The Australian Public Service (APS) Framework for Engagement and Participation builds on government traditions of building trust through public involvement. It outlines principles, sets a forward-looking vision, and categorises engagement into Share, Consult, Deliberate, and Collaborate. Public servants are urged to view citizens as partners in solving complexity, supported by tools like engagement guides and...

This framework defines standards for written policy and advice across four areas: context, analysis, advice and action. It helps agencies assess quality and ensure advice is fit for purpose. While focused on written products, oral advice should reflect the same principles, even if not all details apply.

For those of us who aren’t policy wonks, the causal impression you could get of government and its enacting of public policy is one of continuous failure. In a new study, researchers have assembled twenty examples of public policy successes from Australia and New Zealand.

This publication looks purposefully at the ‘bright side’ of public policy in Australia and New Zealand. It provides detailed case studies of instances in which governments by and large got it right and made positive differences to the lives and wellbeing of countless citizens, to the strength of their economies and, sometimes, to their country’s...

There is an increasing awareness that policies do not succeed or fail on their own merits. This article unpicks the key factors behind policy failure, explores different approaches to policy support, and identifies some key messages for policy practitioners.