Governing the City State - Chief Minister and Treasury Directorate ...

CHAPTER FOUR: ADMINISTRATIVE ARRANGEMENTS CHANGESIntroductionThe hierarchical and siloed DNA of traditional bureaucracies is laid bare in their organisationcharts and the formal instruments that apportion responsibility for functions and legislation toparticular Ministers and departments. The Terms of Reference for the Review invite carefulscrutiny of the Administrative Arrangements 2010 (No 1) 174 and analysis of theappropriateness of the structures embodied in that document to the work that theACT Public Service (ACTPS) does in supporting the government of the day.This Chapter discusses proposals for realignment of current structures, with an analysis ofwhy they are needed and how they improve the ACTPS’s capacity and effectiveness.The Chapter is divided into sections based on the current Administrative Arrangements whichconstitute the starting point for the proposed changes. Recommended changes are discussedin the context of the “gaining Directorate”.Each section concludes with proposed formal functional descriptions for inclusion in arevised Administrative Arrangements instrument. In the interests of clarity of roles andresponsibilities, and to ensure the coverage remains relevant, the Review has recommended anumber of new and amended functional descriptions.While this Chapter focuses on change, there are far more functional areas for which thecurrent structures are considered appropriate than those in which change is recommended.It is nevertheless interesting to note at the outset that not a single Submission, nor a singleperson consulted, suggested that the structures in place now are the ones you would build ifyou were starting from a blank sheet of paper to organise the ACTPS’s service deliveryresponsibilities. That is not to say that the structure is necessarily flawed, that most of it isnot right, or that the ACTPS is performing poorly across the board. Indeed, the contrary is inmany areas demonstrably true. What it does reflect, however, is the outcome of organicgrowth of ACTPS structures since self government. As was outlined in the ExecutiveSummary, the main areas of recommended change relate to land and planning related areas,and the role of the centre.Since the granting of self government, the Administrative Arrangements have changed onaverage twice each year. While some of these changes have been simply the result of “goodhousekeeping” including maintenance of the statute book, many changes have involvedsignificant structural reorganisation across the ACTPS.174 See http://www.legislation.act.gov.au/ni/2010-297/default.aspAdministrative Arrangements Changes: 107