Review by the Secretary and the Chief of the Defence Force

Defence Renewal

We fully support the path that our predecessors, Admiral Chris Barrie and Dr Allan Hawke, set us on in regard to 'Defence Renewal'. We need to do everything possible to sustain the pace and direction of necessary cultural change. At the same time, we are convinced that Renewal should proceed with a clear emphasis on deliverable reforms and outcomes. Our drive for culture change must be underpinned by recognition of the need to improve business processes and systems.

Renewal is shaped by, and contributes to, three key themes. First, building better alignment with the Government's strategic direction; second, building clearer accountability for results; and third, building a leadership culture. It also places a premium on values.

Renewal is also intrinsically linked to the practical application of the 'Results through People' philosophy in Defence, which puts the onus on leaders at all levels to recognise that individuals can and do make a difference, and that the alignment of workplace behaviour with a shared set of values helps people to be more innovative and effective in achieving results.

Values

Consistent with the Public Service Act 1999, Defence's corporate governance framework is characterised by a commitment to be a results-focused, values-based organisation. The six Defence values are professionalism, loyalty, integrity, courage, innovation and teamwork. The key challenges for Defence are in communicating these values as a basis for shared working styles and translating these values into evident behaviours.

Alignment

The 'Strategic Leadership for Australia' policy statement, released by the Prime Minister in November 2002, firmly grounded the priority afforded to national security, defence and counter-terrorism in the context of a range of other whole-of-Government priorities. This context brings into sharp focus what must be done in working with Cabinet, Ministers and government agencies to ensure that our work is in alignment with the Government's strategic direction.

Accountability

With regard to accountability for results, new Australian Workplace Agreements have recently been introduced for civilian senior leaders (Senior Executive Service Band 1 and above). The new agreements focus on the achievement of more clearly defined and measurable outcomes, in line with the intent to continue to sharpen personal accountability. Individual accountabilities at lower levels across Defence will also become more rigorous and performance will be measured against specific targets.

Leadership

Our continuing program of senior leadership events provides for intentional communications with senior leaders across Defence in order to sustain the focus on priorities for improvement and discuss critical strategic issues. This is a very important strategic leadership process, not least for its value in developing alignment and cohesion across a diverse organisation. We must continue to emphasise core expectations with leaders at all levels in Defence. They include achieving better results faster, close attention to people initiatives, setting and managing priorities, and responsive, accurate advice.

This was a year which saw an unusual extent of leadership change, with ourselves assuming office in July 2002 (the Chief of the Defence Force) and November 2002 (the Secretary), and with new appointments to the positions of Vice Chief of the Defence Force, Chief of Army, Chief of Navy, Deputy Secretary Corporate Services and Deputy Secretary Strategic Policy in July 2002, and Deputy Secretary Intelligence and Security in August 2002. It reflects well on the commitment and professionalism of the men and women of Defence that, through this demanding year, they maintained an operational tempo unprecedented in modern times, and a renewed pace of organisational activity, change and improvement. We wish to recognise this, and to thank them for it.

R C Smith AO, PSM Secretary Department of Defence

P J Cosgrove AC, MC General Chief of the Defence Force