In Australia, a departmental secretary is the most senior
public servant of an
Australian Government
The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Governmen ...
or
state government
A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonom ...
department. They are typically responsible for the day-to-day actions of a department.
Role
A departmental secretary is a non-political, non-elected public servant head (and "responsible officer") of government departments, who generally holds their position for a number of years.
A departmental secretary works closely with the elected
government minister that oversees the Commonwealth
department or state government department in order to bring about policy and program initiatives that the government of day was elected to achieve. A departmental secretary works with other departments and agencies to ensure the delivery of services and programs within the nominated area of responsibility.
The secretary is also known as the chief executive of the department; the position is equivalent to the
Permanent Secretary
A permanent secretary (also known as a principal secretary) is the most senior civil servant of a department or ministry charged with running the department or ministry's day-to-day activities. Permanent secretaries are the non-political civil ...
of a government department in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
and is similar to
Director General
A director general or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals''
) or general director is a senior executive officer, often the chief executive officer, within a government ...
in some non-Commonwealth countries, or
Chief Executive Officer
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especiall ...
(CEO) in a private company.
In the Australian government, Secretaries are the responsible officers for departments. They are answerable to the
Australian Parliament for ensuring that the department performs all the functions assigned to it and spends money appropriately, as granted by the Parliament. Secretaries are frequently called for questioning by the
Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit
A joint or articulation (or articular surface) is the connection made between bones, ossicles, or other hard structures in the body which link an animal's skeletal system into a functional whole.Saladin, Ken. Anatomy & Physiology. 7th ed. McGraw- ...
, the
House of Representatives committees and the
Senate committees.
Appointment and termination
The ''
Public Service Act 1999'' requires the
Secretary
A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a ...
of the
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet to provide a report to the
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...
of the day about the suitability of potential candidates as departmental secretary. The report is prepared in conjunction with the
Public Service Commissioner. Appointments and terminations as departmental secretary are made by the
Governor-General on the advice of the Prime Minister under Sections 58 and 59 respectively of the ''Act''.
Since removal of
tenure under Prime Minister
Paul Keating, departmental secretaries are generally aware that while dismissals are not common, following a change of government, failure to re-appoint a secretary is certainly a frequent occurrence. In the
first Rudd government, secretaries were appointed for a five-year term; prior to this a term of three years was common.
In 1999, the
Howard government sought to remove
Paul Barratt as Secretary of the Department of Defence after Barratt fell out of favour with his
Minister. Despite being offered a
diplomatic post, Barratt refused to vacate the role and commenced legal action, claiming
unfair dismissal and that the government had failed to follow
due process
Due process of law is application by state of all legal rules and principles pertaining to the case so all legal rights that are owed to the person are respected. Due process balances the power of law of the land and protects the individual per ...
. Barratt had a temporary
stay, but was dismissed within 14 days, and subsequently lost, on appeal in the
Federal Court.
The most senior Commonwealth public servant is the Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, currently
Glyn Davis.
Current Australian Government secretaries
There are currently 16 secretaries within the Australian Government.
See also
*
Australian Government
The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Governmen ...
*
Australian Public Service
References
{{reflist
Politics of Australia
Victoria State Government
Government occupations
Government of Australia