Working Together: One Public Sector Delivering for WA
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SERVICE PRIORITY REVIEW FINAL REPORT TO THE WESTERN AUSTRALIAN GO THE WESTERN AUSTRALIAN FINAL REPORT TO WORKING TOGETHER ONE PUBLIC SECTOR DELIVERING FOR WA VERNMENT OCTOBER 2017 OCTOBER SERVICE PRIORITY REVIEW www.dpc.wa.gov.au FINAL REPORT TO THE WESTERN AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT OCTOBER 2017 Cover_Bleed.indd 1 28/11/2017 3:43:29 PM Service Priority Review © State of Western Australia 2017 There is no objection to this report being copied in whole or part, provided there is due acknowledgement of any material quoted or reproduced from the report. Published by the Department of the Premier and Cabinet, Western Australia, October 2017. This report is available on the Department of the Premier and Cabinet website at www.dpc.wa.gov.au Disclaimer The Western Australian Government is committed to quality service to its customers and makes every attempt to ensure accuracy, currency and reliability of the data contained in this document. However, changes in circumstances after time of publication may impact the quality of this information. Confirmation of the information may be sought from originating bodies or departments providing the information. ISBN: 9780730702856 SPR_Final Report_27-11-2017-6-2.indd 2 28/11/2017 10:31:17 AM WORKING TOGETHER ONE PUBLIC SECTOR DELIVERING FOR WA SERVICE PRIORITY REVIEW FINAL REPORT TO THE WESTERN AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT OCTOBER 2017 SPR_Final Report_27-11-2017-6-2.indd 3 28/11/2017 10:31:17 AM Oh, my ways are strange ways and new ways and old ways, and deep ways and steep ways and high ways and low, I’m at home and at ease on a track that I know not, and restless and lost on a road that I know. Henry Lawson SPR_Final Report_27-11-2017-6-2.indd 4 28/11/2017 10:31:17 AM ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Service Priority Review recognises the contribution of the many individuals and organisations that have supported the review. In particular, it acknowledges the enormous input from the Western Australian public sector itself, and from the directors general and their staff who have given generously of their time, insights and vision for reform. The report has been made possible with assistance from organisations that facilitated consultation forums and information sessions, namely the Institute of Public Administration Australia WA, the Committee for Economic Development of Australia, the Western Australian Council of Social Service, the Public Sector Commission and the South West Development Commission. The Regional Services Reform Unit is acknowledged for arranging and hosting meetings in the Kimberley and Pilbara that enabled the Service Priority Review Panel to gain first-hand the experiences of people living and working in regional Western Australia. Aarnja and Nyamba Buru Yawuru ensured the voices of Aboriginal people were heard and their support of the regional consultation process is appreciated. The review drew on the reform journeys of the Victorian and New South Wales public sectors. The Government agencies and officials in those jurisdictions that met with the Panel and shared their knowledge are also acknowledged. Regular video updates on the review were produced and published online, and the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development’s Westlink team is thanked for its contribution. SPR_Final Report_27-11-2017-6-2.indd 5 28/11/2017 10:31:17 AM 6 SPR_Final Report_27-11-2017-6-2.indd 6 28/11/2017 10:31:17 AM CONTENTS FOREWORD .............................................................................................................................................................9 BLUEPRINT FOR REFORM ................................................................................................................................ 11 CHAPTER 1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 15 1.1 The challenges ahead ........................................................................................................................ 15 1.2 A snapshot of the sector .................................................................................................................. 16 1.3 Western Australia’s financial position ..........................................................................................22 1.4 Reporting on outcomes ....................................................................................................................25 CHAPTER 2 Building a public sector focused on community needs ...........................................27 2.1 Whole-of-government targets .......................................................................................................28 2.2 Design better services for the community ................................................................................ 31 2.3 Deliver better services to the community ................................................................................. 48 CHAPTER 3 Enabling the public sector to do its job better .................................................... 59 3.1 Support sharing and using information ......................................................................................60 3.2 Get better value from procurement ............................................................................................68 3.3 Develop a budget system that supports the reform agenda ............................................. 76 3.4 Strengthen governance, accountability and transparency of agencies ......................... 91 7 SPR_Final Report_27-11-2017-6-2.indd 7 28/11/2017 10:31:17 AM CHAPTER 4 Reshaping and strengthening the public sector workforce .................................105 4.1 A shared workforce identity ......................................................................................................... 106 4.2 Building workforce capability ..................................................................................................... 108 4.3 Contemporary workforce arrangements ..................................................................................117 CHAPTER 5 Strengthening leadership across government .......................................................123 5.1 Support high performance from CEOs and SES officers ................................................... 124 5.2 Build and support stewardship of the sector .........................................................................137 CHAPTER 6 Driving effective implementation .....................................................................................149 6.1 Plan for success ............................................................................................................................... 149 6.2 Blueprint for Reform ...................................................................................................................... 155 CHAPTER 7 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................163 GLOSSARY ..........................................................................................................................................................167 REFERENCES ..................................................................................................................................................... 169 APPENDIX A – Service Priority Review context and Terms of Reference ......................................179 APPENDIX B – Service Priority Review Panel ..........................................................................................181 APPENDIX C – Consultation ......................................................................................................................... 183 APPENDIX D – List of meetings and submissions............ ........................................ ............................185 APPENDIX E – Background papers ........................................................................................................... 192 APPENDIX F – Expenditure report ............................................................................................................. 193 8 SPR_Final Report_27-11-2017-6-2.indd 8 28/11/2017 10:31:18 AM FOREWORD Western Australia’s economic circumstances, the election of a new State Government and the benefits of machinery of government changes create the opportunity to rethink how the State’s public sector operates to achieve better outcomes for the community. The Western Australian Government established the Service Priority Review in May 2017 to examine the functions, operations and culture of the public sector, with the aim of driving lasting reform. The Service Priority Review Panel (the Panel) has met with, and received submissions from, a wide range of stakeholders in the past six months. We have heard from individuals, community organisations, businesses, unions and industry organisations, and leaders from the public and private sectors. We have held meetings in Perth, Bunbury, Broome and Karratha as well as interstate. Many people have taken the time to share with us their insights and ideas about the changes they see as necessary for WA to have an outward-facing, responsive and effective public sector. Their views are reflected throughout this report, which sets out a Blueprint for Reform, the product of the Panel’s analysis of the information available to us and research undertaken by the Service Priority Review secretariat. It reflects the consensus on issues and solutions revealed during