Archived News for Professionals in Federal Government

The Australian Public Service Commission has released a revision to its rules surrounding public servant’s commenting and participation on social media sites and other participatory online mediums.

While the guidelines' specification of the expected conduct of public servants in an official capacity remains unchanged, with employees obliged to act ‘honestly, professionally and with respect,’ while not disclosing any sensitive information and avoiding taking a partisan stance over public issues, they also aim to control how public servants conduct themselves in an unofficial capacity.

The guidelines stipulate the moderate the behaviour of public servants in an unofficial manner by seeking to forbid ‘harsh or extreme criticism’ of the Government that would compromise a public servant’s impartiality. The guidelines state that such a comment does not have to relate to the employee’s particular field of work to be considered a breach of conduct.

$103 million upgrade for Ford

The Federal and Victorian governments have announced $103 million in co-funding to boost the fuel efficiency and emissions performance of the Ford Falcon and Ford Territory models being manufactured in Australia.

Productivity Commission releases carbon policy assistance schemes discussion paper

The Productivity Commission has released a consultation paper on the reviews of carbon policy assistance schemes for emissions-intensive trade-exposed activities, the coal mining sector and the steel industry that it has been commissioned to undertake.

Government pushes for increased teleworking

The Australian Government is staging a National Telework Week in November this year to encourage increased uptake of teleworking, making use of the capabilities of the National Broadband Network (NBN).

Storm brews over COAG reforms

The Federal Government has warned that it will consider withholding GST final rewards payments to states if they continue to delay key elements of the proposed COAG reforms to create a seamless national economy.

Offshore regulators begin operations

Two new bodies responsible for consistency and efficiency in offshore petroleum regulation in Commonwealth waters have begun operations.

Productivity Commission calls for more effort in COAG reforms

The Productivity Commission has issued a discussion draft of its report on the impacts of Council of Australian Governments (COAG) reforms in the areas of business regulation and vocational education and training.

Federal Supplier Advocates appointed

Clean technologies developer, Dr Marc Newson, has been appointed as the Federal Government's Clean Technologies Supplier Advocate.

New Federal Government ministry sworn in

Australia’s Governor General has sworn in the new Federal Government’s ministry, following a substantial reshuffle of the Prime Minister’s cabinet.

Commonwealth IT services panels to be halved

Special Minister of State Gary Gray has announced plans to halve the number of IT services panels currently operating across the Australian Government.

SOE Report calls for federal leadership

The fourth Australia State of the Environment has been released, providing an overview of the current condition of the environment and its outlook, and calling for a strong leadership role from the Federal Government.

BREE report predicts energy future

A report released by the Bureau of Resources and Energy Economics (BREE) has predicted that total energy consumption in Australia will increase by around 29% over the period 2008-09 to 2034-35, with electricity generation increasing by around 42% over the same period, driven by increased gas-fired and renewable sources.

Productivity Commission to examine Electricity Network Regulation

Terms of reference have been released for an inquiry by the Productivity Commission into aspects of national electricity network regulation, as foreshadowed at the time of the release of the Clean Energy Future package.

Government opens $350 million for early education grants

The Federal Government has called on quality organisations to apply for around $350 million in grant funding to assist in delivering professional development and inclusion support for early childhood education and care services.

Unemployment increases in November

The seasonally adjusted Australian unemployment rate increased 0.1 percentage points to 5.3 per cent in November, as announced by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

The ABS reported the number of people employed decreased by 6,300 to 11,457,100 in November. The decrease in employment was driven by a decrease in full-time employment, down 39,900 people to 8,026,300, and was offset by an increase in part-time employment, up 33,600 people to 3,430,800.

The number of people unemployed increased by 9,400 people to 635,800 in November, reported the ABS.

The ABS monthly aggregate hours worked series showed a decrease in November, down 11.3 million hours to 1,616.8 million hours.

The ABS reported a decrease in the labour force participation rate of 0.1 percentage points in November to 65.5 per cent.

The ABS reported the labour force underutilisation rate was 12.6 per cent in November, up 0.2 percentage points from August.

More details are in the November 2011 issue of Labour Force, Australia (cat. no. 6202.0), as well as the upcoming November 2011 issues of Labour Force, Australia, Detailed (cat. no. 6291.0.55.001) and Labour Force, Australia, Detailed, Quarterly (cat. no. 6291.0.55.003), both due for release next week on December 15. All three publications are available for free download from the ABS website - www.abs.gov.au