The change of Government is likely to come with changes to the Australian Public Service (APS) with the incoming Labor Party on record as planning to change.
According to newly-appointed Minister of Finance, Senator Katy Gallagher, the past two years of pandemic have shown how essential Australia’s public service is.
“Labor understands the critical need for our public service to be able to serve our community, deliver better services and help shape the future of our nation,” Senator Gallagher said.
“With all the challenges facing our country, from skill shortages, to the aged care crisis, to a healthcare system that can’t keep up – a high-functioning public service matters for all of us,” she said.
“Labor will rebuild the public service”.
Promising that the new Government would be “model employer” Senator Gallagher said it would:
* Abolish the arbitrary staffing cap:
* Crack down on insecure work and convert inappropriate temporary contracts into permanent position; and
* Limit the number of consecutive fixed-term contracts employers can offer for the same role.
She said the Labor Government would engage in genuine bargaining with the APS to ensure the gains made by improvements in productivity are shared with employees and flowed on to improvements in pay and conditions.
“A stronger public service will deliver better outcomes for the community, use precious public resources more effectively and contribute to building a fairer and more inclusive Australia,” Senator Gallagher said.
The Labor Party’s extended vision for the APS of the future can be accessed at this PS News link.
