Wyatt points to ongoing public sector shake-up

A further reshuffling of state government departments appears likely after Treasurer Ben Wyatt released the government's service priority review today.

Increased online service delivery, changes to governance of trading enterprises and reforms to public sector employment relations will also be on the agenda, according to the report, which was was commissioned in May and led by former New Zealand bureaucrat Iain Rennie.

Speaking to journalists after a Committee for Economic Development of Australia lunch, Mr Wyatt said the government would have some way to go before it finalised reform of the public sector.

“There will be another round of machinery-of-government style changes, some of them will be a bit more difficult because they will require legislative change,” he said.

“Ultimately, it will be ongoing.

“Clearly there are, when you do these sorts of things, upfront costs, but ultimately they will deliver savings to the government.”

The previous round of changes included reducing the number of departments by nearly half from more than 40, including the amalgamation of the department of state development with two other departments to become the Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation.

As part of that process, the number of senior executives across the public service were reduced by about a fifth.

The report proposed a redsign of the overall organisational structure of the public service.

"The panel has observed that Western Australia's public sector does not appear to be arranged according to high-level organisational principles," the report said.

"It is not uncommon for governments to periodically review the range of departments and statutory entities within their public sectors with a view to both rationalising and reducing their number, and to determine if the overall framework is based upon sound organisational principles."

The report recommended the state government appoint a minister to manage the reform process.

One further review recommendation the government was keen to pursue, Mr Wyatt said, was increased online service delivery, which reduced costs dramatically.

“We use digital platforms at a much lower rate than any other state in the nation, (and) certainly New Zealand,” he said, although he acknowledged such a move would need upfront capital investments.

Transactional-type work would be the first to move online, Mr Wyatt said.

The service review found only about 2.5 per cent of WA government services were available online, compared with 70 per cent in New Zealand.

However, the report suggested a thorough analysis of possible outcomes was undertaken ahead of any change.

“Any move to implement service integration and digital transformation projects requires robust cost-benefit analysis, a deep understanding of customer demand and consideration of ongoing program evaluation and benefits realisation,” the report said.

“There are potential financial savings to be made, but evaluation of the change process in other jurisdictions has sometimes found that expected savings are not realised.”

Another proposed change that will reverse years of reform in public service delivery is to reduce the ability for boards on government trading enterprises to set executive remuneration.

Internally, the report recommends an expansion of the powers of the Public Sector Commission, particularly to take over government industrial relations functions.

That job is currently managed by the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety, while previously, it had been under the Department of Commerce.

More broadly, Mr Wyatt expressed confidence the government’s voluntary redundancy scheme, which was targeting separations for about 3,000 workers, was on track.

Reaction

Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA chief executive Deidre Willmott backed a recommendation for performance-linked pay for executives in the public sector.

“(The chamber) is also pleased that the review has backed (our) recommendation for co-design practices in service design and delivery and outcome-based regulation,” Ms Willmott said.

“Co-designing outcomes with industry prior to tender ensures that it is well understood and results in solid outcomes.

“Currently this does not happen regularly in tenders nor is it standard practice across agencies.

“We also welcome the review’s recommendation for government services that can be delivered online at a lower cost and comparable service level to be quickly digitised.

“The WA government sits on a treasure trove of data that, if harnessed correctly, could help drastically improve service delivery and reduce costs.

“It will also go a long way to responding to (CCI members’) calls for the government to improve functionality of government websites, planning and approval processes, and removing duplicative paperwork.

“WA needs to be the place where businesses want to be located, so this means creating an attractive business environment with less red tape by making it as easy as possible for the community and business to access and engage with government.”