The Parliamentary Workplace Support Service has assured its users that confidential information is kept in-house, following an email gaffe revealed during Senate estimates. Senator Jane Hume asked PWSS executives whether people could be assured that their private information would not leak into a broader digital ecosystem, after her office’s receipt
This week’s run of estimates hearings is the final intense activity for the federal parliament in 2025, with politicians and bureaucrats now able to prepare for the festive season. It won’t be long, however, before bureaucrats are called back to get pricked, prodded and probed before estimates hearings again. Prime
A widely publicised plan to cut 2,000 Victorian public service jobs under Premier Jacinta Allan has been scaled back to about half that number. A major efficiency review will instead target roles at the edges of the bureaucracy to find $4 billion in savings. Around 1,000 VPS positions are slated
Locals sometimes get so used to the scenery that they forget to marvel at the sights. This isn’t just true for people who live in beautiful holiday spots. The same tendency can hamper analysts focused on international affairs. It’s easy, for example, to see the Indo-Pacific as a scatter of
The Tax Practitioners Board has confirmed that two of the three PwC Australia staffers cautioned in relation to the tax leaks saga remain employed by the firm. A TPB response to Australian Greens Senator Barbara Pocock’s question on notice says two recipients of a caution remain in the firm’s tax
Department of Treasury officials were unable to tell Senate estimates whether consumer groups were consulted as part of the development of a merged body that will set accounting, auditing and sustainability rules. A consultation process on the establishment of External Reporting Australia ended last week — a body that will
Anika Wells is heralding a new era for Australia’s Generation Alpha, when a federal ban on social media accounts for under-16s comes into force. Social media companies have one week to take “reasonable steps” to prevent an estimated 86% of Australian users aged 8 to 15 from accessing their platforms.
Regulations protecting Victorians from psychosocial hazards at work, and which aim to help employers manage risks with clearer obligations, have now commenced. The reforms align the state with other Australian jurisdictions by clarifying the legal obligations workplaces must meet to provide employees with a work environment free of risks to
Western Australian electoral commissioner Robert Kennedy has resigned after six months of intense scrutiny. Kennedy took leave in March while the state election count was ongoing. Meanwhile, former governor Malcolm McCusker has completed a post-election inquiry that is more critical of the Treasury than the commissioner. Politicians have nonetheless continued
The NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) will hold one more day of public hearings into corruption at School Infrastructure NSW. Operation Landan is investigating whether former executive Anthony Manning improperly gave jobs and contracts to mates at above-market rates. If substantiated, this would constitute corrupt conduct. ICAC has reopened
More than 30 people on the government payroll were paid in excess of $1 million last financial year. Very few were public servants in the traditional sense. Of the 34 million-dollar mandarins listed in 2024-2025 annual reports, the top 26 earners were executives for government-owned companies and corporate entities. All
It is trite to observe that safe, comfortable, and affordable housing is foundational to wellbeing. People forgo food and other necessities to avoid being evicted from their lodgings. Sacrificing adequate food is a fast track to poor health. The rising proportion of people without a secure address should make housing
The Parliamentary Workplace Support Service has assured its users that confidential information is kept in-house, following an email gaffe revealed during Senate estimates. Senator Jane Hume asked PWSS executives whether people could be assured that their private information would not leak into a broader digital ecosystem, after her office’s receipt
This week’s run of estimates hearings is the final intense activity for the federal parliament in 2025, with politicians and bureaucrats now able to prepare for the festive season. It won’t be long, however, before bureaucrats are called back to get pricked, prodded and probed before estimates hearings again. Prime
A widely publicised plan to cut 2,000 Victorian public service jobs under Premier Jacinta Allan has been scaled back to about half that number. A major efficiency review will instead target roles at the edges of the bureaucracy to find $4 billion in savings. Around 1,000 VPS positions are slated
Locals sometimes get so used to the scenery that they forget to marvel at the sights. This isn’t just true for people who live in beautiful holiday spots. The same tendency can hamper analysts focused on international affairs. It’s easy, for example, to see the Indo-Pacific as a scatter of
The Tax Practitioners Board has confirmed that two of the three PwC Australia staffers cautioned in relation to the tax leaks saga remain employed by the firm. A TPB response to Australian Greens Senator Barbara Pocock’s question on notice says two recipients of a caution remain in the firm’s tax
Department of Treasury officials were unable to tell Senate estimates whether consumer groups were consulted as part of the development of a merged body that will set accounting, auditing and sustainability rules. A consultation process on the establishment of External Reporting Australia ended last week — a body that will
Anika Wells is heralding a new era for Australia’s Generation Alpha, when a federal ban on social media accounts for under-16s comes into force. Social media companies have one week to take “reasonable steps” to prevent an estimated 86% of Australian users aged 8 to 15 from accessing their platforms.
Regulations protecting Victorians from psychosocial hazards at work, and which aim to help employers manage risks with clearer obligations, have now commenced. The reforms align the state with other Australian jurisdictions by clarifying the legal obligations workplaces must meet to provide employees with a work environment free of risks to
Western Australian electoral commissioner Robert Kennedy has resigned after six months of intense scrutiny. Kennedy took leave in March while the state election count was ongoing. Meanwhile, former governor Malcolm McCusker has completed a post-election inquiry that is more critical of the Treasury than the commissioner. Politicians have nonetheless continued
The NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) will hold one more day of public hearings into corruption at School Infrastructure NSW. Operation Landan is investigating whether former executive Anthony Manning improperly gave jobs and contracts to mates at above-market rates. If substantiated, this would constitute corrupt conduct. ICAC has reopened
More than 30 people on the government payroll were paid in excess of $1 million last financial year. Very few were public servants in the traditional sense. Of the 34 million-dollar mandarins listed in 2024-2025 annual reports, the top 26 earners were executives for government-owned companies and corporate entities. All
It is trite to observe that safe, comfortable, and affordable housing is foundational to wellbeing. People forgo food and other necessities to avoid being evicted from their lodgings. Sacrificing adequate food is a fast track to poor health. The rising proportion of people without a secure address should make housing
