Erma Ranieri FIPAA, South Australia’s Commissioner for Public Sector Employment and IPAA SA President, joined IPAA ACT in the latest episode of their ‘Work with Purpose: A National Perspective’ podcast. In this interview Dr Gordon de Brouwer PSM FIPAA, IPAA National President, discussed the COVID-19 pandemic in South Australia.

“The clear message at the end of the day was that you keep talking to people”.

As highlighted by Commissioner Ranieri, while the pandemic presented a series of challenges it also showcased the real capability of the South Australian public sector.

“The innovation and resilience of the public sector were on display during this time, as they worked to support and collaborate with SA Health, SAPOL and other agencies to mobilise the sector to meet the unique needs of the pandemic. As the Mobilisation Coordinator, Commissioner Ranieri noted that this played a key role in the agile response to the pandemic.

“We have connected more than we have ever connected before”.

“COVID has shown what is possible within the public service”.

COVID-19 has also brought about a change to the existing paradigm for leadership and performance management in the workforce.  The Commissioner is encouraged to see great outcomes in flexible work arrangements which are “reshaping the workforce to be more adaptable and diverse”. Commissioner Ranieri’s office and IPAA SA will continue to focus on fostering the skills and capabilities leaders need to adapt to this rapid shift in the workplace.

The Commissioner also highlighted the importance of awareness of mental health and wellbeing and the materials available to help leaders and employees to manage the COVID-19 pandemic:

• a Manager Toolkit  has been released to assist leaders navigate the challenges of COVID-19
• a Mentally Healthy Workplaces Framework and Toolkit has been released to provide practical information and resources to support wellbeing strategies, and additional supporting guidance for the COVID-19 context.

The Office of the Commissioner for Public Sector Employment continues to work with agencies to implement a peer support program and develop an online training program for new peer support officers to build on the existing skills of employees trained in mental health first aid.

The COVID-19 Mental Wellbeing Interview Series, also offers valuable new resources for those working in the public service, with advice and tips from experts in the field

LISTEN HERE

RESOURCES

Open Your World.sa.gov.au

VIDEOS

– COVID-19 Mental Wellbeing Interview Series with Forensic Psychologist, Luke Broomhall

– COVID-19 Mental Wellbeing Interview Series with Chief Psychiatrist, SA Health, Dr John Brayley

– Virtual on the Couch with Commissioner Erma Ranieri

– All Virtual on the Couch interviews

Chief Executive

Attorney General’s Department

Caroline began her legal career as the Associate to the Hon. Brian Cox QC and the Hon. Bruce Lander QC.

From 1995, she worked as a prosecutor at the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions before taking up a position as the Executive Director of the Legal and Legislative Services Division in the Attorney-General’s Department in 2011.

In 2013, she became the Deputy Chief Executive of the Attorney-General’s Department and in April 2018 was appointed as the Chief Executive.

Co-Founder, States of Change

Over 20 years experience of working on and leading innovation and reform initiatives around the world, the last 13 of which as a senior executive in government and not-for-profit organisations. I am a respected leader in the
global innovation community and over the last ten years, have advised governments in over 20 countries on ways that they can build an innovation culture and improve outcomes for citizens. I am recognised as an innovative
and strategic thinker and I regularly present to and advise national and global audiences on a wide range of issues relating to innovation and reform. I am currently the co-founder and Executive Director of States of Change, a global not-for-profit organisation committed to building the next generation of public innovation. States of Change was spun out of Nesta, one of the world’s pre-eminent innovation institutions, where I spent over six years as Executive Director of Global Innovation Partnerships and Director of Innovation Skills. I previously established The Australian Centre for Social Innovation in Adelaide as its founding CEO and have held several executive roles in the South Australian Government.

Chief Executive
Department of the Premier and Cabinet

Rick Persse was appointed to lead the Department of the Premier and Cabinet in December 2024.

An accomplished public sector leader, Rick joined the department after a successful period from April 2022 as South Australia’s Under Treasurer leading the Department of Treasury and Finance.

Prior to Treasury, Rick was Chief Executive of the Department for Education for 6 years, after leading the Attorney-General’s Department for 4 years.

With expertise in policy and strategy development, transformation, public sector reform and major project delivery, Rick’s knowledge of public administration comes from an expansive career building and leading teams in the Government of South Australia.

Sandy is an experienced public-sector leader, having led government agencies in both Victoria and South Australia.

Sandy was the inaugural Secretary of the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing in Victoria, an agency that supported six Ministers and spanned human services, child protection, family violence, housing and communities’ policy and service delivery.

Throughout the height of the pandemic in 2020 Sandy led the Victoria COVID-19 response that returned the state to COVID-19 zero.

Sandy’s initial role in Victoria was leading higher education, skills and training.

Prior to working for the Victorian government, Sandy was the Chief Executive of the South Australian Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources, where she focussed on a vibrant nature-based tourism strategy for South Australia, connecting people to parks and delivering on the state’s ambitious Climate Change agenda.

And prior to that, Sandy was Deputy Chief Executive of the South Australian Department of Premier and Cabinet for five years.

She has also served as the Director of the South Australian Office for Women.

In 2012 Sandy was awarded the South Australian Telstra Business Woman of the year for the Community and Public sector category, and went on to win the national title in November 2012.

Sandy has worked in London, primarily as the head of Corporate and Parliamentary Affairs in the UK’s Commission for Racial Equality, and has previously worked in Commonwealth public sector roles in Canberra and Sydney.

Educated at the University of Adelaide, Sandy has degrees in law and the humanities.

She was raised in Mannum, has two children, a dog and a puppy to keep her on her toes.

In August 2022, Sandy returned to the South Australian Government as Deputy Under Treasurer, after working for several years in the Victorian public sector. She is currently the Chief Executive of the Department of Human Services.

Principal Workforce Planner,

Department for Health and Wellbeing

Katherine is an experienced and strategic workforce planner with a strong track record in leading system-wide health workforce initiatives. She is skilled in applying data-driven modelling, labour market analysis, and stakeholder engagement to inform recruitment, retention, and redesign strategies, with a proven ability to align workforce planning with clinical priorities, emerging service demands, and long-term reform objectives to support a sustainable and capable health workforce.

Katherine is the Chair of the Department’s ‘Access All Areas’ Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Employee Resource Group, championing initiatives that improve access, belonging and representation across disability, neurodiversity and caring responsibilities.

She is an active mentor with the University of South Australia (now Adelaide University) Business Career Mentor Program and the Department’s Peers Offering Peers Support Program, contributing expertise to support the next generation of health sector professionals.

Katherine is also a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD), Certified Health Informatician Australasia (CHIA), member of the Australasian Institute of Digital Health (AIDH), Vice President of the Australasian College of Health Service Management (ACHSM) SA Branch Council and Treasurer of the Institute of Public Administration Australia (IPAA) SA.

She is passionate about innovation, ethical governance, and designing healthier systems for the future – and always open to connecting with peers who share a commitment to creating positive change.