About capability reviews
Capability reviews show us how we are performing and where there is room for improvement. They are conducted under the Capability Review Program(Opens in a new tab/window). This program is part of the Australian Government’s long-term plan for Australian Public Service (APS) Reform(Opens in a new tab/window). It aims to ensure Commonwealth agencies can deliver government priorities and outcomes.
The review offers valuable insight into our strengths and areas for improvement.
The Public Service Act 1999 (Cth) requires all Commonwealth departments, Services Australia, the Australian Taxation Office and Australian Public Service Commission (APSC) to take part in a review every 5 years. The review report is tabled in the Australian Parliament.
Our capability review
Liza Carroll PSM, Geoff Leeper PSM, Neal Mason and Lee Steel led our 2025 Capability Review. They were supported by the Australian Public Service Commission (APSC).
Our final report was tabled in the Australian Parliament on 16 October 2025.
The purpose of a capability review is to:
- help us build our capabilities
- support continuous improvement
- make sure we can deliver government priorities and outcomes.
Our capability review identified the change areas we will focus on. Investment in these capabilities will bolster the necessary capabilities to continue to improve the economic and social wellbeing of all Australians.
Our change areas are that we:
- uplift policy and strategy
- improve delivery capability and partnerships
- define success in terms of real-world impacts
- be deliberate and strategic in where we invest our resources.
Capability reviews are conducted in line with a Capability Review Framework(Opens in a new tab/window). Capability reviews assign maturity ratings to show the most important areas for growth and improvement. In our capability review, we received an ‘emerging’ maturity rating for:
- internal collaboration
- strategy
- technology.
Capability review action plan
In our capability review action plan we are focusing on developing our areas for change and the areas where our capabilities need further support.
Our capability review action plan outlines how we are building our capabilities and sharpening our focus on policy excellence and impactful delivery. These were areas flagged for improvement in our capability review.
The action plan breaks down the steps we are taking to improve our priority capability focus areas. These include:
- lead strategic social policy
- drive delivery
- embed supportive systems
- collaborate meaningfully.
Our focus on these 4 capability areas will help equip us with the workforce skills we need to deliver our purpose. It will improve the economic and social wellbeing of individuals, families and vulnerable Australians.
Our capability review action plan was published on 8 December 2025.
Impact strategy
As part of our response to the capability review, we developed our Impact Strategy 2025–2030. This strategy describes the policy outcomes we want to achieve for all Australians. It shows how the priority capabilities identified in the capability review will help us deliver them.
DSS Impact Strategy 2025–2030
Access thisThe impact strategy considers:
- the findings of the capability review
- our Census action plan
- other feedback from staff and stakeholders.
It is a one‑page summary of our vision and how we aim to improve social outcomes for Australians.
It highlights the key opportunities and challenges in the social policy environment and sets out the policy outcomes we will focus on to address them.
Our priority policy outcomes are:
- more people in work
- a fair social security system
- break the cycle of entrenched disadvantage
- people are connected to their community
- end violence in families and relationships
- parents and carers support their children to be safe and develop.
The priority capabilities we need to invest in to deliver on these policy outcomes are described in the capability review action plan(Opens in a new tab/window).
The impact strategy will guide our work over the next 5 years. It will ensure we are well positioned to deliver our purpose, now and into the future.