STATE OF THE SERVICE Australian Innovation 2024

If there was one overarching theme that intersected conversations about government innovation this year, it was the why and the how of it all. The term innovation runs the risk of veering towards becoming a catch-all buzzword that loses meaning when used without purpose. The public sector kept on course by focusing on why it needed to innovate and how it was going to accomplish it. The why was unequivocally about improving public trust in government by improving transparency, efficiency and excellence through digital servicing. The how was about exceeding these expectations despite both fiscal and workforce challenges.

The findings outlined in this year's 2024 State of the Service report on Australian Innovation were sourced from the insights and data collected during the live events hosted by the Public Sector Network throughout the year. Hundreds of public sector professionals contributed to this research during controlled anonymised polling, and the consequent analysis is based on the thought leadership of our senior panel of speakers who shared their insights on stage at our Innovate event series. 

Read on for polling results, analysis and forecasting on the following topics:

• How agencies are working to overcome talent challenge across government
• The biggest barriers to building a culture of continuous innovation within public sector agencies
• Navigating changes than can help government meet expectations
• Top public sector priorities over the next 12-24 months