Legislation banning hateful symbols and stronger police powers to remove protesters’ face coverings will be introduced in the NSW parliament. Once the laws pass, it will be an offence to publicly display terrorist symbols such as ISIS flags without a reasonable excuse (such as academic or public interest reasons) in
Australian government entities recorded fewer audit findings during the 2024-25 financial year audits compared with the previous year, according to the latest Australian National Audit Office report. ANAO engagement teams reported 178 audit findings for the 2024-25 financial year — a decline from the 214 audit findings the audit teams
The Department of Parliamentary Services has been mired in controversy over the past year, but its recently audited performance report reveals that its operations aren’t all bad. DPS executives have been batting away allegations of poor management of sensitive data, dealing with continuing controversy over a payment to a former
In the days after the Bondi Beach attack, one detail travelled fast. The suspects had been to the Philippines. Within hours, that fact started doing a lot of work in headlines and commentary.The trip was quickly framed as “training”. Some reports suggested a camp. Others hinted at a hidden network.
Public servants are among the most important groups in the world. You make up the largest workforce on the planet, united by a shared mission: serving the public through better services, smarter policies, and stronger institutions. Below are a few things we learned about you in 2025. 1. Leadership matters
After the antisemitic atrocity at Bondi on December 14, it’s fair to wonder where the priorities of our primary domestic intelligence service have lain in recent years — and the priority accorded to terrorism. Despite the lack of transparency for ASIO’s operations, we are able to track what it has
Treasury’s list of pre-Christmas goodies for agencies that have been good, at least in fiscal terms, has allocated $168.8 million to greater digitisation of processes and payments. The department is phasing out a raft of legacy cheque payments and modernising payroll and back-office processes. The loss of cheques, as antiquated
The prime minister has asked his department to look into the powers, structures, processes and sharing arrangements that Australia’s law enforcement and intelligence agencies have in place following a deadly terrorist attack this month. Respected mandarin and Dennis Richardson will lead the review, which has been prompted by a mass-shooting
Commonwealth ombud Iain Anderson’s latest blockbuster report has lessons for all agencies on how to avoid a TCF-like failure. DEWR and Services Australia’s management of the welfare system’s mutual obligations scheme has been blasted by the Commonwealth ombud twice this year. Anderson’s investigation into failures of the Targeted Compliance Framework
The Western Australian government has released a ‘2.9’ planning policy for water to respond to the way climate change will impact water resources. The new policy will assist government agencies and regulators with water planning by also responding to the anticipated impacts of climate change, population growth, the economy and
If 2024 was the year of elections, it follows that 2025 has been the year of MoGs. New governments often have new ideas about public administration and rearrange things accordingly. But this year, a number of reelected governments have executed significant machinery of government changes (MoGs). The ACT and Western
Season’s greetings, mandarins! Today, we’re swapping mince pies for multiple choice. Our festive pop quiz dives into the fun and surprises of the public sector’s antics in 2025. Enjoy a little year’s-end challenge, and see how well you knew the machinations of your public service colleagues during this past year.
Legislation banning hateful symbols and stronger police powers to remove protesters’ face coverings will be introduced in the NSW parliament. Once the laws pass, it will be an offence to publicly display terrorist symbols such as ISIS flags without a reasonable excuse (such as academic or public interest reasons) in
Australian government entities recorded fewer audit findings during the 2024-25 financial year audits compared with the previous year, according to the latest Australian National Audit Office report. ANAO engagement teams reported 178 audit findings for the 2024-25 financial year — a decline from the 214 audit findings the audit teams
The Department of Parliamentary Services has been mired in controversy over the past year, but its recently audited performance report reveals that its operations aren’t all bad. DPS executives have been batting away allegations of poor management of sensitive data, dealing with continuing controversy over a payment to a former
In the days after the Bondi Beach attack, one detail travelled fast. The suspects had been to the Philippines. Within hours, that fact started doing a lot of work in headlines and commentary.The trip was quickly framed as “training”. Some reports suggested a camp. Others hinted at a hidden network.
Public servants are among the most important groups in the world. You make up the largest workforce on the planet, united by a shared mission: serving the public through better services, smarter policies, and stronger institutions. Below are a few things we learned about you in 2025. 1. Leadership matters
After the antisemitic atrocity at Bondi on December 14, it’s fair to wonder where the priorities of our primary domestic intelligence service have lain in recent years — and the priority accorded to terrorism. Despite the lack of transparency for ASIO’s operations, we are able to track what it has
Treasury’s list of pre-Christmas goodies for agencies that have been good, at least in fiscal terms, has allocated $168.8 million to greater digitisation of processes and payments. The department is phasing out a raft of legacy cheque payments and modernising payroll and back-office processes. The loss of cheques, as antiquated
The prime minister has asked his department to look into the powers, structures, processes and sharing arrangements that Australia’s law enforcement and intelligence agencies have in place following a deadly terrorist attack this month. Respected mandarin and Dennis Richardson will lead the review, which has been prompted by a mass-shooting
Commonwealth ombud Iain Anderson’s latest blockbuster report has lessons for all agencies on how to avoid a TCF-like failure. DEWR and Services Australia’s management of the welfare system’s mutual obligations scheme has been blasted by the Commonwealth ombud twice this year. Anderson’s investigation into failures of the Targeted Compliance Framework
The Western Australian government has released a ‘2.9’ planning policy for water to respond to the way climate change will impact water resources. The new policy will assist government agencies and regulators with water planning by also responding to the anticipated impacts of climate change, population growth, the economy and
If 2024 was the year of elections, it follows that 2025 has been the year of MoGs. New governments often have new ideas about public administration and rearrange things accordingly. But this year, a number of reelected governments have executed significant machinery of government changes (MoGs). The ACT and Western
Season’s greetings, mandarins! Today, we’re swapping mince pies for multiple choice. Our festive pop quiz dives into the fun and surprises of the public sector’s antics in 2025. Enjoy a little year’s-end challenge, and see how well you knew the machinations of your public service colleagues during this past year.
