Public Eye: Public servants who did a January 26 'swapsies' revealed, flexible work and ANAO work program

That's just 4.6 per cent of the total workforce of 1233 people, all of whom are based in the Australian Capital Territory.

PM&C's survey was taken the good old-fashioned way: By tapping department heads on the shoulder and asking for it.

"We do not centrally hold information of who or what dates employees choose to substitute in lieu of Australia Day," a document prepared by the department, and obtained through a Freedom of Information request stated.

Public Eye learnt this the hard way, asking all the departments how many of their staff worked on January 26.

The figures have been sought after since the Albanese government reversed a ban on public sector employees working on Australia Day, the Queen's Birthday and Anzac Day.

Some members of the opposition have been keen to stir up a culture war over the decision, but the freedom to choose to work on public holidays had previously been in place for almost nine years under the Coalition government. The rest of our requests were a bit of a flop, TBH.

READ MORE PUBLIC SERVICE NEWS:

A few measly figures were provided, but since most of the enterprise agreements allow for employees to make arrangements directly with their managers, departments haven't gone out of their way to collate the information.

A total of three requests were made to the Industry Department's HR branch, but they noted more requests would have been made directly to managers.

The Agriculture Department had 10 requests recorded, but also said this wasn't an accurate total. Meanwhile, too bad if you work at the Department of Education, no swapsies allowed, according to its spokesperson.

Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi is pushing for the APS to return Harmony Day - and Harmony Week, for that matter - back to its original name.

Under the Howard government, it was changed from the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, which marks the Sharpeville apartheid protest, and subsequent massacre, in South Africa in 1960.

Shortly after our story went live, the Home Affairs Department gently notified us its secretary, Mike Pezzullo, had made sure to acknowledge it in his message to staff.

"The massacre prompted an international outcry and gave rise to anti-apartheid demonstrations in many countries, including Australia," the top boss wrote last week.

"After a long struggle, apartheid was dismantled in South Africa and Nelson Mandela became president in 1994.

"Take part in Harmony Week events celebrating inclusiveness if you are able to do so, and take a moment to reflect on the history and meaning of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination today."

Still, there's no word on whether anyone in the bureaucracy thinks it's time to ditch Harmony Day for the more confronting intention.

Government agencies have well and truly embraced flexible working arrangements.

We asked around and every department that got back to us has a generous policy for flexible work.

If you're at the Department of Finance, you may never have to change out of your comfy pants again - staff can work up to five days a week from home.

Arrangements are valid for 12 months generally, before they're reviewed. Prime Minister & Cabinet staff don't have any restrictions around working from home.

Meanwhile, the Attorney-General's Department wants to increase freedom to work from home even further.

"Our guidance to staff is to connect with colleagues and work from departmental premises a minimum of 3 days a week, however, we are looking to amend this to 4 days a fortnight," a department spokesperson said.

Some agencies are a little more conservative. Over at Social Services, the arrangement is up to two days of working from home.

"When approving any flexible arrangement, the delegate needs to ensure performance and productivity are not adversely impacted and the operational requirements of the organisation are balanced with the genuine needs of individuals," its spokesperson said.

Most places require people to show their faces in the office at least once a week. The shift keeps most employees happy, and also makes room for savings.

Departments are able to lease less space for the same workforce as long-term agreements end. It isn't such good news for the property industry, which has been campaigning for the last two years to get workers back into offices.

Some public servants turning up to empty offices are also a bit miffed, we hear.

The feared but revered government watchdog, the Australian National Audit Office, has revealed which public service rugs it could peer under this financial year.

According to its draft work program, released last week, the audit office could look into the Australian War Memorial's $550 million redevelopment plan, the planning around the life of extension of the Collins class submarine fleet, the efficiency of the Australian Passport Office or even the design and effectiveness of the APS Reform Agenda.

The plagued, one-stop security vetting portal, MyClearance, which The Canberra Times recently revealed had a disasterous launch, could also be put under the microscope.

Of the more than 150 proposed audits, however, only around 40 or so will actually get undertaken. And that's if the federal government throws the audit office a lifeline.

The audit office planned to undertake 42 audits in total during the 2022-23 year but budgetary and workforce restraints are putting those plans at risk.

Bring on the federal budget, we say!

The Australian Federal Police may have announced its latest restructure but senior leadership are surely still dealing with the ongoing "cultural issues" following the release of 2021 staff survey results earlier this year.

If you missed it, the results showed nearly half of the force lacked faith in its administrative processes and a third admitted poor technology impacted their work.

Top officials during a senate estimates hearing in February said there had been a "modest improvement" since the 2021 survey.

We're still awaiting the outcome of a freedom of information request, now a month overdue, which contains the more recent 2022 survey results.

But one source, who's seen the recent results, says the outcome is even more dismal, with the main concerns relating to a lack of faith in leadership and worries over the integrity of promotions.

We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say. Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on The Canberra Times website. Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. See our moderation policy here.