In Australia, a departmental secretary is the most senior
public servant
The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...
of an
Australian Government
The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government i ...
or
state government
A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonomy, or ...
department. They are typically responsible for the day-to-day actions of a department.
Role
A departmental secretary is a non-political, non-elected public servant head (and "responsible officer") of government departments, who generally holds their position for a number of years.
A departmental secretary works closely with the elected
government minister
A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘prime minister’, â ...
that oversees the Commonwealth
department
Department may refer to:
* Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility
Government and military
*Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...
or state government department in order to bring about policy and program initiatives that the government of day was elected to achieve. A departmental secretary works with other departments and agencies to ensure the delivery of services and programs within the nominated area of responsibility.
The secretary is also known as the chief executive of the department; the position is equivalent to the
Permanent Secretary
A permanent secretary (also known as a principal secretary) is the most senior Civil Service (United Kingdom), civil servant of a department or Ministry (government department), ministry charged with running the department or ministry's day-to-day ...
of a government department in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
and is similar to
Director General
A director general or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals''
) or general director is a senior executive (government), executive officer, often the chief executive offi ...
in some non-Commonwealth countries, or
Chief Executive Officer
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
(CEO) in a private company.
In the Australian government, Secretaries are the responsible officers for departments. They are answerable to the
Australian Parliament
The Parliament of Australia (officially the Federal Parliament, also called the Commonwealth Parliament) is the legislative branch of the government of Australia. It consists of three elements: the monarch (represented by the governor-g ...
for ensuring that the department performs all the functions assigned to it and spends money appropriately, as granted by the Parliament. Secretaries are frequently called for questioning by the
Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit
A joint or articulation (or articular surface) is the connection made between bones, ossicles, or other hard structures in the body which link an animal's skeletal system into a functional whole.Saladin, Ken. Anatomy & Physiology. 7th ed. McGraw ...
, the
House of Representatives committees and the
Senate committees.
Appointment and termination
The ''
Public Service Act 1999
The Public Service Act 1999 () is an Australian law, passed in 1999 by the Howard Government that regulates the federal Australian Public Service.
The Act regulates the employment of federal public servants in Australia.
The Act establishes ob ...
'' requires the
Secretary
A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a w ...
of the
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet to provide a report to the
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
of the day about the suitability of potential candidates as departmental secretary. The report is prepared in conjunction with the
Public Service Commissioner. Appointments and terminations as departmental secretary are made by the
Governor-General
Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...
on the advice of the Prime Minister under Sections 58 and 59 respectively of the ''Act''.
Since removal of
tenure
Tenure is a category of academic appointment existing in some countries. A tenured post is an indefinite academic appointment that can be terminated only for cause or under extraordinary circumstances, such as financial exigency or program disco ...
under Prime Minister
Paul Keating
Paul John Keating (born 18 January 1944) is an Australian former politician and unionist who served as the 24th prime minister of Australia from 1991 to 1996, holding office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). He previously serv ...
, departmental secretaries are generally aware that while dismissals are not common, following a change of government, failure to re-appoint a secretary is certainly a frequent occurrence. In the
first Rudd government
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
, secretaries were appointed for a five-year term; prior to this a term of three years was common.
In 1999, the
Howard government sought to remove
Paul Barratt
Paul Hunter Barratt (19 March 1944 – 3 October 2021) was a senior Australian public servant, policymaker and peace activist. He was Chairman of Australia21, Chairman of UNE Foundation, and President and co-founder of Australians for War Power ...
as Secretary of the Department of Defence after Barratt fell out of favour with his
Minister. Despite being offered a
diplomatic post, Barratt refused to vacate the role and commenced legal action, claiming
unfair dismissal In labour law, unfair dismissal is an act of employment termination made without good reason or contrary to the country's specific legislation.
Situation per country
Australia
(See: '' unfair dismissal in Australia'')
Australia has long-standing ...
and that the government had failed to follow
due process
Due process of law is application by state of all legal rules and principles pertaining to the case so all legal rights that are owed to the person are respected. Due process balances the power of law of the land and protects the individual pers ...
. Barratt had a temporary
stay
Stay may refer to:
Places
* Stay, Kentucky, an unincorporated community in the US
Law
* Stay of execution, a ruling to temporarily suspend the enforcement of a court judgment
* Stay of proceedings, a ruling halting further legal process in a tri ...
, but was dismissed within 14 days, and subsequently lost, on appeal in the
Federal Court.
The most senior Commonwealth public servant is the Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, currently
Glyn Davis
Glyn Conrad Davis AC (born 25 July 1959) is an Australian academic who is the Secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, appointed by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on 30 May 2022, and commenced on 6 June 2022.
Davis was pre ...
.
Current Australian Government secretaries
There are currently 16 secretaries within the Australian Government.
See also
*
Australian Government
The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government i ...
*
Australian Public Service
The Australian Public Service (APS) is the federal civil service of the Commonwealth of Australia responsible for the public administration, public policy, and public services of the departments and executive and statutory agencies of the G ...
References
{{reflist
Politics of Australia
Victoria State Government
Government occupations
Government of Australia