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It has been a busy start to the year with public servants returning from their summer holidays and launching into 2025 proper.
Next week’s federal budget and a certain election shortly afterwards will have mandarins in full-blown work mode, and Patrick Gorman wants the bureaucracy to know he has their back.
On Monday, the assistant minister for the APS welcomed some of the brand-new graduates to the elite Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C).
Gorman shared several photos alongside the fresh recruits, who were donned in their brand new lanyards and beaming in their neatly pressed office attire.
“They are joining the APS at a time of great challenge — and opportunity,” Gorman posted on LinkedIn.
“We face the most complex strategic environment since World War II, and economic shifts are reshaping our world from hydrocarbons to renewables, IT to AI, and globalisation to fragmentation; an ageing population is transforming our workforce and increasing the importance of the care economy.
“These challenges require skills, dedication, and fresh ideas. The work they do will shape Australia’s future,” he said.
Gorman went on to wish the graduates the “very best” and highlighted the importance of integrity as the APS’s newest hires set out to carve a career of hard work and service for the people of Australia.
“My message is simple: never stop learning,” he said.
“Knowledge is its own reward, but it is also what drives better policy and better outcomes for Australians.”
Earlier that day, the minister was beating his drum to a similar tune as part of the virtual roadshow promoting the 2024 State of the Service report.
He noted the efforts to deliver the “biggest APS reforms in a generation”, sharing that he could not be prouder of the progress made and the way the public service (who were our “families, friends and neighbours”) had applied themselves.
The minister said employee engagement in the APS was also at its highest recorded level, with 91% of public servants reporting in the census that they were “prepared to go the extra mile at work when required.”
“The APS employee value proposition (EVP) captures what you value most about being a public servant: purpose, growth, community and belonging — this helps to attract, retain and develop the workforce needed in a competitive labour market”, Gorman said.
“The new APS value of stewardship reinforces the responsibility to serve the government and the public into the future.
“It means we now have an APS that ‘builds its capability in institutional knowledge and serves the public interest now and into the future by understanding the long-term impacts of its actions’.”
Gorman said he had visited APS staff in every state and territory and watched their work firsthand, from managing consulate cases to answering government phones and clearing service delivery backlogs.
“I always walk away impressed [like] in my electorate in Perth at the ATO in Northbridge, their skills in rolling out software improvements to ensure the smooth implementation of the Albanese government’s tax cuts to low and middle-income earners,” Gorman said.
“I’ve travelled across Australia meeting with staff working for the Australian Financial Security Authority — compassionate people — supporting Australians as they confront some of the most stressful times in their lives.
“I’ve been to Services Australia in Tuggeranong, observing the pride and professionalism with which public servants conduct themselves as they help vulnerable Australians access the support they need.”
The minister observed that public trust in the APS was built on the government workforce’s presence when the community needed it most.
He also credited the APS with cutting waiting times for citizens to access government services and improving the quality of services being offered.
“Just a week ago, all of Australia witnessed our public service at its best responding to a natural disaster that threatened widespread damage,” Gorman said.
“But the public service doesn’t just deliver for the public when it’s watching — it does it day after day after day for every Australian.
“Sometimes it makes the news. Usually it doesn’t, as our hard-working public servants keep Australians safe across the world.”
The minister noted the growth in the APS workforce, mostly in frontline service delivery. An additional 7,703 personnel joined the government in key service roles such as Defence, Health, Home Affairs, DVA, Services Australia, and the NDIS.
He added that in 2024, the government was focused on delivering services and building a capable public service.
Meanwhile, top bureaucrats were working towards delivering the public service with better conditions, more flexibility and a stronger focus on workplace culture.
“And we’ve seen a shift towards more permanent roles. Over the past year, reliance on contractors and labour-hire has decreased,” Gorman said.
“We’ve seen a 12.7% increase in permanent employees. At the same time, we’ve seen a 20.5% drop in non-ongoing staff.”
Other priorities for the APS the minister listed included a government workforce that better reflected the country backed by a new CALD employment strategy and action plan, targets to lift the number of First Nations public servants, and initiatives to support government workers with disability and people from the LGBTIQA+ community.
“There is more to do, but we are headed in the right direction,” Gorman said, underscoring public servants’ little choices to impact people’s lives.
“All of this builds trust and confidence in the APS, confidence that the APS can deliver the services we need, that we can manage crises and make decisions that benefit the country.”
Gorman said he was keen to hear what thoughts and questions public servants may want to put to him and thanked APS commissioner Dr Gordon de Brouwer for his commitment to leading the state of the service, now in its 120th year of reporting.
“You can be proud of the [state of the service] report and what it says about Australia’s public servants,” Gorman said.
“Today, we are joining [this virtual event] from all around Australia — it’s about the audience, all of you. Some 585 public work sites across this country, and even some who serve our country overseas.
“Every day you bring dedication, commitment and service to the APS — to you, I say thank you.”
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From servant to partner
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