Western Australia’s next electoral commissioner, Dennis O’Reilly, will begin in his new permanent role from late January. O’Reilly has been acting in the role since May. He replaces outgoing electoral commissioner Robert Kennedy, who resigned this month. He previously served as a strategy and performance deputy director general at WA’s
Cath Patterson has joined the Department of Defence from Finance as an associate secretary with a mission to integrate different parts of the organisation — specifically boosting the areas of enterprise transformation and prioritisation. Commencing this month, the senior mandarin has joined from Finance’s budget group, where she oversaw advice
The Trump administration is recalling nearly 30 top career diplomats from overseas, including from the Pacific, as it installs personnel deemed fully supportive of the president’s “America First” priorities. The chiefs of mission in at least 29 countries were informed last week that their tenures would end in January, according
This has been a year of exhilarating highs and some reflexive forehead-slapping lows for government officials and their public service workforce. Here’s a quick highlights reel for those who feel so spun-out by whip-lash turbulence, you hardly know what month it is. NSW ICAC shines light on spectacularly dodgy conduct
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
Western Australia’s next electoral commissioner, Dennis O’Reilly, will begin in his new permanent role from late January. O’Reilly has been acting in the role since May. He replaces outgoing electoral commissioner Robert Kennedy, who resigned this month. He previously served as a strategy and performance deputy director general at WA’s
Cath Patterson has joined the Department of Defence from Finance as an associate secretary with a mission to integrate different parts of the organisation — specifically boosting the areas of enterprise transformation and prioritisation. Commencing this month, the senior mandarin has joined from Finance’s budget group, where she oversaw advice
The Trump administration is recalling nearly 30 top career diplomats from overseas, including from the Pacific, as it installs personnel deemed fully supportive of the president’s “America First” priorities. The chiefs of mission in at least 29 countries were informed last week that their tenures would end in January, according
This has been a year of exhilarating highs and some reflexive forehead-slapping lows for government officials and their public service workforce. Here’s a quick highlights reel for those who feel so spun-out by whip-lash turbulence, you hardly know what month it is. NSW ICAC shines light on spectacularly dodgy conduct
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
