-term viability and cost-effectiveness of our technology services. |
| Innovative | We facilitate the exploration and use of new technologies that have the potential to improve the Commission’s operations and services. |
| Integrated | We enable the Commission to break down data silos and to combine, analyse and leverage our extensive data assets. |
Our strategy centres on two technology priorities for the next 3 years, namely to provide a 'Modern Workplace' and to enable 'Modern Services'. Critical to the successful implementation of the technology strategy are our 5 core themes: technology, digital, data, cyber security and artificial intelligence.
Figure 1: Our technology priorities for 2024–27 underpinned by 5 implementation themes
Building on last year’s foundations, our focus has turned to delivering key technology solutions to support staff and enhance operations. We will implement a new case management system, progress the replacement of our Enterprise Resource Management systems and continue rolling out modern workplace tools. The Technology, Digital and Data Committee is now well established, guiding our work to refine our technology operating model and business systems roadmap. Artificial Intelligence tools will be supported by effective governance, and we will continue strengthening our cyber security, enterprise information and data management capabilities over the coming year.
Strategic Commissioning Framework
Growing the capability of our workforce as part of our broader role in building APS capability will continue to be a priority for the Commission. Through our implementation of the Strategic Commissioning Framework, any use of external expertise will be based on our consideration of core work, and directed at circumstances that enhance our work and the knowledge of our team.
The Commission has identified its core work and confirmed that it does not currently outsource any APS-wide core work, as defined in the APS Strategic Commissioning Framework.
In 2025–26, the Commission will continue to working to bring core work in-house in line with the APS Strategic Commissioning Framework. We expect our targets for 2025–26 to focus on reduced outsourcing of service delivery work.
Capability Review
The Commission’s Capability Review, conducted in July 2023, confirmed that our expertise and partnership is highly sought after and valued by stakeholders that we work with. The review assessed the maturity of the Commission against 5 domains of:
- Leadership and Culture
- Collaboration
- Delivery
- People
- Resourcing and Risk.
The Commission published its response to the Capability Review in September 2023. The Action Plan identified 12 broad response actions, to enhance capability maturity over a 5 year horizon and better position the organisation for the future.
As at 30 June 2025, we have completed nearly three-quarters (73.7%) of our capability uplift initiatives. These initiatives have included work to:
- Clarify the purpose, vision and strategic priorities of the Commission, and better align our programs of work with our priorities.
- Introduce new governance and evaluation mechanisms to monitor and assess the progress of our activities against intended outcomes and our overall performance.
- Consider new opportunities for the Commission to strengthen relationships with APS entities and develop partnerships external to the APS.
Encourage the sharing and use of data across the APS to support policy development, service delivery and foster transparency. This has included the release of more data in the State of the Service Report and proactively assisting APS agencies to utilise results from the APS Employee Census and Survey of Trust in Australian public services.
Risk oversight and management
Understanding, adapting and responding to changes in our operating environment is critical for the delivery and achievement of our purpose.
The Commission’s Risk Management Framework and Policy outlines our approach to risk management, including the requirement for all Commission employees to proactively identify, engage with and manage risk. This approach supports us to prepare for and better respond to change, undertake informed decision-making and make continuous improvements to our operations and performance. Our Framework and Policy is consistent with the International Standard on Risk Management, ISO31000 – Risk Management and the Commonwealth Risk Management Policy.
Our appetite for risk is reviewed and set by the Commissioner each year, based on advice from the Executive Board and Chief Risk Officer. We continue to have a low risk appetite for matters that relate to our statutory obligations, due to the serious consequences that could occur. However, we are willing to accept more risk, within defined parameters, when there is potential for our work to result in reform or innovation that would strengthen the capability of the Australian Public Service. Risks above appetite are escalated to the Executive Board for monitoring and ensuring that appropriate controls and mitigation plans are implemented.
In 2024–25, the Commission refreshed its strategic risks, outlined below. Strategic risks are reviewed annually by the Executive Board in consideration of any changes to the operating environment of the Commission or its risk profile.
As the Accountable Authority, the Commissioner has ultimate responsibility for establishing and maintaining the Commission’s systems for risk oversight, management, and control. Risk owners are responsible for managing, monitoring, reporting on, and escalating risks.
Table 2: Strategic risks and owners
| Strategic risk | Owner |
|---|---|
| The Commission does not meet its legislative obligations and/or is unable to steward the Australian Public Service to meet their legislative obligations, particularly for the Public Service Act 1999, in relation to maintaining a framework for institutional integrity. |
Deputy Commissioner, Integrity (External) Chief Operating Officer (Internal) |
| The Commission does not sustain the confidence of its stakeholders (including the Australian Government, Australian Public Service agencies and the Australian public) to be a valued, credible and trusted partner and service provider to the Australian Public Service. |
Deputy Commissioners First Assistant Commissioners |
| The Commission does not provide policy guidance that is evidence-based, pragmatic to implement and/or aligns with the needs of its stakeholders. |
Deputy Commissioners First Assistant Commissioners |
| The Commission does not align workplace conditions with labour force expectations to attract and retain talent, increase engagement and support productivity to position the Australian Public Service as an agile and model employer. | First Assistant Commissioner, Workplace Reform and Diversity |
| The Commission’s strategies, policies, training and initiatives are unable to build public sector leadership and capability to meet ongoing and future needs. | Deputy Commissioner, APS Academy & Capability |
| The Commission is unable to sustain the capacity and capabilities needed to continue meeting the expectations and growing delivery demands of its stakeholders in an environment of significant financial uncertainty. | Chief Operating Officer |
In 2025–26, the Commission will continue work to improve its approaches to supporting a strong risk culture, and compliance with the Commonwealth Risk Management Policy. This will include consideration of any improvement opportunities to risk management practices identified from the 2025 Comcover Risk Management Benchmarking Survey.
The Audit and Risk Committee, supported by our internal audit function, maintains independent oversight of the Commission’s risk management systems and provides advice on the appropriateness of those systems. The Committee directly reports and provides advice to the Commissioner.
Cooperation
The Commission plays an important role in delivering functions under the Act and in partnering with Secretaries in the stewardship of the APS. To effectively serve a modern Australia and drive APS integrity, workforce management and capability, we must work in genuine partnership with people, stakeholders and the community.
We provide high-quality and timely advice and support to the Minister for the Public Service and the Assistant Minister. We provide transparency through the Australian Parliament and its committees.
We are a trusted partner for APS agencies and value the views and perspectives of APS employees and their representatives. The annual APS Employee Census allows employees to tell us and their agencies what they think about working in the APS. Similarly, we engage with the Australian community through the Survey of Trust in Australian public services.
We actively participate in the work of Secretaries Board and its committees, including as co-chair of the Capability and Workforce committee; Deputy Chair of the Chief Operating Officer committee; Secretaries Talent Council and Deputy Secretaries Talent Council, and as members of the Secretaries Digital and Data Committee and the Partnership Priorities sub-committee.
We seek opportunities to continue and expand our partnerships with other sectors and jurisdictions — state and territory governments, our international counterparts, academia, the not-for-profit and private sectors — to learn from, contribute to, and share information and insights that lead to better outcomes and public sector reforms.
We are committed to a meaningful and ongoing relationship with First Nations peoples and we continue to build an APS workforce that reflects the diverse dimensions of the communities that we serve.
Our focus on APS capability is strengthened by close partnerships with a range of educational institutions that specialise in working with the public sector to build a pipeline of talent for the future. In addition to our existing relationships with the Australia and New Zealand School of Government, the Sir Roland Wilson Foundation and the Institute of Public Administration Australia, we continue to build our partnerships with universities.
We exchange knowledge, experience and insights with foreign government partners in our region and multilateral institutions on public sector reform, workforce management, leadership and career management. We work closely with our counterpart agencies in Indonesia, ASEAN, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, the Solomon Islands, Kiribati, Nauru and Vanuatu. We represent Australia at the OECD Public Governance Committee and provide technical assistance to Indonesia on its OECD accession plans. We seek to meet demand from counterparts across Southeast Asia, including Thailand on its OECD accession preparations, and further across the Pacific. We have Memorandums of Understanding with our partners in Indonesia, Singapore, India, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu.
We work with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to strengthen public sector capacity and institutional linkages in the Indo-Pacific region through the Australian Aid Program.
System support
The Commission provides support across the system of Government through its provision of employees and capability to the Remuneration Tribunal, Defence Force Remuneration Tribunal, Merit Protection Commissioner, the Parliamentary Service Commissioner and Parliamentary Service Merit Protection Commissioner.
Remuneration tribunals
The remuneration tribunals perform an important role in determining, reporting and advising on allowances and entitlements for office holders, including parliamentarians, judicial and non-judicial court and tribunal holders and members of the Australian Defence Force.
Merit Protection Commissioner
The Merit Protection Commissioner supports agencies, departments and employees to meet their responsibilities, including through offering a system of review on a range of actions, decisions and promotions, complaints investigation, and assistance with recruitment and selection processes.
Parliamentary Service Commissioner
The principal functions of the Parliamentary Service Commissioner are to advise the Presiding Officers of the Parliament on the management of policies and practices of the Parliamentary Service and to conduct any inquiries about the Parliamentary Service at the request of the Presiding Officers.
Parliamentary Service Merit Protection Commissioner
The Parliamentary Service Merit Protection Commissioner reviews parliamentary workplace decisions to make sure they are fair and correct through adjudicating disagreements about workplace decisions, inquiring into alleged misconduct in the workplace, reviewing agency decisions to ensure agencies have followed the appropriate processes and directions, and ensuring recruitment and promotion decisions are based on merit.