risk culture

Regulatory reviews of organisational failings inevitably focus on why risks were not effectively identified, measured, monitored or managed. The risks are the same for policy-makers. The Three Lines of Defence model for risk-management is a way to ensure policy doesn’t fail.

A significant number of public servants do not feel comfortable reporting risks, NSW Auditor General Margaret Crawford warns.

Despite recent data security incidents, the APS is forging ahead with releasing more data. “I’m not sure we’re actually less innovative,” says the PM&C boss. Dealing with failure is still an area for improvement.

OPINION: Could the blame game become a thing of the past if the community became more involved in deliberative policymaking? Why risk aversion hurts the community, turning people towards anger and disinterest.

Martin Parkinson calls it the quintessential mark of leadership. A right stuff-up or two shouldn’t stop public servants rethinking risk — just as the Department of the Environment has begun to do — to enable more blue-sky thinking.

Make risk assessments part of Cabinet proposals, put advice in writing, give businesses a direct say in how the public service is run … Highlights from Peter Shergold’s radical wish list for administrative reform.