Minister for the Public Service Katy Gallagher has delivered the first major speech on the Albanese Government’s plans for the future of the public service, confirming that it will establish an internal consulting unit.

Gallagher states that under the previous government, “too many resources flowed away from the APS and towards contractors, consultants and labour-hire firms,” essentially giving away “some of our most interesting work on evaluation, project management and strategy.”

The speech was delivered to an audience of public servants at the 2022 IPAA conference, and outlines several significant changes to the public service administration, including confirmation that the government will revisit the recommendations of the 2019 Thodey review.

Despite the breadth of topics covered in this speech, the minister acknowledged that digital and data “deserve an address on their own.”

Read on for  an analysis of the implications of these new directions to digital transformation, ICT procurement, and the labour hire market.