The Australian Public Service (APS) has been urged to ‘Indigenise’ the Public Service Act 1999 to recruit and retain Indigenous employees and incorporate the knowledge, values and culture of the First Peoples into PS practice.
The call was made by the Australian and New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG) in its submission to the Independent Review of the Australian Public Service.
In the submission entitled Indigenous Values for the APS, ANZSOG says that the Public Service Act was the cultural foundation for the APS and played an important role in signalling expected behaviour, practices and approaches for APS Agencies.
“The proposed changes are necessary to recognise that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples occupy a unique position as the first sovereign peoples of Australia,” ANZSOG said.
The School also called for the APS to recognise that its relationship with Indigenous Australians was fraught and lacking in trust due to the history of colonisation and successive policies and processes that had a devastating and ongoing impact on Indigenous peoples, societies and cultures.
“All changes to the Act must be supported by actions which fundamentally change the ways the APS engages with Indigenous peoples and issues,” ANZSOG said.
It recommended changes in five areas of the Act, to be made in consultation with Indigenous communities:
◊ That Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples be recognised as well as the relationship between Indigenous peoples and the APS;
◊ That the value of “relationality” be added to APS values to signify the APS in a two-way relationship with Indigenous communities;
◊ That a new set of APS principles be developed consistent with an Indigenous worldview;
◊ That draft Indigenous representation clauses be tested with communities and more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples be represented in the APS, including at senior levels; and
◊ The APS Review Panel consider including sub-clauses that articulate the responsibilities of the Commissioner, Secretaries and Agency Heads to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
The School said that creating an APS that served Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples would take time.
“Examining opportunities to incorporate Indigenous perspectives into the Act, and co-creating these changes with communities, is an important first step in the longer journey,” it said.
The ANZSOG submission was written by the School’s Advisor, First Peoples Programs and Strategy, Aurora Milroy with the assistance of its First Peoples team.
ANZSOG’s submission can be accessed in full on the Independent Review website at this PS News link.
