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B.1 Organisational Overview

Commissioner for Public Administration

Section 18 of the Public Sector Management Act 1994 (the PSM Act), provides that the Chief Minister may appoint a person as Commissioner for Public Administration (the Commissioner). Under the PSM Act and the Public Sector Management Standards 2006 (the Standards) the Commissioner held the following powers in relation to the management of the ACT Public Service (the ACTPS) during the 2015-16 reporting period:

  • advise the Chief Minister on the management of the ACTPS as a whole;
  • in conjunction with the Chief Minister, make or amend Standards;
  • with the approval of the Chief Minister, authorise management reviews in relation to the ACTPS or function of the ACTPS, in whole or in part;
  • conduct inspections of, make inquiries or undertake investigations into the operations of government agencies;
  • exercise any function given to the Commissioner by law; and
  • redeploy an officer from the ACTPS in certain circumstances.

In addition to powers prescribed in the PSM Act and Standards, the Commissioner holds powers and/or obligations under the:

  • Public Interest Disclosure Act 2012;
  • Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 (Cwlth);
  • Commissioner for Environment Act 1993;
  • ACT Public Service Enterprise Agreements;
  • Freedom of Information Act 1989;
  • Legal Aid Act 1977; and
  • Legislative Assembly (Office of the Legislative Assembly) Act 2012.

How the role was occupied during 2015-16

The role of the Commissioner is a part-time Statutory Office Holder role and was occupied by Ms Bronwen Overton-Clarke, who also served as the Deputy Director-General Workforce Capability and Governance Division (WCGD) within the Chief Minister, Treasury and Economic Development Directorate (CMTEDD), for the reporting period.

Delegation of Powers

The Commissioner has the power to make delegations under section 36 of the PSM Act. During the reporting period, the Commissioner delegated the powers of the office to:

  • the Director, Public Sector Management, CMTEDD (Ms Judi Childs) for the periods 25 December 2015 to 19 January 2016 and 12 to 20 April 2016; and
  • the acting Deputy Director-General, Workforce Capability and Governance, CMTEDD (Ms Meredith Whitten) for the period 27 to 30 June 2016.

Future Consideration for the Role of the Commissioner

During 2016-17 the Office of the Commissioner will see significant changes. Under the amendments to the PSM Act, the office of the Public Sector Standards Commissioner will be established on 1 September 2016, replacing the office of the Commissioner.

Misconduct procedures and Public Interest Disclosure (PID) responsibilities will transfer to the Public Sector Standards Commissioner, with the remainder of Commissioner responsibilities transferring to the Head of Service. The Public Sector Standards Commissioner will be independent from the ACTPS and will not be an ACT public servant. The Public Sector Standards Commissioner will be a part-time role, supported by CMTEDD. Under the amendments to the PSM Act, the occupant of the Commissioner role on 31 August assumes the role of the Public Sector Standards Commissioner until an independent Commissioner is appointed.

Summary of Key Work, Working Arrangements and Core Focus during 2015-16

2015-16 Priorities

The 2015-16 priorities for the Commissioner and WCGD comprised:

  • development of workforce planning strategies;
  • development of a whole of government ACTPS Shared Capability Framework, articulating the ACTPS Values and Signature Behaviours to advance realisation of strategic business outcomes;
  • whole of government leadership and management development across the ACTPS, with a focus on building an agile, responsive and innovative public service;
  • embedding initiatives to support positive workplace cultures, including driving the implementation of recommendations arising from the Review of the Respect, Equity and Diversity (RED) Framework and Pride in Diversity membership, including diversity programs;
  • further development of the ACTPS Manager’s toolkit;
  • finalisation and implementation of changes to the legislative employment framework; and
  • monitoring the implementation and effectiveness of behavioural Enterprise Agreement provisions and development of sector-wide policy to implement Enterprise Agreement provisions.

For the purposes of management efficiency, the Commissioner made use of the staff resources in WCGD. WCGD provides a central agency policy and advisory role for ACTPS employment, including developing and driving strategic workforce reform and sector-wide frameworks.

Investigations and Workplace Culture

The Commissioner has investigative powers under the PSM Act and can provide information and recommendations to the Head of Service, Directors-General and agency heads. During the 2015-16 reporting period, the Commissioner utilised the services of the Senior Investigator employed within WCGD to undertake investigative work relating to complaints and PIDs within the ACT Public Sector.

The Professional Standards Unit (PSU) was formed on 19 December 2015 following endorsement of a proposal presented to Strategic Board on 8 December 2015. Consequently, misconduct investigations in the ACTPS are now conducted by the PSU under the auspices of the Commissioner. Investigations are conducted in accordance with the provisions of the relevant ACTPS Enterprise Agreement, the PSM Act and the Standards.

The Commissioner had a continued focus on fostering a positive workplace culture and promoting professional standards of conduct across the ACT Public Sector during 2015-16. There were several key pieces of work undertaken to meet these priorities during the reporting period, including:

  • implementation of the recommendations arising from the Review of the RED Framework;
  • the development of a suite of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) resources, and coordination of LGBTI awareness workshops and information sessions;
  • the commencement of an ACTPS Indigenous Traineeship Program, providing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participants with the opportunity to develop their skills and knowledge and establish valuable networks across the ACTPS;
  • embedding the role of Whole of Service Employment Inclusion roles;
  • the redevelopment of prevention of bullying, harassment and discrimination resources; and
  • the release of the ACTPS Employment Portal in February 2016, building on the ACTPS Manager’s Toolkit and centralising resources for ACTPS staff, managers and external parties.

Further analysis of performance against all 2015-16 priorities is contained in Section B2 of this report.

Industrial Relations, Enterprise Agreements

Enterprise agreements made under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cwlth) (the Fair Work Act) grant the Commissioner certain powers. In limited circumstances, agreement provisions permit the Commissioner to carry out certain tasks related to employment in the Service.

Under section K14.2 of the ACT Public Service Enterprise Agreements, the Commissioner may give written consent for employees to be re-engaged in the ACT Public Sector within two years of being made voluntarily redundant. In July 2014, Mr Michael Young, as delegate of the Commissioner, gave this consent to staff who may have elected to be made voluntarily redundant as a result of the introduction of the National Disability Insurance Scheme. The re-engagement of these staff is not an entitlement and is dependent on their being selected on merit through normal recruitment and selection processes. This use of power in 2014 is applicable for the 2015-16 reporting period, however, during the 2015-16 reporting period the Commissioner has not exercised this power directly, although it remains current.

Significant Committees and Their Roles

Joint Council

The Commissioner chairs the ACTPS Joint Council (Joint Council) established under the PSM Act. Joint Council is the peak union and management consultative committee for the ACTPS and provides a forum for the consideration and exchange of information on matters of strategic interest to ACT Government employees and staff organisations.

Matters of strategic interest to the ACTPS are not defined under the rules of the Joint Council, but instead are considered to be any significant issue that has, or might have, a multi-directorate impact upon the employment of ACT Government employees. These matters include:

  • significant whole of government industrial relations issues;
  • significant whole of government human resource issues; and
  • significant administrative and communication issues.

Important matters discussed at Joint Council within the reporting period include:

  • the creation of a new modern enterprise award – the Australian Capital Territory Public Sector Enterprise Award 2016 (the ACT award);
  • the introduction of reportable conduct and information sharing legislation that will improve reporting and oversight of employee misconduct against children;
  • policy details for a proposed ACTPS workers compensation scheme;
  • amendments to the Workplace Privacy Act 2011;
  • the implementation of first stage of reforms to the Discrimination Act 1991 following recommendations made by the ACT Law Reform Advisory Council;
  • new misconduct arrangements including the establishment of the PSU (investigations) under an independent Public Service Commissioner; and
  • the selection of a default superannuation fund provider for the ACTPS.

Work Safety Council

The Work Safety Council (the Council) is appointed by the Minister for Workplace Safety and Industrial Relations under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (the WHS Act). The Council is responsible for advising the Minister on matters relating to work safety, bullying and other psychosocial issues, and workers’ compensation.

During the 2015-16 reporting period, the Council has discussed a wide range of legislative and policy matters. This has included advice on amendments to the Territory’s workers’ compensation legislation. The Council has also provided advice on nationally harmonised work, health and safety codes of practice. Similarly, the Council has provided input to the adoption of harmonised workers compensation initiatives arising from national collaboration led by Safe Work Australia.

The Commissioner is appointed to the Council as a representative of employers, and in that capacity represents the interests of the ACTPS on the Council.

Strategic Board

The Deputy Director-General, WCGD, is a member of the Strategic Board, which provides direction on whole of government issues, including in relation to the management and development of the ACT Public Sector workforce.

Outlook for 2016-17

The focus for WCGD in 2016-17 will be to build Service-wide workforce strategies and programs to further embed the ‘One Service’ culture and to support the ACTPS to build an agile, responsive and innovative public service. Opportunities for initiatives include:

  • development of whole of government workforce strategies and programs to support directorates to deliver business priorities;
  • implementation of the ADAPT (Align, Design, Analyse, Program and Transform) Workforce Planning Toolkit to align service innovation, business improvement opportunities and strategic priorities with ‘people planning’ to drive business transformation;
  • whole of government leadership development, incorporating collaboration, change management, skill development and the promotion of positive workplace cultures;
  • development of a whole of government learning management system;
  • further development of whole of government initiatives to increase diveristy in the ACTPS, including programs to support the attraction and retention of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and People with Disability;
  • continue to foster positive workplace cultures through the ACTPS’s Pride in Diversity membership;
  • ongoing implementation of the whole of government Employment Policy Review Project;
  • implementation of changes to the legislative employment framework.

Given the changes to arrangements relating to the Office of the Commissioner, responsibility for the 2016-17 State of the Service report will transfer to the Head of Service, and through her, to the Deputy Director-General WCGD.

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