The Hon Jay Weatherill MP, Premier of South Australia addressed the public sector on the key themes of his government for the current term and beyond on the 27th May 2014 at the Grand Ballroom, Hilton Adelaide, 233 Victoria Square, Adelaide, SA.
The event was hosted by the Institute of Public Administration Australia South Australia (IPAA SA) and Erma Ranieri, Chief Executive, Office for Public Sector Renewal and Deputy Chief Executive, Department for Manufacturing, Innovation, Trade, Resources and Energy (DMITRE) was the MC for the morning.
In November 2012 we held one of our most successful forums (judging by the feedback received), Mental Health and the Workplace. This forum attracted over 400 public sector employees and our feedback is saying we can’t stop there. In collaboration with Beyondblue we are developing workshops that will address various topics under the banner of ‘Mental Health and the Workplace’.
This workshop is designed not only to educated managers as to their responsibilities in managing mental health of their staff, but also how to go about having those difficult conversations with staff.
Many managers are not aware what ‘mental health issues’ actually means in behavioural terms. An aim of this workshop is to de-mystify the term ‘mental health issues’ into real world, understandable concepts with real life case studies and examples. This forms the basis of developing skills for difficult conversations: understanding the problem. We will discuss why these are difficult conversations referencing our general reluctance to “pry into other’s private business”. What happens if that ‘private business’ starts to impact work performance? We will look at guidelines and obligations upon employers and managers under WHS as well as the Public Sector Act. Prior to engaging more formal processes, we will look at communication skills for managers in how to approach staff and how to frame conversations around the intersection between mental health and performance.
As Premier of South Australia, Don Dunstan set new directions for public administration that had far-reaching national impacts. Shortly before his death in 1998, Don Dunstan entrusted to the Institute of Public Administration Australia (IPAA), the key advocate for effective public administration, the honour of carriage of the annual Don Dunstan Oration on Public Administration, and was in fact its first Orator.
On 2nd September 2013 The Hon Justice Bruce Lander QC officially commenced as South Australia’s inaugural Independent Commissioner Against Corruption (ICAC) following his resignation from the Federal Court of Australia. The role of the Commissioner is to identify and investigate corruption in public administration, and prevent or minimise corruption, misconduct and maladministration in public administration.
The Office for Public Integrity (OPI) is responsible to the Commissioner and is the central point of contact to receive and assess complaints and reports about corruption, misconduct and maladministration in public administration.
In collaboration with The Office for Public Integrity and Independent Commissioner Against Corruption Public Integrity Reform Project the Institute of Public Administration Australia (IPAA) are scheduling a presentation and panel event titled Public Integrity Reform – Independent Commissioner Against Corruption (ICAC) on the 19th September.
The event will be opened by the Hon John Rau, Deputy Premier and Attorney-General, with the key note speaker being the Commissioner and other presenters include the Deputy Commissioner of Police and the Ombudsman. There will be an interactive panel discussion consisting of the presenters and the Police Ombudsman and other public sector officials, during which the audience will also have the opportunity to direct questions to the panel. The event will explain the role of the Commissioner, the role of the OPI and how these will interact with other inquiry agencies i.e. the Ombudsman, Police Ombudsman, Commissioner for Public Sector Employment and SA’s law enforcement agency, SAPOL.
For further information on ICAC and to locate the recently released Directions and Guidelines for Inquiry Agencies, Public Authorities and Public Officers visit www.icac.sa.gov.au
