The commercialization of the Australian public service and the accountability of government

Abstract

States the Australian Public Service (APS) has been engaged in a comprehensive reform process for more than 20 years. A significant dimension of this reform process has been commercialization. With this growing commercialization, the relationship between civil servants, as APS managers, and their ministers has changed. Explores the accountability implications of the commercialization of the APS in the context of the recasting of the accountability responsibilities of civil servants associated with the demise, in Australia, of Westminster accountability conventions.