As the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet looks to the future, the corporate planning process is an opportunity to bring our experience — both recent and long-term — to thinking strategically, shaping next steps, and exploring new possibilities. I am grateful to Phil Gaetjens, my predecessor in the role of Secretary, for positioning the Department to meet its objectives so ably.
The Department’s mission — to improve the lives of all Australians through high quality advice and support to the Government — is our mandate to focus on the work of today and plan for the opportunities and contingencies of the future.
The new Government’s public statement of support for the quality and capacity of the Australian Public Service brings with it great responsibility to meet the expectations of the Prime Minister, the Cabinet and the Australian people. Bound up with these expectations is PM&C’s role in supporting the Government to enact its priorities by driving an integrated, APS-wide approach to policy advice, development and delivery.
A smooth and effective transition to recent changes in departmental structures will allow the Department to support the Government to govern for all Australians through genuine partnership across the levels of government. This work is underwritten by our lead role in assisting the Cabinet, as the centre of Federal Government decision-making, and aiding the Prime Minister in his role as chair of the Cabinet.
The policy decisions that flow from the Cabinet will guide how the Department engages with agencies across the APS to advance the Government’s agenda. In seeking to deliver continuous improvements in government for all Australians, the Department places a primacy on partnership to generate the best possible future for public administration.
As public servants, we are guided by the simple principle to ‘reflect, think and act’. It is my privilege now, as Secretary of the Department and Chair of the Secretaries Board, to apply this tenet to the ongoing work of reform and capacity-building of the APS as a core institution of our democracy.
It gives me great pleasure to present the Department’s Corporate Plan, for the reporting period from 2022 to 2026, as required under paragraph 35(1)(b) of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013.
The Department's mission - to improve the lives of all Australians through high quality advice and support to the Government - is our mandate to focus on the work of today and plan for the opportunities and contingencies of the future.