There are surprise industrial campaigns, and then there are industrial campaigns sitting so plainly in sight that it’s hard to understand how they are missed. As end-of-financial-year transactions reach their annual electronic peak after two decades of governments shifting taxpayers to digital channels, the technicians who keep the ATO’s heavy-duty
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Aussie children aged 5-17 years are clocking an average of 2 hours and 51 minutes of “sedentary screen activity” per day. This does not take into account time spent studying at a computer. Results from the 2023 national nutrition and physical activity survey
The auditor-general has given a mixed assessment of one of the APS departments’ longest-standing users of AI. IP Australia deployed its first automated decision-making tool in 2018, about three years after the ATO launched the APS’s first chatbot, Alex. As of May this year, IP Australia has 30 AI tools
South Australia’s anti-corruption chief has called for significant reform to the state’s whistleblower laws. The Independent Commission Against Corruption SA (ICAC SA) launched the Whistleblower Project in August last year. The project has spent 10 months reviewing “the adequacy and effectiveness of whistleblower protections in South Australia”. Tabled ...
Victoria’s Department of Government Services can’t tell if Services Victoria’s digital platform is delivering its intended benefits for the state, an auditor-general report has found. An audit team did a review in 2021 of the Service Victoria transaction platform, but the Victorian Auditor-General’s Office said little or no progress has
A corruption-fighting barrister who shone a light on a rogue union fears alleged rampant wrongdoing in a state’s major builds will continue unabated until the government is voted out. Geoffrey Watson has joined calls for an urgent royal commission into corruption within the Victorian government’s $109 billion Big Build program.
A powerful parliamentary committee will demand that two groups that played a part in the 2025 election campaign attend a public hearing. The Plymouth Brethren Christian Church and Advance (previously known as Advance Australia) have refused to attend public hearings of the joint standing committee on electoral matters to assist
Senator Barbara Pocock has written to the federal government to press for the removal of KPMG as the APS Academy’s ethics trainer of choice. Pocock has urged Finance Minister Katy Gallagher to discontinue the Big Four firm’s $1.3 million ethics and leadership contract, following revelations the firm had misused confidential
There’s no shortage of public sector industrial actions directed at the Andrew Barr government in the Australian Capital Territory at the moment, but the usually cool, calm, and collected people who wear space suits to scoop up and swab samples at serious crime scenes have officially lost their bottle over
Australian Taxation Office employees represented by the Australian Services Union have overwhelmingly endorsed a new claim for a wage increase of more than 8% per year — or at least 24% over three years — ahead of the imminent official commencement of the triennial Australian Public Service’s enterprise bargaining season.
Labor’s fuel excise cut passed through the federal parliament on Monday, with the reform expected to save motorists about $11 for a 65-litre tank from July until August 2. Truck drivers will also get some relief, with a 16-cent cut to the heavy vehicle road user charge. Prime Minister Anthony
The head of Australia’s best-known anti-corruption body has told a federal parliamentary inquiry he’s pushing higher standards for the NSW public sector. Speaking to the parliamentary joint committee on the National Anti-Corruption Commission (PJC NACC) last week, John Hatzistergos said he’s trying to lift the bar for public-sector integrity. Hatzistergos
There are surprise industrial campaigns, and then there are industrial campaigns sitting so plainly in sight that it’s hard to understand how they are missed. As end-of-financial-year transactions reach their annual electronic peak after two decades of governments shifting taxpayers to digital channels, the technicians who keep the ATO’s heavy-duty
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Aussie children aged 5-17 years are clocking an average of 2 hours and 51 minutes of “sedentary screen activity” per day. This does not take into account time spent studying at a computer. Results from the 2023 national nutrition and physical activity survey
The auditor-general has given a mixed assessment of one of the APS departments’ longest-standing users of AI. IP Australia deployed its first automated decision-making tool in 2018, about three years after the ATO launched the APS’s first chatbot, Alex. As of May this year, IP Australia has 30 AI tools
South Australia’s anti-corruption chief has called for significant reform to the state’s whistleblower laws. The Independent Commission Against Corruption SA (ICAC SA) launched the Whistleblower Project in August last year. The project has spent 10 months reviewing “the adequacy and effectiveness of whistleblower protections in South Australia”. Tabled ...
Victoria’s Department of Government Services can’t tell if Services Victoria’s digital platform is delivering its intended benefits for the state, an auditor-general report has found. An audit team did a review in 2021 of the Service Victoria transaction platform, but the Victorian Auditor-General’s Office said little or no progress has
A corruption-fighting barrister who shone a light on a rogue union fears alleged rampant wrongdoing in a state’s major builds will continue unabated until the government is voted out. Geoffrey Watson has joined calls for an urgent royal commission into corruption within the Victorian government’s $109 billion Big Build program.
A powerful parliamentary committee will demand that two groups that played a part in the 2025 election campaign attend a public hearing. The Plymouth Brethren Christian Church and Advance (previously known as Advance Australia) have refused to attend public hearings of the joint standing committee on electoral matters to assist
Senator Barbara Pocock has written to the federal government to press for the removal of KPMG as the APS Academy’s ethics trainer of choice. Pocock has urged Finance Minister Katy Gallagher to discontinue the Big Four firm’s $1.3 million ethics and leadership contract, following revelations the firm had misused confidential
There’s no shortage of public sector industrial actions directed at the Andrew Barr government in the Australian Capital Territory at the moment, but the usually cool, calm, and collected people who wear space suits to scoop up and swab samples at serious crime scenes have officially lost their bottle over
Australian Taxation Office employees represented by the Australian Services Union have overwhelmingly endorsed a new claim for a wage increase of more than 8% per year — or at least 24% over three years — ahead of the imminent official commencement of the triennial Australian Public Service’s enterprise bargaining season.
Labor’s fuel excise cut passed through the federal parliament on Monday, with the reform expected to save motorists about $11 for a 65-litre tank from July until August 2. Truck drivers will also get some relief, with a 16-cent cut to the heavy vehicle road user charge. Prime Minister Anthony
The head of Australia’s best-known anti-corruption body has told a federal parliamentary inquiry he’s pushing higher standards for the NSW public sector. Speaking to the parliamentary joint committee on the National Anti-Corruption Commission (PJC NACC) last week, John Hatzistergos said he’s trying to lift the bar for public-sector integrity. Hatzistergos
