The Secretaries Board met at the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet to discuss the following matters.

APS Reform

The Board agreed an approach to engage APS staff in developing an APS Purpose Statement (Recommendation 6 of the Thodey Review). Draft Terms of Reference will be developed for agreement by the Board.

Dr Gordon de Brouwer PSM, Secretary for Public Sector Reform, updated the Board on the design of a Long Term Insights Briefing model. The Board discussed a range of potential themes for a pilot briefing to be delivered later this year.

Purpose of Strategic Leadership Group

The Secretaries Board requires sufficient time for members to participate in strategic, forward-looking discussions on significant public policy or administration matters. To enable this to occur, every third meeting of the Secretaries Board will be followed by an extended strategic discussion considered by the Strategic Leadership Group.

Purpose of the Secretaries Board

Section 64 of the Public Service Act 1999 establishes the Secretaries Board and sets out its functions as follows:

The Secretaries Board met at the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.

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

Workplace Relations

The Australian Public Service Commissioner, Mr Peter Woolcott, updated the Board on the 6 October release of the Government’s Public Sector Interim Workplace Arrangements and forthcoming bargaining process to develop a comprehensive workplace relations policy.

Context

The Government has an ambitious agenda to strengthen integrity across the Australian public sector. Important reforms underway include the establishment of the National Anti-Corruption Commission, strengthening whistleblower protections, measures to enhance the integrity of administrative decision making (including grants processes), and arrangements to increase transparent and merit-based appointments to government boards and other public sector roles.