Developing Government Policy Capability

Appendix 2

Reforms of Public Sector Management in Australia

The traditional characteristics of a public service include a “distant and hierarchical bureaucracy” with, among other things, an emphasis on processes and inputs and a “near-monopoly” on policy advice to government (Verspaandonk, Holland, & Horne, 2010). For most of the 20th century, changes in the Australian Public Service (APS) were incremental. Since the 1970s, there has been a period of significant and rapid public sector reform driven by pressure for governments to demonstrate efficient and responsible use of public resources (Verspaandonk et al., 2010). In Australia, a “new” approach to public sector management emerged in the 1980s. This was underpinned by changing public attitudes ...