This audit would assess the effectiveness of the design and implementation of the Australian Public Service (APS) Reform Agenda announced in the October 2022–23 Budget.

A 2018 review (Our Public Service, Our Future) into the APS found that ‘while the APS is not broken, it must make substantive changes to address current issues and prepare for the future opportunities and challenges that our nation will face’. The review made 40 recommendations to the Australian Government, of which 35 were agreed partially or in full. In February 2020, the APS Reform Office was established within the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. In June 2022, a Secretary for Public Sector Reform was appointed for a two-year term. In the October 2022–23 Budget, the Australian Government allocated: $40.8 million for the APS Reform Office and the Australian Public Service Commission to develop and implement a reform plan to strengthen the APS; and $25 million over two years from 2023–24 for an APS Capability Reinvestment Fund.