Purpose of the Secretaries Board
Section 64 of the Public Service Act 1999 establishes the Secretaries Board and sets out its functions as follows:
- to take responsibility for the stewardship of the APS and for developing and implementing strategies to improve the APS;
- to identify strategic priorities for the APS and consider issues that affect the APS;
- to set an annual work program, and direct subcommittees to develop strategies to address APS-wide issues and make recommendations to the Secretaries Board;
- to draw together advice from senior leaders in government, business and the community; and
- to work collaboratively and model leadership behaviours.
In accordance with its legislated functions, the Secretaries Board provides leadership to the APS as an integrated organisation with a shared vision and purpose, with individual members of the Secretaries Board to retain autonomy and statutory responsibilities as the heads of their respective departments.
The Secretaries Board is committed to an integrated approach to national priorities and will focus its conversations on:
- First Nation priorities including Closing the Gap.
- The APS Reform priorities.
- Budget and economic priorities.
- Other priorities as determined by the Chair in consultation with the Board.
Membership of the Secretaries Board
The Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C) is the Chair of the Secretaries Board. If the Secretary is not available, the Australian Public Service Commissioner or the acting Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet will chair Board meetings.
The Group membership comprises:
- all departmental secretaries;
- Secretary for Public Sector Reform; and
- the Australian Public Service Commissioner.
The Chief Executive Officer of the National Indigenous Australians Agency will be a co-opted participant as required by the relevant meeting agenda.
Sub-committees of the Secretaries Board
The Secretaries Board may establish senior leadership groups or Sub-committees, consisting of members determined by the Secretaries Board, to assist the Secretaries Board in performing its functions (sub-section 64(4) of the Public Service Act 1999).
The role of Sub-committees includes:
- Developing forward working plans for current and future reports in the context of the strategic directions set out by the Secretaries Board.
- Working in portfolio clusters to deliver Government priorities. This includes undertaking short, sharp pieces of work on specific emerging issues, as well as proactively identifying emerging risks with regards to longer-term issues, and proposing a path forward for the Board.
In establishing such groups or Sub-committees of the Secretaries Board, the Secretaries Board may give consideration to:
- Whether the Sub-committee is to be a standing Sub-committee or a time-limited, more informal working group to deliver a specific task identified by the Secretaries Board.
- Membership of the Sub-committee – including appropriate representation of relevant portfolios to provide a whole-of-government view, with members to have appropriate seniority to commit their portfolio departments or agencies to action.
- Arrangements necessary to ensure an appropriate feedback loop between the Secretaries Board and the Sub-committee – including regular reporting arrangements, format and frequency of progress updates from the Sub-committee, and any recommendations or issues to be raised for the Secretaries Board’s consideration.
- Setting out the purpose, roles and responsibilities of the Sub-committee and governance arrangements in a Terms of Reference, which should be endorsed by the Secretaries Board.
Chairs of the Board’s Sub-committees are responsible for providing six-monthly reports, at a minimum, to inform the Board of each Sub-committee’s strategic priorities and key deliverables. These reports will be presented to the Board for discussion by exception, or for consideration out-of-session.
The Secretariat will work with relevant agencies and the secretariats for the Board’s Sub-committees to schedule these reports.
Meetings
The Secretaries Board will meet monthly, usually on the second Wednesday of every month. The Chair may call extraordinary meetings of the Secretaries Board, as required.
The Board is committed to a dynamic board agenda that devotes sufficient time for strategic, forward-looking discussions on significant public policy or administration matters, while balancing the need for Board discussions on regular reports relating to matters of shared interest.
Attendance
Group members are expected to attend all meetings in-person and as scheduled, noting proxies are permitted to attend when substantive acting arrangements are in place, or as agreed on a case-by case basis by the Chair.
The Deputy Secretary Governance PM&C, First Assistant Secretary Government Division PM&C and the PM&C Secretary’s Chief of Staff will attend all meetings as notetakers. Senior thinkers or practitioners, including from outside the Australian Public Service, may be co-opted for items at the request of Board members.
All Group members must declare any potential, apparent or actual conflicts of interest as they arise.
Secretariat
The Secretaries Board is supported by a Secretariat located within Government Division, PM&C.
The Secretariat is responsible for providing administrative and strategic support to the Secretaries Board including, but not limited to:
- developing meeting agendas in consultation with Secretaries Board members and distributing agendas once approved by the Chair, at least one week prior to a scheduled meeting;
- collating and distributing meeting papers one week prior to a schedule meeting and keeping meeting minutes;
- liaising with Secretaries Board members and their offices;
- keeping a forward work plan and tracking agreed actions from the Secretaries Board; and
- supporting the Secretaries Board in overseeing its Sub-committees and working groups, including:
- providing advice to Sub-committees, working groups and their respective Secretariats on governance and reporting arrangements to ensure an appropriate feedback loop between Sub-committees and the Secretaries Board; and
- liaising with Sub-committees and working groups to progress agreed actions from the Secretaries Board.
The Secretariat will ensure all significant decisions are referred to the Secretaries Board at its regular meetings or, where appropriate, out-of-session for consideration and decision. Transactional issues or matters that do not warrant the Secretaries Board’s consideration should, as much as practicable, be dealt with out-of-session or tasked to Sub-committees.
The Secretariat can be contacted via email on SecretariesBoard@pmc.gov.au
Out-of-session items
All matters requiring discussion and/or endorsement by the Group should be dealt with as part of a scheduled meeting. Papers may be considered out-of-session, with the approval of the relevant member.
Out-of-session items will be circulated to members by the Secretariat.
Out-of-session items will be formally noted at the next available scheduled meeting.
Review
The Terms of Reference may be reviewed at the discretion of the Chair in consultation with members of the Secretaries Board.
Transparency
The Secretariat will publish a Communique on the PM&C website within three business days following each Board meeting, outlining the key outcomes of the Board’s discussion at the meeting.