Former Services Australia COO and deputy CEO Russell Egan will be the facilitator of the EL1 — EL2 Leadership, Capability & Professional Excellence Masterclass at the Crowne Plaza Canberra from 3 — 4 June. Photo: Supplied.
APS Leadership Edge Network
Date: 1 June, 2026 — 31 May, 2027
Duration: Registration includes access for 12 months. The time expected to be involved in the platform is a minimum of two hours a month.
Location: Virtual
Email: https://apslearn.apsacademy.gov.au/user_login
Leadership Edge Network provides past Leadership Edge participants with a hub to continue developing leadership skills. The community will help members sustain leadership communication and collaboration, strengthen cross-agency networks, enable real-time peer problem-solving, and deliver up-to-date APS-relevant news and insights.
This content has been provided by the APS Academy, and is suitable for EL2s and EL1s who previously registered for APS Leadership Edge.
EL1 — EL2 Leadership, Capability & Professional Excellence Masterclass
Date: 3 — 4 June
Time: 9 am — 4:30 pm
Location: Crowne Plaza Canberra
Email: [email protected]
This is an unmissable opportunity to gain skills, strategies and advice from one of the most accomplished APS leaders. Learn how to lead at the top of your game, with tips from the top of the public sector.
The higher you climb the leadership ranks of the public sector, the more is demanded of your leadership. You will gain more responsibility, have more difficult and complex problems to solve, and you will need to understand the distinctions between your own ideas and the demands of the role.
At this critical stage in your leadership journey, you need the skills and advice of someone who has been there. Having led at the highest levels of the APS, including as deputy CEO and COO of Services Australia during its most challenging times, Russell Egan knows exactly what it takes from you, your mindset and your skillset to lead in the public-sector environment.
With an emphasis on capability, confidence and clarity, and a valuable blend of ideas, advice and practical tips, this is a valuable learning and development opportunity. Through the interactive activities, you will also gain the perspective you need to lead at the top of your game.
Project Management Foundations
Date: 8 — 9 June & 28 — 29 July
Time: 9 am — 4:30 pm
Location: Cliftons Brisbane
Email: [email protected]
Overview
Project success simplified: Mastering projects with confidence.
- Understand the overall context and life cycle for successful project management.
- Learn how to formulate a project management plan using a structured and integrated approach.
- Adopt communication strategies to manage stakeholders’ expectations.
- Identify effective problem-solving techniques to manage project issues.
From leading complex projects to transforming teams with Agile and Lean methods, trainer Pete Omotosho brings more than 20 years of experience in project management across energy, IT, telecommunications and financial services. As the founder of Pete Lauren Consulting, he helps organisations solve business challenges, deliver projects successfully, and embed sustainable ways of working.
Passionate about mentoring teams and developing agile practices in Africa and Australia, Pete combines strategic insight with practical, hands-on guidance that drives real results.
EL2 — SES Leadership, Capability & Professional Excellence Masterclass
Date: 9 — 10 June
Time: 9 am — 4:30 pm
Location: Crowne Plaza Canberra
Email: [email protected]
Gain critical skills, strategies & advice from the highest ranks of the APS. Learn how to lead at the top of your game, with tips from the top of the public sector. The more you climb the leadership ranks of the public sector, the more is demanded of your leadership. You will gain more responsibility, have more difficult and complex problems to solve, and will need to understand the distinctions between your own ideas and the demands of the role.
At this critical stage in your leadership journey, you need the skills and advice of someone who has been there. Having led at the highest levels of the APS, including as deputy CEO and COO of Services Australia during its most challenging times, Russell Egan knows exactly what it takes from you, your mindset and your skillset to lead in the public-sector environment.
The emphasis is on capability, confidence and clarity, and offering a valuable blend of ideas, advice and practical tips. This masterclass is also relevant for other supervisors with broader leadership requirements.
WA Women in Leadership Summit 2026
Date: 9 — 10 June
Time: 9 am — 6 pm
Location: Crown Towers Perth
Email: [email protected]
Overview
Be inspired. Build connections. Lead with impact.
- Position yourself as a future-ready leader.
- Connect with inspiring women and transform your obstacles into opportunities.
- Thrive through change with clarity and confidence.
- Lean into your strengths, own your blindspots, and be better.
Executive Assistant Upskilling & High-Performance Seminar Series
Date: 10 — 24 June
Time: Noon — 2 pm
Location: Online
Email: [email protected]
Build effectiveness, confidence and influence to truly own your role. Grow as a successful executive assistant and business partner. In an increasingly busy and complex world, the role of the assistant is more important than ever. Calm, clarity and focus are essential for modern executives to perform in their roles. Therefore, it is vital that you have the skills and capabilities as an assistant to support them and help your organisation function at a high level.
Join this refreshed seminar series to elevate Executive Assistants to a new strategic and tactical excellence level. This series is designed to educate you in the skills needed to be the glue in your executive’s network and to empower you with AI tools that optimise your effectiveness (even if your particular organisation is dragging its feet). Through these sessions, you’ll strengthen your capacity to collaborate with stakeholders and adapt to varied contexts.
You’ll become the vital, empowering link within your executive’s network, combining mastery, adaptive communication, and technology-driven efficiency. As you enhance your capabilities, you’ll establish yourself as the indispensable support at the centre of your executive’s success.
Facilitator Tara Claydon began her career as an officer in the navy, where she developed a foundation of discipline, strategic thinking and leadership under pressure. Following her service, she spent years as an executive assistant, honing her expertise in supporting high-level leaders, managing complex priorities and navigating organisational dynamics with precision and impact.
Tara combines her military and corporate experience to specialise in coaching emerging leaders and executive assistants, helping them step confidently into their full potential.
Thriving Through Change: Resilience, Performance & Mental Health
Date: 10 June
Time: 9 am — 12:30 pm
Location: Online
Email: [email protected]
Overview
Empower yourself with practical strategies to navigate change and maintain mental wellbeing.
- Understand how change impacts mental health.
- Cultivate stress management skills for enhanced mental wellbeing.
- Explore resilience tools to effectively navigate setbacks.
- Shift your mindset to see change as an opportunity for personal growth.
Trainer Dr Karen Whittingham is one of Australia’s leading executive management development specialists, having worked with thousands of executives to transition them into senior leadership roles quickly and effectively.
She is an organisational psychologist passionate about people’s success and facilitating their careers to rise. She teaches organisational psychology at UNSW and works with ASX-listed companies and large public-sector organisations to drive engagement, inclusion and performance.
Adaptive Leadership Skills Workshop
Date: 10 — 24 June
Time: 9 am — 12:30 pm
Location: Online
Email: [email protected]
Overview
Achieve peak performance to lead with impact and propel career success.
- Explore resilience tools to effectively navigate setbacks.
- Gain an understanding of emotional intelligence and its significance in personal and professional contexts.
- Develop practical strategies for effective communication.
- Craft a personal action plan to apply your newfound skills in various real-world scenarios.
One of Australia’s leading executive management development specialists, trainer Dr Karen Whittingham teaches organisational psychology at UNSW. She has worked with thousands of executives to transition them into senior leadership roles quickly and effectively.
She is an organisational psychologist passionate about people’s success and facilitating their careers to rise.
Embedding Risk Management into your Entity’s DNA
Date: Until 23 June
Time: 9 am — 4:30 pm
Duration: Two 7.5-hour face-to-face sessions
Location: ACT
Email: https://apslearn.apsacademy.gov.au/user_login
This course is designed for Commonwealth officials who are preparing for, or currently have, a role where they are responsible for implementing their entity’s approach to managing risk. Typically, you have the responsibility for establishing your entity’s risk management frameworks and systems and building the risk management capability in your entity.
If this is not your role, we suggest you register for the Practical Risk Management course. This course will build your understanding of the concepts of managing risk and provide you with the tools to manage risk at a program or project level.
This learning experience has been provided by the Department of Finance, and the content is suitable for APS 4 — EL 2 APS officials who have responsibility for establishing risk management frameworks and systems and building the risk management capability in their entity.
Public Sector Persuasive Writing Masterclass 2026
Date: Until 23 June
Time: 9 am — 4:30 pm
Location: In-person; Canberra, Brisbane
Email: [email protected]
All writing should be clear, concise, and correct. Good-quality public-sector writing should also be professional, persuasive, and polished. Public-sector writing can be challenging and time-consuming. You have to contend with different audiences, rigid deadlines, and complex topics.
While the basic skills of good writing are critical, you need more to meet the demands of more involved government communication. You need to be able to present every case confidently and well, regardless of who you are writing to or what you are writing about. You must be able to use words, structure, flow, and more to deliver compelling arguments and convincing information that people will want to read.
It is about using writing to communicate complex issues clearly and with influence. This masterclass will help you to make the most of your existing skills and practise new ones. It will also offer tips and techniques to make your writing easier, faster, and more effective.
Facilitator Bev Sullivan has decades of experience running written communication workshops for public servants at all levels and from all tiers of government. Her specialty is helping people to use (and tweak) their existing skills and experience to make writing less of a chore and deliver better results.
