1975

Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Section is established in the Public Service Board to address employment inequities facing women, indigenous Australians, people with disabilities and people from a non-English speaking background.

Public Service Board, Annual Report 197475.

1975

Administrative Appeals Tribunal is established to provide independent review of a wide range of administrative decisions made by the Commonwealth Government and some non-government bodies.

Administrative
Appeals Tribunal Act 1975.⁽¹²⁾

http://austlii.law.uts.
edu.au/au/other/media.
OLD/1562.html

July 1975

Confrontation between the Government and the Opposition-controlled Senate over the appearance of public servants as witnesses to give evidence. Government ministers instruct public servants 'to claim privilege in respect of answers to all questions' with which the Senate was concerned. This conflict leads ultimately to the formalisation of guidelines for public service witnesses in 1978.

Senate Debates,
15 July 1975,
pp. 272930.

Odgers' Australian Senate Practice (10^th edition),
section 19.6

House of Representatives
Debates, 28 September
1978, pp. 150409.

1976

Report into government administration (Coombs Commission) supports:

• more accountability for public servants
• mechanisms to improve the relationship between officials and the community
• an emphasis on managerial skills
• more efficient and responsive service delivery
• devolution of responsibility, as well as greater flexibility and diversity in organisational styles
• more efficient and economical use of human resources, and
• a more open public service.

Royal Commission on Australian Government Administration, Report, AGPS, Canberra, 1976.

1976

Commonwealth Ombudsman is established to consider complaints from people who believe they have been adversely affected by the defective administration of Commonwealth departments or agencies.

Ombudsman Act 1976.
http://www.austlii.edu.au/

1977

Legislation to facilitate judicial review by the Federal Court of some exercises of Commonwealth power (came into operation 1 October 1980).

Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977.
http://www.austlii.edu.au/

1977

Legislation to allow for the dismissal of staff who engage in industrial action and the suspension without pay of staff who cannot work as a result of industrial action (repealed with effect from November 1983).

Commonwealth Employees (Employment Provisions) Act 1977 (now defunct).
http://www.austlii.edu.au

1979

Facilitation of the retrenchment of public servants surplus to requirements and a requirement for the permanent head to ensure the efficient, effective and economical use of the department's staff.

Commonwealth Employees Redeployment and Retirement Act 1979 (now defunct).
http://www.austlii.edu.au/

1980

Public Service Board advises departments to adopt the common law principle of 'No work as directedno pay'. This is ruled not to be legal, leading to the amendment of the Public Service Act 1922 to provide for the principle (repealed in 1983).

1982

Extension of the right of the community to access information in the possession of the Commonwealth Government.

Freedom of Information Act 1982.
http://www.austlii.edu.au

January 1983

Reid Report (review announced 23 September 1982) emphasises the importance of quality management (including financial management and personnel management), as well as issues relating to machinery of government, ministerial responsibility and administrative review.

Review of Commonwealth Administration report, AGPS, Canberra, 1983.

December 1983

Statement by the Prime Minister emphasises efficiency, effectiveness, equity and responsiveness to Ministers and the Parliament (leads to the Public Service Reform Act 1984).

R. J. L. Hawke, Reforming the Australian Public Service: A Statement of the Government's Intentions, AGPS, Canberra, 1983.

1984

Merit Protection and Review Agency established to ensure that actions taken in relation to Commonwealth employees are fair and equitable.

Merit Protection (Australian Government Employees) Act 1984.
http://www.austlii.edu.au/

1984

Public Service Reform Act 1984:

• enshrinement of the merit principle
• equal employment opportunity
• industrial democracy
• permanent part-time work
• opening up of opportunities at lower levels
• formation of Senior Executive Service (effective 1 October 1984)
• provision for consultants to be appointed by ministers, and
• greater political role in appointing and managing departmental secretaries (no longer 'Permanent Heads').

Public Service Reform Act 1984
(now defunct).
http://www.austlii.edu.au

1984

Abolition of the Public Service Arbitrator.

Conciliation and Arbitration Amendment Act 1983.
http://www.austlii.edu.au

February 1984

Financial Management Improvement Program emphasises a shift away from compliance towards performance control (including program budgeting which is phased in during the mid-1980s).

Australian Public Service Board and Department of Finance, Financial Management Improvement ProgramDiagnostic Study, 1984.

21 March 1984

Announcement that a working party will monitor EEO practices in the Department of Employment and Industrial Relations and develop a management plan (other departments to follow).

26 March 1984

Cabinet agrees to proceed with changes outlined in Reforming the Australian Public Service: A Statement of the Government's Intentions.

April 1984

Budget Reform paper sets out the Government's reform priorities:

• better means of identifying and setting budget priorities
• more emphasis on the goals and objectives of programs
• improved performance and efficiency, and
• effective review mechanisms

Department of Finance, Budget ReformA Statement of the Government's Achievements and Intentions in Reforming Australian Government Financial Administration, AGPS, Canberra, 1984.

June 1984

The Members of Parliament (Staff) Act 1984 takes effect. This legislation creates a separate, formal legislative basis for the employment of staff by members of parliament, making such employment potentially independent from public service employment.

Members of
Parliament (Staff)
Act 1984

1985

Public Service Board develops a model Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) agreement.

11 June 1986

Prime Minister announces the streamlining and rationalisation of some functions and agencies in response to difficult economic circumstances.

R. J. L. Hawke, Address to the Nation on the Economic Situation, 11 June 1986.

25 September 1986

Prime Minister's statement to Parliament announces:

• establishment of Efficiency Scrutiny Unit to investigate cost-saving opportunities
• measures to enhance financial efficiency, and
• changes to personnel management.

R. J. L. Hawke,
Statement to the House of
Representatives on
Reform of the Australian Public Service,
25 September 1986.

1987

Restructuring and Efficiency Principle rationalises job classifications for clerical and support staff.

July 1987

Efficiency Scrutiny Unit recommends the replacement of the Public Service Board with a Public Service Commission (holding a reduced role), the devolution of some functions to departments and the transfer of some functions to the Department of Employment and Industrial Relations and to the Department of Finance.

D. Bock, Report by
Efficiency Scrutiny
Unit on proposed
successor.
arrangements to the Public Service Board, Canberra, 1987.

14 July 1987

Announcement of the formation of 'mega departments', generally headed by a senior minister assisted by junior ministers (number of departments reduced from 28 to 18).

Prime Minister's media release, 14 July 1987.

18 September 1987

Replacement of Public Service Board with smaller Public Service Commission (some responsibilities transferred to the Department of Finance or the Department of Industrial Relations, or devolved to departments).

Establishment of Australian Public Service Management Advisory Board, to advise the Government on significant management issues and act as a forum for consideration of major management activities (replaced by the Management Advisory Committee in 1999).

Administrative
Arrangements Act
1987 (now defunct).

April 1988

The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Public Accounts (JCPA) commences a review of the Audit Office. The Committee's report, delivered in 1989, would lead ultimately to the introduction of the Auditor-General Bill 1994, and finally the passage of the Auditor-General Act 1997, which would establish the Auditor-General as an officer of the Parliament (see also 1 January 1998, below).

JCPA, The Auditor-
General: Ally of the
People and the
ParliamentReform
of the Audit Office,
Report no. 296.

August 1988

Adoption of the Structural Efficiency Principle leads to rationalisation of job classifications for professional, technical and blue collar grades.

8 December 1988

Privacy Act 1988 passed, regulating the collection, handling and use of personal information by the Commonwealth, and also establishing the Privacy Commissioner within the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission.

Privacy Act 1988

December 1989

Management Improvement Advisory Committee established to support the Management Advisory Board.

March 1990

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission replaces the Commonwealth's Department of Aboriginal Affairs and Aboriginal Development Commission, taking over responsibility for many of the Commonwealth's indigenous programs.

Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander
Commission Act
1989

12 June 1990

Privacy Commissioner releases a directory detailing the amount and type of records of a personal nature held by the Commonwealth.

Personal
Information Digest,
Human Rights and
Equal Opportunity Commission,
Sydney, 1989.

August 1990

Decision to restructure the Commonwealth Bank in preparation for a partial public float heralds a series of major full or partial privatisations, including:

• Commonwealth Bank
• Qantas and Australian Airlines
• Telstra (announced October 1997)
• Major airports
• Moomba-Sydney gas pipeline
• National electricity transmission network
• DASFLEET

Department of
Finance and
Administration,
Asset Sales:
Past Projects

Commonwealth
Bank Restructuring
Bill 1990,
Bills Digest
8 November 1990.

13 November 1990

Economic Planning and Advisory Council (EPAC) report concludes that productivity improvements in the public sector have generally outpaced those in the private sector.

The size and
efficiency of the
public sector,
Canberra, EPAC, 1990.

1991

Occupational Health & Safety programs required in agencies, to be developed in consultation with unions.

Occupational
Health and Safety
Act 1991

July 1991

Agencies are allowed to use property service providers other than the Department of Administrative Services, and a 1.25 per cent Efficiency Dividend clawback is applied to the running costs of all agencies.

John Wanna,
Christine Ryan and
Chew Ng, From Accounting to
Accountability.
A Centenary History
of the Australian
National Audit Office,
Allen & Unwin, 2001,
p. 136.

15 July 1992

Announcement that the Refugee Review Tribunal will replace the Refugee Status Review Committee, resulting in more limited avenues of appeal.

9 September 1992

Announcement that all new contracts with the Department of Administrative Services will include a clause requiring suppliers to comply with the EEO requirements of the Government.

6 November 1992

Announcement of a workplace agreement allowing for productivity reforms and agency-level bargaining.

December 1992

An evaluation of a decade of management changes concludes that :

• the direction of change was correct
• changes were well accepted, and had many positive effects as well as some costs, and
• further changes needed to be undertaken.

Task Force on Management Improvement, The Australian Public Service Reformed: An evaluation of a decade of management reform, AGPS, 1992.

December 1992

Service-wide APS Agreement 199294 (extended to 1995) includes:

• some funded wage increases
• further pay negotiations at agency level, and
• equalisation of pay on expiry of agreement.

Improving productivity, jobs and pay in the Australian Public Service 199294, Department of Industrial Relations, December 1992.

December 1992

Performance pay introduced for SES and senior officers in order to encourage productivity growth (later wound back for senior officers).

Improving productivity, jobs and pay in the Australian Public Service 199294Agreement between the Commonwealth Government and public sector unions, Canberra, 1992.

1993

Audit Office (ANAO) undertakes an audit of the 1992 performance pay agreement. The audit finds almost all senior staff were given pay increases under the scheme, and that the scheme was a de facto system for awarding significant pay increases.

ANAO, 'Performance Pay: Performance Appraisal and Pay in the Australian Public Service', Audit Report no. 16, 1993, ANAO, Canberra.

John Wanna, Christine Ryan and Chew Ng, From Accounting to Accountability. A Centenary History of the Australian National Audit Office, Allen & Unwin, 2001, pp. 14246.

1994

Provision of fixed term appointments for departmental Secretaries.

Prime Minister and
Cabinet (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1994.

June 1994

In response to the 1989 Joint Committee on Public Accounts' (JCPA) report on the Audit Office, the Government introduces new financial accountability legislation, and announces its intention that the Auditor-General be funded directly from the Budget and that a parliamentary Audit Committee be established. (Ultimately, no separate committee is set up. Instead, the JCPA is changed to the Joint Committee on Public Accounts and Audit).

House of Representatives Debates, 29 June 1994, p. 5796.

'Auditor plans are good, not ideal', Canberra Times, 22 June 1994.

7 October 1994

Cabinet introduces measures to enforce equal representation of women on public boards and committees.

1995

Report of the Public Service Act Review Group recommends that the Public Service Act 1922 be replaced by a new Act that will be 'built around the principles and values which stress the centrality of an apolitical public service with merit-based staffing, high standards of honesty and integrity, a strong focus on efficiency and results, and responsiveness and accountability to the government of the day while maintaining a capacity to provide quality and impartial advice.'

R. McLeod, Report of the Public Service Act Review Group, AGPS, Canberra, 1994.

1995

Public Service and Merit Protection Commission (PSMPC) established through the amalgamation of the Public Service Commission and the Merit Protection and Review Agency.

4 May 1995

Government announces plans to replace the Public Service Act 1922 in response to Report of the Public Service Act Review Group.

July 1995

Government and unions agree to a service-wide enterprise agreement for 199596.

14 September 1995

Administrative Review Council's report into the effectiveness of the merits review tribunals makes a number of recommendations, including the consolidation of five tribunals into a single new tribunal.

Administrative Review Council, Better decisions: review of Commonwealth Merits Review Tribunals, Canberra, AGPS, 1995.

September 1995

Service-wide APS agreement 199596 includes a strategy for securing further efficiencies.

Continuous Improvement in the APS, Agreement between the Commonwealth Government and public sector unions, September 1995.

1996

Six departmental secretaries' appointments terminated following the change of government. The departures were:

• Christopher Conybeare (Immigration)
• Peter Core (Transport)
• Michael Costello (Foreign Affairs and Trade)
• Stephen Duckett (Health)
• Stuart Hamilton (Environment)
• Derek Volker (Employment Education and Training)

'Top bureaucrats victims of purge', Sydney Morning Herald, 9 March 1996.

1996

Industry Commission, Bureau of Industry Economics and Economic Planning Advisory Commission amalgamate on an administrative basis. In 1998 they become the Productivity Commission.

Productivity
Commission Act 1998
Productivity Commission website: History of the Productivity
Commission

June 1996

National Commission of Audit (established March 1996) recommends a more limited role for government, a greater emphasis on effectiveness and efficiency, and the separation of policy formation from program delivery.

National Commission of Audit, Report to the Commonwealth Government, Canberra, AGPS, 1996.

November 1996

Discussion paper issued by The Hon Peter Reith MP, leads to the Public Service Act 1999 and the Parliamentary Service Act 1999. It points to the potential benefits of flexibility, streamlining and cultural change.

P. Reith, Towards a Best Practice Australian Public Service , November 1996.

November 1996

Small Business Deregulation Task Force reports to the Government on ways to reduce the compliance burden on small businesses (e.g. single entry point for collection of information and effective use of information technology).

Small Business Deregulation Task Force, Time for Business, 1996.

December 1996

Under the Workplace Relations Act 1996:

• illegal for agencies to pay employees while on strike, or using bans or limitations
• limitations on union officials' access to workplaces
• provision for agencies to make individual agreements with staff
• award simplification, removing some rights that had been negotiated under previous awards, and
• move from paid rate awards to minimum rate awards (eroding pay over time).

Workplace Relations Act 1996.

1997

Government introduces Public Service Bill (amended Bill passed in 1999).

March 1997

Agencies to be responsible for agreement-making, using certified agreements and/or Australian Workplace Agreements, and subject to the Government's policy parameters.

Media release, Minister for Industrial Relations, 5 March 1997.

March 1997

All government departments, agencies and business enterprises dealing with the public to be required to develop customer service charters.

Media release, Putting service first in the public service , Minister for Small Business and Consumer Affairs, 26 March 1997.

20 March 1997

Attorney-General announces that the Government proposes to amalgamate the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, the Social Security Appeals Tribunal, the Immigration Review Tribunal and the Refugee Review Tribunal to create a single review body to be called the Administrative Review Tribunal (expected to commence operations in February 2001). Originally, the Veterans' Review Board was also to be amalgamated but this was reversed in February 1992.

Media release, Reform of merits tribunal, Attorney-General, 20 March 1997.

Media release, Establishment of the Administrative Review Tribunal, Attorney-General, 9 May 2000.

24 March 1997

Prime Minister responds to the Time for Business report, agreeing to a range of measures including the electronic facility, www.business.gov.au

J. Howard, More Time for Business, Canberra, AGPS, 1997.

25 April 1997

Announcement that departments' information technology infrastructure will be outsourced to the private sector.

Media release, Outsourcing of Information Technology infrastructure, Minister for Finance, 25 April 1997.

July 1997

First Australian Workplace Agreement in the APS.

The Hon. Dr David Kemp MP, 'An Overview of APS ReformsWhat we are doing', 25 February 1998.

24 September 1997

Launch of Centrelink, a statutory authority that provides customer services on behalf of several government agencies (a significant example of split between purchaser and provider of services).

Commonwealth Service Delivery Act 1997.
http://www.centrelink.gov.au/

26 November 1997

First Certified Agreements in the APS (agreements at department or agency level)Public Service and Merit Protection Commission.

8 December 1997

Commitment that all appropriate government services will be Internet-deliverable by 2001.

Media release, OGIT to play leading role bringing Australia online, Minister for Finance and Administration, 8 December 1997.

11 December 1997

Announcement of new purchasing arrangements, including the establishment of a new Purchasing Advisory and Complaints Service.

Media release, Government purchasing: a better deal for business, Minister for Finance and Administration and Minister for Industry, Science and Tourism, 11 December 1997.

Media release, New Purchasing Advisory and Complaints Service, Minister for Finance and Administration, 9 March 1998.

1998

Charter of Budget Honesty Act 1998 is passed, providing for the publication of:

• regular reports setting out fiscal strategy
• an intergenerational report at least once every five years assessing the long term sustainability of government policies
• a pre-election economic and fiscal outlook report, and
• costing of election commitments.

Charter of Budget Honesty Act 1998.

1 January 1998

Package of new financial management legislation comes into effect:

• responsibilities of agency heads in such areas as record keeping, fraud control and borrowing.

Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 .

• reporting and auditing requirements for Commonwealth authorities, as well as standards of conduct, and

Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997.

• more independence for the Auditor-General and a greater role for Parliament in advising of its audit priorities, approving the appointment of the Auditor-General and reviewing the budget of the Auditor-General.

Auditor-General Act 1997.

26 February 1998

Announcement that employment services will be contracted out to a range of organisations (to be known as the Job Network).

Media release, New Job Network to replace the CES , Minister for Education, Training and Youth Affairs, 26 February 1998.

March 1998

Regulations are introduced into Parliament requiring the Public Service Commissioner to present an annual State of the Service Report to Parliament.

Regulation 12 of the Public Service Regulations.

11 March 1998

First fully audited accrual financial statements for the Commonwealth.

Media release, Milestone reached in shift to accrual-based budget,
Minister for Finance and Administration, 11 March 1998.

April 1998

Productivity Commission established as the Government's principal review and advisory body on microeconomic policy and regulation.

Productivity Commission Act 1998.

May 1998

New procurement guidelines provide 'core policies and principles intended to strike a balance between prescription and empowerment so as to encourage agencies to obtain the best value from procurement, on a whole of life basis'.

Procurement Guidelinescore policies and principles , Department of Finance and Administration, 1998.

1 July 1998

Commonwealth's policy of non-insurance is replaced with a policy of self-insurance, providing more incentive to manage risk.

Media release, Responsible Risk Management for the Commonwealth Government, Minister for Finance and Administration, 30 June 1998.

3 July 1998

Business Entry Point is launched (an electronic information and transaction facility for businesses).

www.business.gov.au

3 August 1998

Launch of a booklet outlining the Government's expectations of the APS in areas such as customer focus, agreement making and performance measurement.

APS Reform: Building on Good Practice, Public Service and Merit Protection Commission, 1998.

4 March 1999

Remuneration Tribunal determines a new approach to setting the remuneration levels for departmental secretaries which includes provision for an annual performance bonus, to become available during 1999-00 (the Prime Minister to make a recommendation to the Tribunal on the performance of a secretary after considering a report prepared by the Secretary to the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet and the Public Service Commissioner).

11 May 1999

First accrual Budget delivered (an agency is funded for an agreed price for its outputs, including non-cash items such as depreciation). The accrual budgeting framework includes the introduction of the Capital Use Charge and the Agency Banking Incentive Scheme. The first requires agencies to include the costs to their operations of capital use; the second requires agencies to conduct their own banking and manage their annual appropriations.

Media release, First accrual-based Budget in 1999, Minister for Finance and Administration, 24 November 1998.

19 May 1999

Senior Executive Leadership Capability Framework, prioritises:

• shaping strategic thinking
• achieving results
• cultivating productive working relationships
• exemplifying personal drive and integrity, and
• communicating with influence

Media release, Launch of the Senior Executive Leadership Capability Framework, Canberra, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Public Service,19 May 1999.

1 July 1999

Agencies able to operate bank accounts with private sector banks, opening the Reserve Bank of Australia to competition.

Media release, Government to open its transactional banking to competition, Minister for Finance and Administration, 31 July 1998.

19 August 1999

Dismissal of Paul Barratt (Secretary of Defence) upheld by the Federal Court:

• Prime Minister does not require cause to dismiss a secretary, and
• a dismissed secretary is entitled to hear the grounds on which they are to be dismissed, and to put their case to the Secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.

Barratt v Howard [1999] FCA 1183

1 September 1999

SES selection changed to be based on the Senior Executive Leadership Capability Framework.

PSMPC Circular 1999/11, 25 August 1999.

5 December 1999

Public Service Act 1999 and Parliamentary Service Act 1999 take effect, establishing the separation of parliamentary departments from public service departments and enshrining a range of features, including:

• values and codes of conduct
• protection for whistleblowers
• employment equity
• prohibition on patronage and favouritism
• streamlining of employment powers (including those of dismissal) of departmental secretaries, and
• making provisions for departmental secretaries to enter into collective and/or individual employment contracts and agreements.

The Act also replaces the Management Advisory Board with the Management Advisory Committee.

Public Service Act 1999.

Parliamentary Service Act 1999.

9 May 2000

The Department of Finance and Administration and the Office of Asset Sales and Information Technology Outsourcing to jointly implement the market testing of Commonwealth activities and services, commencing with corporate services.

Media release, 2000-01 Budget: Government initiative in competitive tendering & contracting in the Australian Public Sector, Minister for Finance and Administration, 9 May 2000.

June 2001

Senate agrees to a motion requiring all APS agencies to report twice a year on contracts greater than $100 000 in value, indicating the value of the contract, the person or organisation with which the contract was made, and whether any contract provisions or related matters include any confidentiality restrictions.

Senate Debates, 20 June 2001, p. 24755.

November 2001

Public Sector and Merit Protection Commission releases its State of the Service Statistical Bulletin for 200001, which shows that during the 200001 financial year the proportion of women in the public service reached 50 per cent for the first time in its history.

The same bulletin shows that the long-term decline in the total number of public servants has halted.

State of the Service Statistical Bulletin 200001

21 June 2002

Public Sector and Merit Protection Commission renamed as Australian Public Service Commission, and given increased priority to:

• indigenous employment in the APS
• evaluation responsibilities
• partnerships with agencies to improve management practices

1 July 2002

Required rate of return used to decide whether Commonwealth properties should be sold off is reduced from 14-15 per cent to 11 per cent. This was the result of a review that followed strong criticism from the Auditor-General in August 2001.

Media release, Reduction of the Commonwealth Property Principles hurdle rate, Minister for Finance and Administration, 14 May 2002.

Commonwealth Estate Property Sales, Audit Report No. 4 200102, Australian National Audit Office.

17 December 2002

Max Moore-Wilton, secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet and dubbed the 'second most powerful man in the Federal Government' after the Prime Minister, announces his resignation after six years in the job. Moore-Wilton had been a driving force behind public service reforms, including seeking a controversial degree of responsiveness from the service and greater use of AWAs in Departments.

His replacement was Peter Shergold, former secretary of the Department of Education, Science and Training, who had also once been Public Service Commissioner (199698).

'Max saw off the frank and fearless and then axed himself', Sydney Morning Herald, 18 December 2002.

'Shergold appointed head of PM&C', Canberra Times, 3 February 2003.

May 2003

The 200304 Budget includes the scrapping of the Capital Use Charge and the Agency Banking Incentive Scheme (ABIS). These decisions were the result of the Budget Estimates and Framework Review, completed in November 2002 by the Department of Finance and Administration. Under the revised arrangements, the appropriation of funds to agencies will continue to be on an accrual basis. But agencies will receive funds only as and when they need them, and agencies will no longer be responsible for the custody of funds.

Report not published.

Budget Measures 200304, Budget Paper No. 2, pp. 101, 237.

Administrative Appeals Tribunal

Workplace Diversity initiatives

Financial Management Improvement Program

Ombudsman

Merit Protection and Review Agency

Performance review and performance pay

Facilitation of judicial review

OH&S initiatives

Efficiency Scrutiny Unit

Freedom of Information

EEO initiatives

Devolution of responsibility

More independence for the Auditor-General

Program management and budgeting, and accrual management and budgeting

Annual State of the Service Report

Private sector provision of services to, and on behalf of, government

Purchasing Advisory and Complaints Service

New employment arrangements for departmental secretaries

Charter of Budget Honesty

Workplace Relations Act 1996

Customer Service Charters

Agency agreements and AWAs

Privacy Act 1988

Formation of SES

New purchasing arrangements

Delivery of services on the Internet

Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 and Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997

Public Service Act 1999 and Parliamentary Service Act 1999

Fewer public service employees

319

Review of the Independent AuditorWatching the Watchdog

5 Nov 1992

323

Managing People in the Australian Public ServiceDilemmas of Devolution and Diversity

17 Dec 1992

331

An Advisory Report on the Financial Management and Accountability Bill 1994, the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Bill 1994 and the Auditor-General Bill 1994, and on a Proposal to Establish an Audit Committee of Parliament

22 Sep 1994

332

The Australian Government Credit Card

11 May 1994

338

Accrual AccountingA Cultural Change

31 Aug 1995

341

Financial Reporting for the CommonwealthTowards Greater Transparency and Accountability

29 Nov 1995

346

Guarding the Independence of the Auditor-General

10 Oct 1996

351

An Advisory Report on the Charter of Budget Honesty Bill 1996

20 Mar 1997

353

An Advisory Report on the Public Service Bill 1997 and the Public Employment (Consequential and Transitional) Amendment Bill 1997

29 Sep 1997

369

Australian Government Procurement

30 Jun 1999

374

Review of Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 and the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997

16 Mar 2000

377

Guidelines for Government Advertising (The Report of Committee's Inquiry into Community Education and Information Programme)

4 Oct 2000

379

Contract Management in the Australian Public Service

2 Nov 2000

386

Inquiry into the Auditor-General Act 1997

27 Sept 2001

388

Review of the Accrual Budget Documentation

19 June 2002

Report tabled

Date

The Development of the Senior Executive ServicePerformance Based Pay

9 May 1990

Development of the Senior Executive Service

18 Oct 1990

Estimates Committee Documentation and Procedures

9 May 1991

Review of the Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman

25 Feb 1992

Performance Pay

1 Feb 1994

Public Service Reform; vol 1, Conference Papers; vol 2, Conference Proceedings

1 Sep 1994

Order of the Senate for the Production of Indexed Lists of Departmental Files

20 Sep 1994

Report on Financial Management and Accountability Bill 1994; Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Bill 1994, Auditor-General Bill 1994 Audit (Transitional & Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill 1995. (LEG)

6 Mar 1995

Property Management in the Australian Public Service (REF)

29 Jun 1995

Report on Prime Minister and Cabinet (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 1995 (LEG)

23 Oct 1995

Service Delivery (REF)

14 Dec 1995

Review of the Operation of the Order for the Production of Indexed Lists of Departmental Files (REF)

5 Feb 1997

Ombudsman Amendment Bill 1996 (LEG)

13 Feb 1997

Towards a Best Practice Australian Public Service (REF) (Presented to the President
28 February 1997)

3 Mar 1997

Report on the Provisions of the Public Service Bill 1997 (REF)

2 Oct 1997

Format of the Portfolio Budget Statements (LEG)

30 Oct 1997

Contracting Out of Government Services (REF)

10 Nov 1997

Contracting Out of Government ServicesSecond Report (REF)

14 May 1998

Review of the Operation of the Order for the Production of Indexed Lists of Departmental FilesSecond Report (REF)

2 Jul 1998

Format of the Portfolio Budget Statements: Second Report (LEG), (Tabled 22 November 1999)

29 Oct 1999
Presented

The mechanism for providing accountability to the Senate in relation to government contracts (Murray motion) (REF)

26 Jun 2000

Australian Public Service employment matters - First report: Australian Workplace Agreements (REF)

2 Nov 2000

The Format of the Portfolio Budget Statements: Third Report (LEG)

9 Nov 2000

The Government's Information Technology Outsourcing Initiative (Interim Report) Accountability in a commercial environment - Emerging Issues (REF)

5 Apr 2001

The Government's Information Technology Outsourcing Initiative - Accountability Issues - Two Case Studies (REF)

June 2001

Re-booting the IT agenda in the Australian Public Service - Final report on the Government's information technology outsourcing initiative (REF)

Aug 2001

Commonwealth Contracts: A new framework for accountability - Final report on the inquiry into the mechanism for providing accountability to the Senate in relation to Government contracts (REF)

26 Sept 2001

Departmental and agency contracts - Report on the first year of operation of the Senate order for the production of lists of departmental and agency contracts (REF)

12 Dec 2002

Recruitment and Training in the Australian Public Service (REF)

Current