We want the service to succeed

We heard that people value the public service, want it to succeed and often refer to it's work with the people who are most in need of support.

That was the overwhelming steer from our face-to-face workshops in cities and towns around the country.

Below you’ll find two reports from our workshop providers, Inside Policy. One summarises the themes we heard, the other includes detailed methodology and what was said.

The facts

We have held 29 workshops in 16 cities and towns around the country. That’s 481 people’s views on the future of the service, including:

• 387 public servants from 48 public service organisations
• 94 members of the community at 13 dedicated events
• a diverse mix of people from those who have worked in the service for anywhere from 1 year to more than 2 decades, as well as small business owners, charities, students, teachers, church leaders, carers and volunteers

The majority of people who wanted to be part of these events were given a chance to do so.

• 765 public servants were nominated to be part of these workshops with 80% of those invited to come
• Well over 6,500 invitations went out to community members with the help of the Regional Development Australia network, with every person who responded invited to an event

On the agenda

The workshops were delivered over 3 phases to cover:

• topics in the review’s terms of reference
• themes emerging from other sources
• 5 characteristics for a future public service in later workshops

What was said

People told us how important it was to:

• put the people at the heart of everything Australia’s public service does
• be united and work with other levels of government, businesses, other kinds of organisations and the people of Australia themselves
• have systems and technology that are easy to use and help us collaborate
• have a diverse, flexible and capable workforce
• be a valued and trusted steward of the national interest

These are a close match to the 5 themes our Chair has outlined for the future, including a public service which is:

• united in a collective endeavour
• a trusted and respected partner
• dynamic, digital and adaptive in its systems and structures
• world-class in policy, regulation and delivery
• an employer of choice

In the last 7 workshops, we tested those phrases. While the ideas sat well with people, some of the language did not. As a result, we’re fine-tuning the wording.  

These workshops are one of many inputs to this review so far. We encourage you to check our latest thinking, comment and share your ideas.