A Senate committee has recommended amendments to the Public Service Act.

Key amendments to the act have received a resounding recommendation from the Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee. 

If passed, these amendments will enshrine ‘Stewardship’ as a core APS value and include a purpose statement for the Australian Public Service (APS). 

There is bipartisan support for these amendments, with the backing of both the Greens and Labor, bringing the total number of supporting senators to 37 out of the necessary 39 for a majority.

Among the pivotal changes proposed in this bill are the formalisation of capability reviews, the publication of APS Employee Census results along with action plans, and the empowerment of decision-making at the most appropriate classification level.

Chair of the committee and Labor senator, Louise Pratt, says it is urgent to address concerns surrounding APS conduct and culture.

“This bill presents a legislative tranche of reforms to change aspects of the public service that the committee considers are largely unobjectionable,” she said

However, while supporting the bill, Greens senator Barbara Pocock expressed the view that it could have been more ambitious.

“The government should have gone further in this bill to action a much more comprehensive APS reform agenda, one that meets the lessons and challenges of both the robodebt and consultancy crises,” Pocock said.

Deputy chair and Coalition senator, Richard Colbeck, indicated his party's intention to introduce amendments, notably proposing that capability reviews involve consultation with the relevant minister and that reviews be tabled in parliament within 15 sitting days.

Despite recommending the bill's passage, the committee has called upon the government to clarify why capability reviews won't be mandatory for all agencies. 

Additionally, they have sought assurance regarding the disclosure of information about exemptions to APS Employee Census results, material removals, and agencies failing to publish action plans within six months of receiving their APS Census results, as suggested by ANZSOG.

Former APS commission head, Andrew Podger, has expressed scepticism about the bill's effectiveness, noting that it wouldn't have prevented past issues like the robodebt scheme. 

Podger has called for a shift in focus from “stewardship-as-a-value” to “stewardship as a management responsibility” and suggested a reevaluation of the APS purpose statement.

During the discussions surrounding the amendments, APS commissioner Gordon de Brouwer advocated for a cautious, “no regrets” approach to reform, highlighting that incremental changes were more effective for institutional transformation.

More details are accessible here.