The Australian Public Service Commission (APSC) and Department of Finance and Deregulation have released a new edition of the good practice guide, Implementing Machinery of Government Changes.

Secretary of the Department of Finance and Deregulation, David Tune, said the publication was designed to provide practical guidance to help agencies implement machinery of government changes.

“As many of s in the Australian Public Service know from experience, undergoing a machinery of government change can be challenging,” he said in the foreword.

“Agencies are required to consider an enormous number of issues and deal with wide-ranging matters, some of which can be very complex and time-consuming.

“Affected staff need to be kept informed of what is happening; legislative and government policy requirements must be complied with; and for the process to work as smoothly as possible, actions should be undertaken with a cooperative ‘whole-of-government’ spirit.”

The document provides an overview of the Machinery of Government (MOG) changes; protocols for resolving transfer of resources; principles and approaches for planning and implementing MOG changes, including a timeframe for key events; guidance on financial management and people management; advice on managing physical relocations, information, records, data and taxation; and information on setting up a new APS agency.

The guide was developed in consultation with Departmental Secretaries and includes case studies based on their own experiences from building new APS agencies.

Read the full report: Implementing Machinery of Government Changes [PDF]

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