In addition to the six ‘Guideposts’ delivered by the Prime Minister this week to help the Australian Public Service (APS) ‘evolve’, Mr Morrison also shared three ‘Disruptions’ he said the Service should prepare for as it goes about the business of change.
“We need the APS to be an exemplar of innovation and adaptability,” Mr Morrison said. “It needs to evolve and adapt amidst constant change.”
He said the established ways of doing things in the APS need to be challenged “and if necessary, disrupted”.
He said the first disruption he saw was a need for the APS to be more open to outsiders.
“Information has never been more available and expertise in our society has never been more dispersed,” the Prime Minister said.
“To succeed, government needs to tap these insights and these skills and energy from more points on the compass than those who have only ever worked in the Public Service.”
He said the APS needed to find a way for “for smart, dedicated Australians to see a stint in the Public Service as part of their career journey” and “for those who’ve chosen a life as career Public Servants to see that time outside of the APS … also an important part of their career.”
Mr Morrison said the second disruption would be the breaking down of bureaucratic silos and hierarchies which he said were “constraining the capacity to fix problems”.
“We’ve only had this problem in the Public Service for 118 years,” he said.
“We need an APS that’s more joined-up internally and flexible in responding to challenges and opportunities.”
He said this change would require Departments to become more adept at reallocating resources to fit changing priorities.
“I know it can be done because I have driven it myself in three different portfolios prior to service as Prime Minister,” he said.
“The third area of disruption is obviously greater use of digital technology.
“The digital revolution, with the exponential rise in connectivity, data generation, processing power and personalised service delivery, continues to reshape our jobs, industries and lives on a daily basis,” Mr Morrison said.
“With our fellow Australians among the most enthusiastic early adopters of technology in the world, harnessing the power of digital technology is not an option for the Australian Government. It’s the future of it.”
He said government needed to connect instantaneously and seamlessly with Australians to answer questions, provide services, make payments and solve problems.
“Our goal is to have all Government services available digitally by 2025,” he said.
