This short paper offers a diagnosis of the problem facing the government ‘machine’, a review of the changes recently made to it, and the Institute for Government’s recommendations on further reforms that most benefit the government, the civil service and the UK public.

Boris Johnson is said to be ready to reshuffle his ministerial team in February – this report warns that he should then keep his ministers in place. Excessive ‘churn’ means they never get properly on top of their brief. This has undermined the effectiveness of...

This document sets out how the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet intends to deliver on their responsibilities, and addresses their operating environment, their people and capability, their risk management and oversight and their key activities and performance measures.

This resource was compiled by the Parliamentary Library's Research and Inquiries unit. It provides an overview of issues that were prominent during the 58th Victorian Parliament, as shown through developments in legislative action, parliamentary debate, media coverage and public research.

Much like what occurs in Australia, this paper argues that while creating a new department can be useful to focus on a high priority issue or to bring together related policy areas, most changes in the United Kingdom are rushed through either to send a...

Administrative Arrangements Order (AAOs) formally allocate executive responsibility among ministers. They set out which matters and legislation are administered by which department or portfolio. This updated document sets out the Australian government's portfolio and department changes following the Morrison Government's re-election.

One of the key functions of the APS is how it interacts with ministers, and the nature and quality of that relationship affects the quality of public administration. This paper explores those interactions, how they have changed over time, and explores a new vision of...

This research investigates Victoria’s overarching approach to environmental governance. It provides an account of Victoria’s environment portfolio, how it has evolved to meet changing priorities, and what might be done in the future. The approach to research is informed by policy analysis, portfolio studies, and...

Splitting the energy and environment portfolios might sound like a backward step, but here's why it could work.

In a wide-ranging speech about the newly created Home Affairs portfolio, Peter Dutton has emphasized Australian values as well as national security - but managing migration levels will remain a key task.