In October 2022, the Australian Government announced its Australian Public Service (APS) Reform agenda to deliver enduring change to strengthen the APS for the benefit of all Australians. APS Reform draws on a broad set of source materials to guide a contemporary approach to reform, including the 2019 Independent Review of the APS, led by Mr David Thodey AO, and past reform activities.

The APS has developed a fit-for-purpose approach to implementation. This promotes an incremental, adaptive and continuous approach to reform and which builds on the activities of past and ongoing efforts to transform the APS. Delivery is structured over three phases, and activities are sequenced to ensure key foundations are put in place to enable the scaling and embedding of reforms across the APS. This will ensure the APS remains capable of responding to the ever-shifting requirements of Government and the community. It balances strategic and pragmatic imperatives, and supports careful management of delivery risks.

Progress and impact to date is promising and the APS has taken good steps to address critical challenges, as well as set the foundations for further reform efforts. While every initiative has a clear set of milestones and outcomes driving its activity, there are also ancillary benefits through implementing the program as a whole.

The first two sections of this report provide an overarching understanding of the agenda and its impact on the public service and the Australian public. The next three sections comprise a detailed account of how the agenda has been built, supported and used to drive whole-of-service improvement.