A national survey of young people has backed the introduction of targeted high school classes about the “mundane but crucial role” that the Australian Public Service plays in the lives of Australians.

The report, prepared by researchers from Monash University and ACU for the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet,  surveyed people aged between 18-30 about their attitudes to public services.

Participants shared their experiences across a range of services including Services Australia, the NDIA, the ATO and Home Affairs.

There were numerous suggestions for targeted classes in high school to teach young people about public services as a way of boosting their knowledge and confidence in using them, researchers report.

Respondents said they were taught about things like fire safety and drug abuse in school, but weren’t informed about “the more mundane but crucial role” played by public services in their lives.

“Young people repeatedly identified an absence of service information provided during their schooling, particularly in relation to the latter years of high school,” the report says.

“Young people framed school-based intervention and education as necessary because they felt ill prepared to engage with the public service and are unsure of their rights and responsibilities.”

The also wanted “authoritative and trusted” sources involved in delivering information in the class room setting, including having APS staff “present and visible” within schools.

Appetite to learn

Project Manager Dr Ben Lyall from the School of Social Science at Monash University, says the research shows young people have an appetite for learning about the APS.

“A big part of what we found was that people felt, in hindsight, that once they turned 18 they suddenly had to engage in processes of voting, getting Medicare cards and tax file numbers and all of these types of things,” he told Government News.

“But they didn’t really have very much education about those systems when they were in high school.”

The survey was conducted between March and August 2020, during the Covid pandemic, and involved 47 focus groups, 2,261 responses from a national survey, social media and analyses of longitudinal data.

Navigating early adulthood

The report says public services are crucial to support young people as they transition through milestones around education, employment, housing and relationships.

A lack of information about public services left many feeling alone as they navigatged early adulthood, the survey showed.

“Work can be done to improve how young people enter, transition between, and exit services, to empower them on their paths into adulthood,” the report  says.

As well as lack of education about public services – with 47 per cent saying they wanted to learn more within the myGov portal – the findings highlight other areas where the APS can improve service-delivery to young Australians.

This included better communication, more flexible service touchpoints and more recognition of mental health.

“Young people want to see an embedded awareness of mental health issues across public services,” Dr Lyall says.

“Currently this is discussed in isolation, even though mental ill health is likely to overlap with other reasons for accessing public service supports.”

Young people also valued digital services, but found them ‘depersonalising’.

Thumbs up or myGov

Meanwhile, participants gave myGov a thumbs up as a “great hub for services and correspondence”.

“In our research, young people told us they want reliable information produced by the APS in easily accessible forms, especially online. myGov is seen as the main interface for public services – and was regarded positively by young people,” the report says.

Dr Lyall says the survey showed most participants had used myGov as a ‘central port of call’, and saw it as having potential to do more.

“They think it’s handy to log into the central portal, but they wish it was more than a portal,” he told Government News.

“They’d actually like to learn more about what services are on offer through myGov and maybe even do some of their applications directly through, it without feeling they have to work their way outwards into areas like Services Australia or Medicare.”

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