It’s National Children’s Week! This week is all about celebrating children’s talents, skills, achievements and, importantly, their rights.

The Theme for 2021 is based on Article 15 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child – ‘Children have the right to choose their own friends and safely connect with others’.

As the National Office for Child Safety celebrates National Children’s Week, it is timely to reflect on our work and how it is making a difference to the lives of Australian children.

An array of Australian literary works have been shortlisted for the 2021 Prime Minister’s Literary Awards.

The Awards acknowledge the significant contribution literature, history and poetry have in connecting us to Australian voices and our story as a nation.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said this year’s shortlists celebrated Australia’s talented literary sector in a year when so many Australians turned to reading.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison delivered a speech in Parliament to commemorate the third anniversary of the National Apology to Victims and Survivors of Institutional Child Sexual Abuse, acknowledging its importance, the impact on victims and survivors and the need to take action to never let this be repeated.

The Department’s 2020-21 Annual Report is now available.

In an environment impacted by an ongoing global pandemic, PM&C has brought its best effort to deal with a full range of issues; keeping Australians safe, healthy and our economy strong, and continuing to guarantee the essential services Australians rely on.

Are you a 2021 graduate in the Australian Public Service (APS)? Or are you a data professional wanting to share your knowledge with the future leaders of the APS?

The Graduate Data Network (GDN) is hosting the 2022 Graduate Data Forum, an annual event that gives APS graduates the opportunity to hear from thought leaders in the data sector.

Following the success of the 2021 Graduate Data Forum, which attracted a wide range of data experts, the GDN is on the lookout for experts from the APS and academia to speak at the event.

A free online course, the 4D Framework, has been released by PM&C’s Behavioural Economics Team of the Australian Government (BETA) on their project methodology.

BETA’s aim is to improve the lives of Australians by putting human behaviour at the heart of government policy.

BETA developed the 4D framework to help manage their behavioural insights (BI) projects. The 4Ds are the project stages of Discover, Diagnose, Design and Deliver.

Eight organisations and individuals have been recognised in the annual Prime Minister’s Veterans’ Employment Awards.

These awards celebrate organisations who support veterans and their transition into the civilian workforce and to recognise veterans who have excelled as employees and entrepreneurs.

The awards ceremony was hosted virtually on the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs and Minister for Defence Personnel’s Facebook page, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Prime Minister’s Veterans’ Employment Award Winners 2021:

The Prime Minister recognises outstanding talent through a series of awards which celebrate outstanding Australian talent.

Presented every year, the Prime Minister’s Awards include:

Prime Minister’s Literary Awards

The Prime Minister’s Literary Awards celebrates outstanding Australian literary talent and the valuable contribution Australian literature and history makes to the nation's cultural and intellectual life. 

The Public Service Medal (PSM) is an important element in the Australian honours system, recognising outstanding public service. Each year, up to thirty exceptional APS and government employees are formally recognised through the award of the PSM.

Recently, the Governor-General announced 21 Commonwealth PSM recipients in The Queen’s Birthday 2021 honours list. These recipients reflect the broad range of contributions possible in the public service and the importance of public service work to Australia.