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 external website). This program is part of the Australian Government’s long-term plan for Australian Public Service (APS) Reform(Opens external website). It aims to ensure Commonwealth agencies can deliver government priorities and outcomes.
The review offers valuable insight into our strengths and also 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.
Liza Carroll PSM, Geoff Leeper PSM, Neal Mason and Lee Steel led our 2025 review. They were supported by the APSC.
Capability review final report
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:
- uplifting policy and strategy
- improving delivery capability and partnerships
- defining success in terms of real-world impacts
- deliberate and strategic investment of resources.
Capability reviews are conducted in line with a Capability Review Framework(Opens external website). 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.
In our Capability Review Action Plan we are focusing on developing our areas for change and the areas where our capabilities need further support.
Capability Review Action Plan
We are required to develop a response action plan under the Public Service Act 1999.
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:
- leading strategic social policy
- driving delivery
- embedding supportive systems
- collaborating 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.
