Work with Purpose: A podcast about the Australian Public Sector

The OECD says that the context and challenges of the public sector are changing at such a rapid pace that the capabilities of public servants must keep up. It's a first-order issue as organisations seek to understand just what are the skills, the knowledge, the behaviour, and the attitude that they will need in their people to successfully compete and operate in a digitally-enabled data-led mobile world. The APS, being the diligent enterprise that it is, has been thinking and planning about this for the past few years has now created a document to address this very issue.In this episode of Work with Purpose, we are joined Mary Wiley-Smith, former Assistant Commissioner at the Australian Public Service Commission and Clare Walsh, Deputy Secretary of Business Enabling Services at the Department of Finance.Wiley-Smith and Walsh spend this episode mainly discussing the newly released APS Workforce Strategy for 2025. How should those in the APS utilise this strategy? How will it assist in attracting others to join the APS?The pair also discuss where the strategy will lead the APS digitally. What will the APS see in the future in terms of ICT? Will there be more staff from the ‘digital world’ joining the APS in the next few years?The episode finishes with the ladies chatting about leadership. Why is leadership so important in any organisation? What does leadership mean across the public service?Discussed in this episode:·        The APS Workforce Strategy for 2025·        What all those across the APS can learn from the workforce strategy·        The rise of digital in the future of the APS·        Why leadership is so important across all sectors of work. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 2020, a year of uncertainty and risk, the Australian public saw the APS rely on the minds of scientists, and others that work within STEM, like they never have before. A field that in the past has been predominately filled by men, is starting to see some powerful and influential women rise to the top. How did they make it? What choices and career moves did these women make to assist in rising to roles of leadership and how do they advise some of Australia’s most senior politicians on how evidence-based research can help inform decisions and policy?In this episode of Work with Purpose, we are joined Dr. Cathy Foley AO PSM, Australia’s Chief Scientist, Dr. Cayt Rowe, Deputy Program Leader at the Department of Defence, and Professor Tanya Monro, Chief Defence Scientist at the Department of Defence.Foley, Rowe and Monro start off this episode discussing how they worked their way to a leadership role in STEM. What career moves do you have to make? What can you learn about yourself from being in a role of leadership?The trio also explain how they use their roles to ensure that government officials are taking into account the views of scientists. How do you grab their attention? How has this role changed since the beginning of COVID-19?The episode finishes with the ladies sharing their views on women in leadership. What challenges do women face in their careers? How do we make the APS more equal for both men and women?Discussed in this episode:·        The growing role that STEM is playing in government.·        How scientists are working with and informing government during the pandemic.·        The obstacles that women face when rising to the top in their careers.·        Why a diverse workplace is key to the success of the APS. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This month marks the one-year anniversary of Work with Purpose. To celebrate, we’re releasing a special highlights edition featuring some of the remarkable insights shared with us over the past year, from some of our most popular episodes with speakers from across the public sector.In this special episode, we pay homage to the Australian public sector as it took centre stage delivering the Australian Government's agenda supporting the Australian community and the economy throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.We share some of the key themes that resonated across the public sector throughout 2020. We also bring insight into the lives of those people who have kept the wheels ably turning during these challenging and uncertain times. Our Work with Purpose speakers are shining examples of dedication, humility, aptitude, empathy, tutelage, collaboration and leadership. It’s been a privilege working with and listening to these public servants, academics, and representatives from business and not-for-profit sectors speak so passionately and intelligently about their areas of expertise, sharing how they and their colleagues are working tirelessly to make Australia, and the world, a much better place. We hope you enjoy this special as much as we have enjoyed bringing the Work with Purpose podcast series to you since its inception one year ago. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Whether you work inside or outside of the APS, it is safe to say that 2020, for the most of us, was quite the challenging year. With our work, home and day-to-day lives being forced to change at such a rapid rate, people around the globe learnt to adjust. However along with this, the world didn’t put the rest of life’s challenges on hold, meaning that some of us had a lot of weight to carry on our shoulders. So when our shoulders are sore, and we’re starting to feel ‘a bit over it’, how do we build resilience to come out on the other side?In this episode of Work with Purpose, we are joined by Dominic Price, Work Futurist at Australian software company, Atlassian. Price starts off this episode on a personal note. He explains some of the hardships that he has faced in the last 12 months. How did he deal with the challenges that faced him? How did he build resilience? He also touches on ‘the new workforce’ and reflects on working from home. Are we being more or less productive? Is it something that we should continue to do, even when the pandemic ends? Price ends the interview giving listeners some tips on how to reprioritize their lives. What is important to you? Where do you want to be five years from now? Discussed in this episode:How to stay positive and build resilience.The positives and negatives of working from home.What skills 2020 has given those in the corporate world.Why now is the time to reprioritize your life. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As life in the Australian Public Service continues to move at a scorching pace in delivering the priorities of the government, the increasing influence of digital technology and data in defining new ways of working to deliver value for citizens has never been more important. At the heart of this transformation is the mission to make the lives of Australians simpler, safer, and better. Nowhere is this mission more obvious or more important than the work of the National Disability Insurance Agency, which is implementing a program to deliver individualised, self-directed care packages to over a half a million Australians.In this episode of Work with Purpose, we are joined by Martin Hoffman, the Chief Executive Officer of the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA), and the former President of IPAA NSW.Hoffman starts off the episode explaining some of the previous roles he has held in the APS, such as being the head of the Services Australia Taskforce and working with Services New South Wales. What was the contrast between the two? How is different working at a state versus federal level?He also touches on his current work at the NDIA. What were his first impressions? How did the COVID-19 pandemic change their system both internally and externally?Hoffman concludes the conversation focusing on what he sees as the priorities for the NDIA for the next 12 to 18 months and how these priorities will be delivered to those within the disability community.Discussed in this episode:·        The difference between working at state and federal levels of government.·        What cultural elements are needed to build strong performing teams in the APS.·        How the COVID-19 pandemic shaped the NDIA.·        How to communicate your agencies priorities to citizens and stakeholders in an effective and manageable way.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of being able to find, access, analyse, and share trusted and reliable digital information in a timely and responsive manner. The National Archives, like most of the APS have been extremely busy during the pandemic, ensuring that the governments most important records are documented, so that they can be held as part of the National Archives archival collection.In this episode of Work with Purpose, we are joined by David Fricker, the Director-General of the National Archives of Australia, and the current President of the International Council on Archives.Fricker walks us through what the team at the National Archives have been doing since the beginning of the pandemic. How are they recording information? Why is it important that this moment is captured in time?He also touches on the effectiveness of Australia’s information management system. How does it rank against other countries around the world? What steps can we take to improve Australia’s information management system?Fricker rounds out the episode on a personal note, explaining how he has changed since the beginning of the pandemic and how he has realised he is capable of more than he initially thought.Discussed in this episode:·        How the National Archives of Australia are recording and documenting the COVID-19 pandemic.·        Where Australia ranks compared to the rest of the world in effective information management systems.·        How the National Archives deal with dis and misinformation.·        Why it is essential that all sectors of the APS collaborate with the National Archives. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2020 will be forever remembered as the year of the COVID-19 pandemic. But in Australia, the ferocious bushfires of 2019 that burned well into the new year will never be forgotten. The strain of such significant events was recognised early and the National Bushfire Recovery Agency and the Mental Health Commission worked quickly to deliver necessary support. But more was to come as the full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic was realised. In this episode of Work with Purpose, we are joined by Andrew Colvin, the national coordinator of the National Bushfire Recovery Agency, and Christine Morgan, the chief executive officer of the National Mental Health Commission and the National Suicide Prevention Adviser to the Prime Minister.Morgan explains how the stigma around mental health has changed since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. How do people view mental health now compared to 2019? What can we do to further improve the stigma around mental health?Colvin discusses mental health in relation to the 2019, 2020 Australian summer bushfires. How do we overcome trauma, grief and tragedy? How should the APS make themselves available to Australians in times of need? Together Morgan and Colvin discuss these questions as well as explain how the National Bushfire Recovery Agency and the Mental Health Commission work together when it comes to bushfire relief. Discussed in this episode:·        What COVID-19 taught us about mental heath.·        How the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the National Bushfire Recovery Agency.·        Advice on what you can do to improve the stigma around mental health.·        The work the National Bushfire Recovery Agency has done since the 2019/ 2020 summer bushfires. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For this week’s Special Episode of Work with Purpose we are joined by Jacqui Curtis, Head of the HR Profession, Randall Brugeaud, Head of the Digital Profession and Dr David Gruen, Head of the Data Profession. As part of the 2019 Independent Review of the Public Service, the Government agreed to establish Professions to build capability and support career paths in critical areas. In response, Secretaries Board established APS Professional Streams, headed by Australian Public Service Commissioner, Peter Woolcott AO. Along with the Commissioner, today’s guests, as Heads of Profession are responsible for capability uplift in their areas of focus, in digital, data, and human resources, drawing on international best practice. In a deliberate, strategic approach to setting professional standards, implementing career pathways and addressing skills gaps, the Professional Streams are being delivered collaboratively across the APS to make sure there is a cross-agency approach to delivering government services.The Professional Streams have already demonstrated successes in building networks and ways to strategically recruit, develop, grow and retain talent in leadership roles and improve capability of the public service workforce.Discussed in this episode:The establishment and purpose of the Professional Streams.Building networks to strategically recruit, develop, grow and retain talent.The opportunities available through the Professional Streams.Supporting the cross-agency approach to delivering government services. What’s next for the Professional Streams. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

COVID-19 presents the perfect example of the modern, complex, and rapidly evolving challenges facing the APS. The government is responding flexibly to demand on high priority, cross-cutting policy and delivery issues, with its ability to act efficiently and effectively hinging on principles of collaboration and mobility. Recently we’ve seen the emergence of various taskforces and the development of the APS Mobility Framework. These resources have supported government through some of the most difficult times in our nation’s history. In this episode of Work With Purpose, a different perspective is captured by host Chevelle Grey - Assistant Director, Policy & Portfolio Strategy Branch at the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment. Chevelle is joined by taskforce and mobility experts Simon Duggan, Deputy Secretary from the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Patrick Hetherington, First Assistant Commissioner at the Australian Public Service Commission and Teresa McMichael, Senior Adviser, Policy Projects and Taskforce Office, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.  Speakers discuss their thoughts and experiences regarding taskforces and mobility. While they advocate for the notion of many heads being better than one and agree that mobility has underpinned many of the greatest APS successes, they also remind us that there is a time and place for using such approaches. Tune in and hear our panel discuss all things taskforces, mobility and where you can uncover the most important tools for responding to dynamic and complex issues facing the APS. Discussed in this episode: ·        The shift towards taskforces and APS mobility.·        Personal taskforce insights from the panel.·        A closer look at the APSC Taskforce Toolkit.·        The APS Reform Agenda.·        Questions from IPAA’s Future Leaders Committee.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The rise of cyber crime and cyber warfare have forced governments around the world to rethink how they define safety and security. With Australia experiencing a record number of cyber threats, the role of government in combatting this threat is more important than ever.In this episode of Work with Purpose, we are joined by Hamish Hansford, the First Assistant Secretary of the Cyber, Digital and Technology Policy Division at the Department of Home Affairs.Hansford discusses his journey to becoming one of the government’s leading cyber security decision makers. He looks back on his twenty-year career in the Australian Public Service (APS), sharing the key insights he has picked up along the way.He discusses his contribution to Australia’s cyber security infrastructure, as well as the impacts of COVID-19 on our use of digital technologies. What are the positive aspects of this change, and where do we have to be careful in navigating our increasing presence online?Although the big, but less common cyber attacks attract the most attention, cyber security is actually an everyday occurrence we must all defend against. The Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) receives one cyber crime report every 10 minutes.Hansford discusses the role that individuals play in the fight against cyber threats, as well the public service as a whole. How can the APS collectively defend itself against the increasing number of cyber threats? Discussed in this episode:·      The future of cyber security and cyber threats. Will it get worse?·      What the government must do to improve Australia’s preparedness toward cyber threats.·      Advice about how to reduce your own susceptibility to cyber threats.·      The career of Hamish Hansford, along with his advice for people beginning their APS careers.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.