David Thodey, the former chief executive of Telstra, was appointed chair of the Independent Review of the Australian Public Service (APS) in 2018. In the course of his review, which led to a final report issued in December 2019, he found that APS was facing some historic challenges. Years of neglect and under-investment have operated as a wrecking ball to public service operations, Thodey claimed. Whatever the case, this decline in effectiveness is really scary.
In addition to analyzing the current state of the APS, Thodey’s report offered concrete recommendations for the modernization of the APS. Together, the picture he painted raised alarm bells and called for immediate government intervention. They pointed to the need to invest in new Information and Communication Technology (ICT) systems to increase the productivity of public services. As the nation contends with some of the most difficult global challenges, Thodey’s words have only grown more prescient.
The State of the Australian Public Service
The Independent Review of the Australian Public Service revealed that many government agencies suffer from ageing ICT systems that inhibit their operational capabilities. Thodey stressed how these legacy systems get in the way of being efficient. Worse, they stand as roadblocks to real, effective policy solutions.
So large Medicare payment system already involves payments for 600 million Medicare recipients, Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, aged care and veterans. That system, which delivers more than $50 billion a year, is currently supported by a tangled web of legacy and rigid ICT systems — 200 applications and 90 databases, as the report notes. This convoluted structure creates a situation where it’s harder for agencies to act quickly and meet the needs of citizens in an efficient manner.
Thodey’s findings were especially notable in the context of the ongoing COVID-19 public health emergency. The APS found itself dealing with crises like a pandemic, wildfires and heat domes with an infrastructure that was outdated and crumbling under the weight of new expectations. The report criticized what it termed a “service-wide failure to manage and invest strategically in the APS’s most valuable asset — its people.”
The Case for Investment
Thodey further called for the federal government to invest heavily in modernizing APS ICT systems. He contended that this undertaking would lead to better service delivery. Besides its environmental benefits, the measure would create long-term cost savings. By modernizing our outdated systems and investing in better alternatives, agencies could operate more effectively and use our resources more wisely, benefiting taxpayers in the process.
“It has become clear that to realize significant improvements in service delivery, a big up-front investment from the government is required,” Thodey stated. His larger view is echoed by the smart infrastructure blueprint examples set by private sector companies that have made significant investments in their individual digital ecosystems. Billion-dollar private sector investments have produced some pretty incredible returns. This success illustrates the immense benefits of pursuing a similar strategy with our public services.
The review underscored that many government agencies would need to invest heavily in their ICT systems to bring them up to date. Without this modernization, public service agencies run the risk of continuing to fall behind, eventually undermining their critical mission of serving the public.
Looking Ahead
Thodey’s report is much broader than just advocating for technology upgrades. It plunges into key matters of our national security and our democracy. The world beyond the immediate region, global tensions are escalating, as warned by leaders such as Peter Dutton. To meet these fraught strategic conditions, Australia needs to rapidly increase our public service expertise.
“Australia is facing the most complex and serious strategic circumstances since the end of the Second World War,” Dutton remarked. This sentiment underscores the urgency of reforming not just military capabilities but vital public services that underpin societal stability.
Thodey’s review makes it clear that a naive and simplistic approach to workforce management is inadequate. This breakthrough would lower the stakes on personnel limits imposed by state and federal regulators. “This much-needed, more sophisticated approach to workforce management, at both service-wide and agency-specific levels, will help obviate the need for government to impose staffing caps on agencies,” he noted.
