Performance Management in the Australian Public Service
Overview
Creating and maintaining a strong performance culture is crucial to ensuring public confidence and trust in the Australian Public Service (APS). The non-SES Performance Framework (Framework) has been established to ensure the APS embodies integrity in everything it does. The Framework enables a consistent approach to performance management across the APS, which is essential to fostering a high-performance culture, aligning expectations, driving accountability and enabling upstream productivity gains across the APS.
Key users of the Framework will be human resources teams responsible for maintaining agency policies and procedures, implementing best practice, and reporting on agency performance. The Framework is designed to support agencies to understand their current performance maturity and make informed decisions on where to focus future effort to lift performance practices.
The Framework is available to download and is current at the time of publication.
Implementation of the Framework is mandatory for all APS agencies. Agencies are not required to implement elements of the Framework where implementation would be inconsistent with the provisions related to performance management in their agency’s Enterprise Agreement (EA).
Elements of the Framework
The Framework commences on 1 January 2026. The Framework comprises elements each agency will need to include in their performance practices:
- expectations for behaviours and outcomes
- performance assessments
- reward and recognition
- development and
- unsatisfactory performance.
The Framework also includes:
- a maturity model to guide agency implementation
- a mechanism for reporting and evaluation, and
- information to assist agencies with the requirements for transparency and accountability.
A key feature of the Framework is the principle that behaviours are as important as outcomes and both must be assessed as part of an APS employee’s performance. Excellence in delivering outcomes cannot be used to offset or minimise behavioural concerns. The Framework reinforces the standards of behaviour expected of APS employees, as expressed through the APS Values and the Secretaries Charter of Leadership behaviours.
There is an expectation that agencies will have completely implemented the Framework by the end of 2028. Agencies are encouraged to use the maturity model to assess their agencies current level of maturity to enable prioritisation of implementation.
Further information
HR practitioners seeking more information on the non-SES Performance Framework can contact the Employment Policy team for advice via employmentpolicy@apsc.gov.au or call the enquiry line on 02 6202 3857.