The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet’s (PM&C) mission is to improve the lives of all Australians. We do this by delivering high-quality and timely advice to the Prime Minister, the Cabinet, and our portfolio ministers. We draw upon the expertise of agencies in the Australian Public Service (APS), Australian jurisdictions and international partners. We seek to add unique value to these perspectives by leveraging our close understanding of the Prime Minister’s priorities, our whole-of-government perspective and the diverse skills and expertise of our people.

The Prime Minister has made clear his high expectations for the APS – a service that is professional, capable, flexible, technology-enabled, citizen-focused, open to outsiders and considers diverse viewpoints, both within and without. The Prime Minister’s expectations are framed by his recognition that modern government is hard – that change is ever-present and public expectations have never been greater. This will require the APS to continue to evolve and adapt. PM&C must be at the forefront of the evolution. We must be active, not passive. We must pull together our breadth of expertise, experience and exposure to ensure that the advice we provide is proactive, comprehensive and practical.

In 2019–20, my Department will support the APS to deliver on its enduring responsibilities and to meet the Prime Minister’s expectations. Good advice begins by understanding and appreciating the Government’s objectives. We will work to ensure all members of the APS have a clear line of sight between what they do, those objectives, and achieving outcomes for the Australian public.

As Chair of the Secretaries Board of the APS, I will work with my colleagues to shape the bureaucracy and hierarchy to achieve better outcomes – we need to set real targets for delivery, measure progress, and invest in our people and the tools that help us do our best work. We need to recognise and act to ensure our co-ordinating and convening responsibilities are more than just process, they are vehicles to achieve coherence, completeness and consistency in policies across Government.

This Corporate Plan, for the reporting period 2019–20 to 2022–23, sets out how we intend to deliver on all these responsibilities, and addresses our operating environment, our people and capability, our risk management and oversight and our key activities and performance measures. It is prepared in accordance with paragraph 35(1)(b) of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (PGPA Act) and can be read in conjunction with PM&C’s Portfolio Budget Statements 2019–20.

Philip Gaetjens
Secretary
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet