The COO Committee (the Committee) met today at the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet to discuss the following matters:
APS Integrity Good Practice
The Committee heard presentations on integrity good practice from DITRDCA and DISR, and discussed how these can be replicated across the APS.
Australian Government Consulting update
Chief Consulting Officer Andrew Nipe updated the Committee on the Australian Government Consulting’s progress and strategies for reducing reliance on external consultants.
Workplace Protection Order Scheme
The Attorney-General’s Department and Services Australia provided an overview of the proposed Commonwealth Workplace Protection Orders scheme.
Proposed APSC approach to a whole-of-APS work pattern data
The COO Committee considered options for collecting employee work pattern data.
Facilitating a coordinated approach to the sharing of policy, guidance and materials
The COO Committee noted a proposed coordinated approach to share employment and other corporate policy documents, guidance and materials between agencies on a single platform.
Commonwealth Child Safe Framework
The Committee noted a significant increase in non-corporate Commonwealth entities’ compliance in 2023 with requirement four of the Commonwealth Child Safe Framework. The Committee agreed to continue proactive engagement with all non-corporate entities within their portfolio on the requirements of the Framework ahead of the 2024 reporting deadline, and noted the National Office for Child Safety’s planned enhancements to reporting and organisational child safety capability building across the Commonwealth.
The new Commonwealth Fraud and Corruption Control Framework
The COO Committee received an update on the new Commonwealth Fraud and Corruption Control Framework, which comes into effect from 1 July 2024.
The amended framework changes the way we manage fraud and corruption. Visit the Commonwealth Fraud Prevention Centre’s website to find out more about the framework and join their mailing list to receive regular updates, including about webinars and training.
National Agreement on Closing the Gap: Allyship Project
The Committee noted the proposal to implement a suite of allyship resources, delivering on a 2024 Commonwealth commitment in the Closing the Gap Implementation Plan under Priority Reform Three for discussion with the Champions Network. The Committee agreed to continue work to embed cultural safety and eliminate racism under Priority Reform Three and to progress broader cultural capability measures in line with the APS Reform Agenda.
Next Meetings
The next COO Committee meeting is scheduled for 22 May 2024.