PM Albanese’s visit to the Philippines

At the invitation of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visited the Philippines on 8 September.

The leaders held a constructive meeting, including signing the Australia-Philippines Strategic Partnership. They discussed strengthening cooperation on regional and national security, building stronger bonds between our people and enhancing our educational links.

In elevating the bilateral partnership, Australia and the Philippines committed to working together to realise our vision of an open, prosperous, peaceful and stable region. 

How might artificial intelligence affect the trustworthiness of public service delivery?

The first Long-term Insights Briefing explores how the APS could integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into public service delivery in the future, and how this might affect the trustworthiness of public service delivery. In developing the briefing, we heard that the community expects the APS to adopt and use AI solutions in ways that demonstrate integrity, competence and empathy for people, and deliver a clear improvement in the performance of public services.

ASEAN Summits: Working together on shared prosperity, security and stability for the Indo-Pacific

On 6-7 September, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese attended the 3rd Annual ASEAN-Australia Summit and the 18th East Asia Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia. 

Deepening our relationship with Southeast Asia is a priority for Australia. Australia’s close partnership with ASEAN and its members is critical to achieving mutual stability, peace and prosperity in our region.

At the ASEAN Indo-Pacific Forum, the Prime Minister launched Australia’s strategy to deepen economic engagement with our region and ensure shared future prosperity.

Instrument of appointment of Mr Adam Fennessy PSM

COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA

Public Service Act 1999

Public Service (Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Appointment 2023

I, General the Honourable David Hurley AC DSC (Retd), Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, acting with the advice of the Federal Executive Council and under subsection 58(1) of the Public Service Act 1999, appoint Professor Adam Fennessy PSM as the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry for a period of five years commencing on 18 September 2023.

Workplace Gender Equality Procurement Principles

According to the Workplace Gender Equality Procurement Principles (WGE Procurement Principles), to be considered for government procurement contracts at or above $80,000, or $7.5 million for construction services, all tenderers who have 100 or more employees must be able to demonstrate they are compliant with the WGE Act by supplying a letter of compliance from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA), either with their submission or before entering into a contract with an Australian Government agency.

Compliance requires relevant employers to report to WGEA on their performance against the Gender Equality Indicators (GEIs) and communicate their performance to employees, shareholders and governing bodies.

Employers with 500 or more employees (known as designated relevant employers (DREs) have greater compliance obligations. These employers are required to have policies or strategies in place for the six GEIs and communicate their performance to employees, shareholders and governing bodies. Starting in 2026, DREs that report to WGEA must also meet their targets obligations under the Workplace Gender Equality Amendment (Setting Gender Equality Targets) Act 2025 with private sector employers required to select and report targets to WGEA between April-May 2026 and Commonwealth public sector employers from September-October 2026. DREs will need to select, achieve, or make progress on 3 gender equality targets from a menu of numeric and action-oriented targets to be compliant with the WGE Act. Employers will have 3 years to meet or demonstrate improvement on their selected targets. 

For further information on targets and how WGEA manages compliance please refer to WGEA’s website and WGEA Compliance Strategy.

Refresh of Workplace Gender Equality Procurement Principles

In 2025, consistent with commitments in Working for Women: A Strategy for Gender Equality, the government announced it would strengthen compliance with procurement rules to make sure the government is only working with companies that meet WGEA requirements.

Earlier work undertaken in 2023 by the Office for Women (OFW) to review the WGE Procurement Principles found there were high levels of compliance and identified opportunities to improve transparency and further strengthen compliance.

To action the opportunities identified and inform a refresh of the WGE Procurement Principles anticipated for early 2026, OFW is assessing the efficacy and scope of the WGE Procurement Principles; looking at ways to streamline processes; and improve transparency and accountability of whole of government compliance.

Resources

Australian Bravery Decorations

On 23 August 2023, His Excellency General the Honourable David Hurley AC DSC (Retd), Governor-General, announced the Australian Bravery Decorations.

The Australian Bravery Decorations recognise acts of bravery where people selflessly put themselves in jeopardy to protect the lives or property of others. 

A list of the recipients is available on the Governor-General’s website and recipients who have agreed to be identified can be searched through the Australian Honours database. 

Decorations awarded include:

Magical Garma – in pursuit of Djambatj - brilliance, skill, excellence

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that this article may contain images of deceased persons.

Nestled in the bushland of remote Northern Territory is the sacred Gumatj Bunggul ground in Gulkula. Every year in August, people flock from across the country to attend Garma – a 4-day celebration of Yolngu life and culture in northeast Arnhem Land. This year, seven lucky people represented PM&C at the country’s largest Indigenous gathering.

Secretaries Board and Strategic Leadership Group communiques: 16 August 2023

The Secretaries Board met today at the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and discussed the following matters.

Closing the Gap - Productivity Commission 3-Yearly Review Draft Report

The Board discussed the Productivity Commission’s Closing the Gap 3-Yearly Review Draft Report and agreed greater strategic leadership to support accelerated action to consistently embed the four Priority Reforms of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap throughout the APS.

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