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Last updated: 30 November 2006
Chapter 12: Agency achievements and the way forward
Abbreviations
A list of the abbreviations used in this report is available in the Glossary
The State of the Service report is a part of the vision for a modern public service—a component of the quid pro quo for the devolution of powers and the increased flexibility that we now enjoy in the APS. At the heart of the vision is a professional public service that is innovative and responsive, focused on its core activities of policy advice, regulation, programme implementation and the delivery of services to the public—that is, on achieving outcomes for the Government and for the community. Our capacity to deliver on this vision is why the State of the Service report matters.
This year’s report shows that, overall, the APS is a healthy institution, with high levels of employee engagement, organisational effectiveness and service delivery capability.
Nevertheless, there are challenges that the APS needs to address. These are the challenges that were outlined in more detail in Chapter 1:
- the capability of our senior leadership
- the capability of EL employees (supporting and developing our middle management and SES feeder group)
- positioning ourselves as an employer of choice
- achieving excellence in our governance structures, and
- building our organisational capacity to address the challenges of the future.
The focus of this chapter is the achievements that MAC agencies1 have made during the 2005–06 year.
This is the second year that the State of the Service report has provided an opportunity for these agenciesto outline their key achievements and provide a more complete picture of the state of the public service, illustrating the depth and breadth of the work that the APS performs.
We should be proud of these achievements. They cover a wide range of significant and important issuesthat matter not only to the Australian community, but also to the broader Asia-Pacific region.
This chapter begins by highlighting some of our most important achievements in the areas of security, the economy, enterprise and innovation, a fair and decent society, sustainability, international co-operation, and celebration and commemoration. It also looks at some of our specific achievements in creating a more flexible,efficient and responsive public service.The full set of responses from MAC agencies is set out in the table at the end of this chapter and agency achievements are also highlighted at relevant points throughout this report.
The scale of these achievements, and their importance to Australia and to the region, emphasises the importance of maintaining and enhancing the capability of the APS to deliver effective outcomes both now and into the future. This is the context in which we need to build on our many successes, and address the challenges confronting us.
In this chapter
- These agencies were: Attorney-General’s Department (AGD), Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the Australian Public Service Commission, Australian Customs Service (Customs), Australian Taxation Office (ATO), Centrelink, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF), Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts (DCITA), Department of Defence (Defence), Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST), Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR), Department of the Environment and Heritage (DEH), Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaCSIA), Department of Finance (Finance), Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), Department of Health and Ageing (Health), Department of Human Services (DHS), Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs (DIMA), Department of Industry,Tourism and Resources(DITR), Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C), Department of Transport and Regional Services (DOTARS), Department of the Treasury (Treasury) and Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA).<http://www.minister.immi. gov.au>
