Public Administration Today (Today) was a quarterly publication for IPAA members, which served as a national communications medium for all IPAA members. It aimed to report IPAA activities, promote and celebrate achievements in Australian public sector management, disseminate information about major trends and developments, and facilitate discussion and debate.

The magazine was published by IPAA ACT on behalf of IPAA National, with a circulation of approximately 5,000 as at 2015.

In June 2015 it was determined that IPAA would cease the publication of Public Administration Today. As a result of falling circulation nationally and increasing costs, it was no longer a financially viable proposition. Edition 43 was the final, covering the period July to September 2015. IPAA ACT wishes to thank the many contributors to the magazine, with a special mention for Mr Ron Dent, the editor for the four final years of the publication.

The four most recent editions are accessible below, with previous editions available by contacting IPAA ACT on 02 6154 9800.

A Core People Practices and Supplier Expo that linked a panel of Group training Organisations  (GTOs) with agency representatives was held recently. The Expo, which supported the Skilling SA Public Sector Project was an initiative of the Commissioner for Public Sector Employment and was assisted by IPAA SA. The expo linked SA Government Providers for Human Resources (HR) Systems and Group Training Organisations (GTO’s) with agency representatives to facilitate improved HR System capabilities and support the Public Sector Project.

Under the Skilling SA Public Sector Project, GTO’s are now available to assist State Government agencies in the recruitment of apprentices and trainees and partner with Agencies who will host trainees and apprentices.

To commence the day’s proceedings Jack Buckskin gave a moving ‘Welcome to Country’, with Commissioner Erma Ranieri, sharing her enthusiasm for this unique opportunity for collaboration and opening the expo to representatives and suppliers.

Shelley Willsmore, Chief Human Resource Officer at OCPSE also addressed the audience and  highlighted the importance of a shared vision for future recruitment and talent management for the public sector. As part of her speech Ms Willsmore explained the importance of planning to cater for the changing and evolving nature of the workforce.

As part of the Expo, representatives were engaged in two workshops gathering ideas and input  across agencies and additionally having the opportunity to engage with suppliers exhibiting on the day.

These workshops were facilitated by Public Sector Innovation Lab as part of addressing key issues identified through the ‘2018 I WORK FOR SA YOUR VOICE SURVEY’ and the resulting ‘South Australian Public Sector Action Plan 2019-20’.

The first workshop was led by Dan Butler from the Public Sector Innovation Lab, and here representatives explored how innovation and creativity can be applied to determine a best practice framework for recruitment at all levels across the sector. In this interactive workshop, each group was encouraged to put forward ideas and needs from their own agency and how to identify the barriers to achieving best practice.

The second workshop focused on leadership capability and talent management and was led by Jessica Lynch and Aaron Shepherd from OCPSE.  Here representatives examined current views on leadership development, and discussed the future of good talent management, identification and development for employees at all levels across the public sector.

In the coming weeks the outcomes and feedback will assist in furthering the South Australian Public Sector Action Plan.

Go beyond merely the assembly of facts and figures to explore how your communication and presentation style can ‘positively influence’ others. It will help you in dealing with staff, managing up, facilitating change and working with stakeholders.

Introduce yourself to the core elements of ‘Lean Thinking’ and explore its application within your agency. At the conclusion of this course, you will have a series of practical actions you can directly apply when you return to work.

Explore the practical and straightforward techniques that you can apply in order to knit a group of people into an engaged and united team using tried and proven methods from Katzenbach and Smith, Tuckman, Collins and West.

Examine the factors that are causing organisational change and turbulence and in turn how you and your team can respond effectively. You will also explore ways we can build resilience in our teams, to help them face challenges and change.

Coping with the ambiguity and uncertainty of change is imperative for new managers who also need to lead their team members in working through the changes. Learn a range of adaptive leadership and management strategies, techniques and tools that will be helpful for you to keep in mind and apply to whatever changing circumstances you face.

We are often asked to ‘do more with less’ and in today’s climate, we must look at new ways to embrace this into our workplace culture. In this course, you will learn a series of ‘counterpoints’ to challenge the accepted thinking across a range of workplace issues from leadership, to staff training and even how we recruit and employ staff.

Enhance your general management skills and take your leadership and strategic thinking capabilities to the next level. This dynamic series includes modules on introduction to management, finance, project management, operational excellence and strategic management. This fundamental series will build your core management skills for personal and organisational success.