Patricia Falcetta will be the facilitator at Embracing Neurodiversity: A Workshop for Managers & Leaders in Canberra and Melbourne from 1 – 3 July. Photo: Supplied.
Public Sector Women in Leadership Summit 2025
Date: 30 June – 4 July
Time: 9 am – 4:30 pm
Location: Hyatt Hotel, Canberra
Email: [email protected]
Overview
Refocus and Reconnect – Slow Down to Step Up.
- Gain insights from trailblazing leaders on navigating change with confidence.
- Explore strategies to slow down, refocus, and lead with clarity and impact.
- Celebrate champions of diversity, accessibility, and innovation in the APS.
- Connect with like-minded leaders and collaborate on future-focused solutions.
Producing a Quality Cabinet Submission
Date: 1 July
Time: 9 am – 5 pm
Duration: One eight-hour face-to-face session
Location: Australian Capital Territory – MoAD (Old Parliament House)
Email: https://apslearn.apsacademy.gov.au/user_login
This workshop will give you the most current information and insights into the Cabinet system, delivered in an engaging and educational way. You will become familiar with Cabinet principles and conventions, key steps and timeframes, template requirements, and who to consult.
With lots of practical activities, you will develop your drafting skills and get tips on how to write for a Cabinet audience. You will also benefit from meeting and engaging with other APS staff on these topics.
This content has been provided by the APS Academy in partnership with the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, and is suitable for APS 5 – SES 3.
Delivering Great Policy – Foundations
Date: 1 – 2 July
Time: 9 am – 5 pm
Duration: Two eight-hour face-to-screen sessions
Location: Virtual
Email: https://apslearn.apsacademy.gov.au/user_login
This package delivers all four modules of Delivering Great Policy. The package defines the four core elements required for delivering great policy advice: being clear on intent; being well informed; providing solutions that are practical to implement; and giving advice that is influential. Participants will complete all four modules in sequence.
This content has been provided by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, and is suitable for APS 3 – APS 6 and APS employees who are new to, or considering a career in, policy development roles.
Embracing Neurodiversity: A Workshop for Managers & Leaders
Date: 1 – 3 July
Time: 9 am – 4:30 pm
Location: In person, 1 July ACT | 3 July VIC
Email: [email protected]
Learn how to create environments for neurodiversity to thrive. The number of people who identify as neurodiverse or have been diagnosed as neurodivergent is rapidly increasing, and it’s likely neurodivergent people are on your team.
So why is an awareness of neurodiversity and the ability to lead neuro-inclusive teams so important for managers and leaders? Because with it, managers and people leaders are able to tap into individual team members’ strengths and preferences so that they feel safe and included and are able to perform at their best. When everyone is able to perform at their best, you have a high-performing team.
Patricia Falcetta is a highly experienced facilitator with more than 25 years of working experience in the public and private sectors. Neurodivergent herself, she is a passionate advocate for neurodivergent people. She is the founder and director of Social Living Solutions, which specialises in providing support for neurodivergent youth, families, and adults.
Join us for an essential full-day workshop that will build your understanding of the unique strengths of neurodiversity, how to harness them and how to lead a psychologically safe team. Discover how embracing different cognitive styles can drive innovation, boost productivity, foster inclusivity and promote retention in the workplace.
Strategic Leadership
Date: 2 – 10 July
Time: 9:30 am – 12:30 pm
Duration: Four three-hour face-to-screen sessions
Location: Virtual
Email: https://apslearn.apsacademy.gov.au/user_login
Take an in-depth look at shaping strategy with a sense of purpose and direction, using information and opportunities, and showing judgment and common sense. Use environmental scanning and best-practice models and tools to help anticipate the consequences and trade-offs of actions.
This content has been provided by a third party in consultation with the APS Academy, and is suitable for EL 1 – EL 2.
Working Smarter: Planning & Time Management Skills
Date: 3 July
Time: 9 am – 4:30 pm
Location: Online
Email: [email protected]
Overview
Achieve more with practical tools for prioritising tasks, aligning goals, and maintaining focus in a fast-paced environment.
- Master prioritisation techniques to enhance productivity and avoid distractions.
- Establish relevant goals aligned with organisational objectives.
- Streamline your schedule by minimising inefficiencies in meetings and tasks.
- Develop strategies to maintain focus and manage stress, even under pressure.
Trainer Barbara Clifford is a co-founder of The Hinwood Institute and a lead trainer and coach in time and stress management. She has more than 20 years of experience in high-pressure industries such as film, hospitality, and marketing.
Barbara helps clients declutter their lives, move beyond overwhelm, and achieve peak performance. She has worked with small businesses, charities, Aboriginal organisations, and various sectors including media, aged care, and health services.
Procurement and Contract Management Basics
Date: 3 July
Time: 9:30 am – 12:30 pm
Duration: Three-hour face-to-screen session
Location: Virtual
Email: https://apslearn.apsacademy.gov.au/user_login
The Procurement and Contract Management Basics course aims to provide APS employees with an introduction to Commonwealth procurement and fundamental knowledge and skills essential for contract management.
Awareness and understanding of the Commonwealth Procurement Framework is essential to ensure compliance when APS employees are required to commit and expend federal funds through procurement and undertake contract management activities.
This course has been designed to build the procurement and contract management capabilities of employees as the Commonwealth seeks to deliver more strategic value-for-money outcomes when purchasing goods and services.
This learning experience has been provided by the Department of Finance, and is suitable for all staff. This includes officials who are new to procurement, may need a refresher, or want to move to a role in procurement. It will benefit officials working in procurement on an ad hoc basis, regular procurers, and delegates.
MasterCraft Series – Reskilling and the APS Approach
Date: 17 July
Time: 10 am – 11:30 am
Duration: One 1.5-hour face-to-screen session
Location: Virtual
Email: https://apslearn.apsacademy.gov.au/user_login
The APS Centre of Excellence for Workforce Planning aims to build workforce planning capability across the APS. The team consists of experts who provide hands-on support and tools for strategic workforce planning to APS departments and agencies, and capability development to workforce planners and strategists in the APS.
Hear what it takes to build an enduring APS – one with the right people possessing the right capabilities in the right roles at the right time. This event is suitable for all staff.
Organising around Risks with Professor Malcolm Sparrow
Date: 17 – 18 July
Time: 9 am – 1 pm
Location: Online
Email: [email protected]
Discover the ‘’why’’ and the ‘’how’’ of organising around risks or harms through this seminar with international expert in regulatory and enforcement strategy, security and risk control, Professor Malcolm Sparrow.
Malcolm is the Professor of the Practice of Public Management at Harvard’s John F Kennedy School of Government and faculty chair of the school’s executive program, Strategic Management of Regulatory and Enforcement Agencies.
This two-part seminar examines the motivation for developing a capacity for risk-based work, and considers a broad range of implications for organisations that want to devote more of their resources and attention to problem-centric operations.
The hope is not to displace or de-emphasise functional and process-based competence, but to add a capacity for risk-based work, learn how to organise and support that capacity, and understand how to integrate different forms of work within a single organisation.
Women Unlimited Leadership Summit 2025
Date: 29 September – 1 October
Time: 9 am – 4:30 pm
Location: In-person and online
Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth
Email: [email protected]
Our Women Unlimited series is built on the belief that true power lies in the collective spirit of people unbound by limits. That’s why we’ve brought together global powerhouses former US secretary of state Hillary Rodham Clinton, former Australian prime minister Julia Gillard and some of the other most inspiring minds in leadership to share their experience in the Pursuit of Progress.
Over two days, across seven venues in six Australian capital cities, this latest Women Unlimited summit will be the biggest in Australia yet. Don’t miss this opportunity to soak up redefining insights, grow your confidence and make life-affirming connections that will empower you to pursue your leadership goals.
