EP#12: Doing the basics well – with the Commonwealth Ombudsman, Michael Manthorpe PSM, Auditor-General of Australia, Grant Hehir and Australia Information Commissioner and Privacy Commissioner, Angelene Falk

 

Integrity is the essence of public service

It captures the aspiration of the APS values (Impartial, committed to service, accountable, respectful and ethical) and sits at the heart of the its mission.

In this week’s episode of Work with Purpose, we speak with three APS leaders about the importance of integrity and its impact on citizens.

Angelene Falk is the Information Commissioner and Privacy Commissioner and her roles take in several functions across privacy, freedom of information and government information management.
Grant Hehir is the Auditor General of Australia, a position which is an independent officer of the Parliament with responsibility for auditing Commonwealth entities and reporting to the Australian Parliament.
Michael Manthorpe is the Commonwealth Ombudsman, an independent officer who safeguards the community in its dealings with the Australian Government.

In this informative and entertaining discussion our three guests carefully outline their expectations of APS staff during the Covid 19 health pandemic and the importance of collaboration in a crisis.

Discussed in this episode:

– The importance of integrity and transparency in government
– Maintaining trust between the public service and Australian citizens
– Privacy and data management in government departments
– Listening to citizens and dealing with complaints
– Oversight organizations on managing work without impeding action
– Making reports accessible – using multimedia tools to bring messages to life