ACT head of public service Kathy Leigh says flexible work allows a focus on outcomes

Kathy Leigh said in budget estimates that work was almost completed on a children friendly space at the government's Civic office on London Circuit.

She hoped this, coupled with other flexible initiatives, would allow parents to work full time who may have only thought part time work was possible.

"People who might feel that they can only work part time because of their caring responsibilities might find that they can actually work full time because of the flexibility we offer and the child friendly spaces," Ms Leigh said.

Since the COVID pandemic, the ACT public service has adopted a hybrid working policy with office staff able to work from home.

Ms Leigh said hybrid arrangements were "theoretically available" before COVID but this was not widely used. She said the pandemic had proved the public service could still be efficient while offering that flexibility.

"I'm really glad to shed some of the downsides of COVID... I'm really keen not to lose some of things that we have discovered we can do well," she said.

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Ms Leigh said the shift had meant the service was able to be focused on outcomes, which is what should have always been the focus.

"We really don't know, just by the fact that somebody is sitting in front of us [about] how efficient they are being. Really the only way to judge that is by the outputs and outcomes that are delivered," she said.

"If people start to think about their work as being the outcomes they achieve, not the places they sit, I think we'll be shifting attitudes to driving better outcomes and people working across the service according to the particular task they are tackling."

The territory government is also investing in office spaces spread across the city, so staff are able to work where it suited them rather than a set location.

Ms Leigh said these measures would be key to attracting and retaining staff.

"Offering that flexibility with no loss in our productivity and outcomes, I think that's one of the great things that as a public service we can use to keep attracting people to the ACT," she said.

"We really do need to think about how we're moving forward and I'm looking for ACT public servants to be at the forefront of that."

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