Defence Magazine

The Minister for Defence, the Hon. Dr Brendan Nelson, MP, is briefed on the use of the Australian-built Bushmaster armoured vehicle in Afghanistan during his visit in March.
Photo provided by CPL Rob Nyffenegger

The ability of public servants to confidently fulfil their primary role of providing timely, accurate, coordinated and considered advice to Ministers, Parliamentary Secretaries and their staff was recently strengthened by the Australian Public Service Commission with the launch of the good practice guide, Supporting Ministers, Upholding the Values.

In launching the publication, the Australian Public Service (APS) Commissioner, Ms Lynelle Briggs, focused on the importance of creating and maintaining constructive relationships between public servants, ministers and ministerial staff.

Ms Briggs said the integrity of those roles and responsibilities was important and fundamentally affected the quality of outcomes the Government could achieve.

'In maintaining these relationships, it goes without saying that there will naturally be issues around expectations. In my view, this is an inherent part of being a public servant, and the fact that differences occur is not surprising; rather, it is to be expected, and should not be seen as odorous [sic] or as a sign of politicisation,' she said.

'Public servants are neither political advisers nor consultants. As well as our roles and responsibilities, we have professional standards and a legislative basis for our employment that distinguishes us from both groups.'

Ms Briggs said there were many more ministerial advisers making more demands, and according to the 2003–04 State of the Service Report, the total number of government personal staff was 392 in May 2004, compared to 207 in April 1983.

'Not surprisingly, there are also more people on the receiving end of demands from ministerial offices. In 2004–05, 73 per cent of Senior Executive Service (SES) employees, 35 per cent of Executive Level employees and 15 per cent of APS 1–6 employees reported having had direct contact with ministers and/or their advisers in the preceding year,' she said.

Ms Briggs noted that the new publication focused on the relationships that should exist between public servants and ministers, as well as their advisers, at all levels in the bureaucracy.

'For all these relationships, there are roles that are appropriate to APS employees generally and, in particular, responsibilities that are appropriate to agency heads and the agency's executive, heads of statutory authorities, the SES, departmental liaison officers and agency ministerial liaison areas.'

The publication includes a good practice checklist for APS employees on working with ministers and their advisers; working during caretaker periods; how to handle the disbursement of grants and making appointments; briefing materials; supporting Cabinet processes; record-keeping procedures; responding to Questions on Notice and appearing before Parliamentary Committees; and assistance with media issues and public presentations by public servants.

Ms Briggs said important conventions that should apply were outlined, as were practical strategies that could be used to support relationships over time—strategies around agreeing expectations, convening regular meetings, and providing regular staff feedback.

'To our knowledge, this is the first such guide of its kind for a public service anywhere in the world. Already, I have a number of other countries lining up for copies, and the interest in it from the press and public servants across the country has been enormous,' she said.

The Secretary of Defence, Mr Ric Smith, said the guide was an important resource for all Defence public servants.

'This is an excellent compendium of practical advice on our roles and responsibilities in supporting ministers, as well as explaining the conventions and protocols,' he said.

'This should be required reading for all SES, Star-ranked officers and Executive Level officers, and for other officers who deal with ministerial offices. All Defence employees have a responsibility to understand their obligations as public servants and ensure that they are responsive to ministerial directives.'

The guide is available on the Public Service Commission's website at www.apsc.gov.au.

Further information specific to Defence can be located at the Coordination and Public Affairs Division, Ministerial and Executive Support website at http://intranet.defence.gov.au/cpa/manual/mes.htm.

Defence

Coordination and Public Affairs

Supporting our Ministers

A new publication just released by the Australian Public Service Commission aims to greatly enhance the practices of public servants in their dealings with ministerial matters. Alisha Welch reports.