Each public servant should have a meaningful job title that reflects what they actually do, rather than a number, a review has found.
The paper, released today, also said past attempts to make the Australian Public Service (APS) a "flatter", less hierarchical workplace had largely failed. It was instead characterised by its risk-aversion and "top heaviness".
The hierarchy and classification review recommended removing almost half of the APS's existing job levels to encourage staff to work more flexibly and to discourage wasteful micro-management.
Former departmental secretary Heather Smith — who led the review alongside CSIRO chair Kathryn Fagg and another ex-secretary, Finn Pratt — said these changes could be achieved without job losses or salary cuts.
If the APS adopted the recommendations, it would be its biggest overhaul since 2000, when the current job levels were introduced.
Dr Smith told the ABC the APS must change to attract the workforce it needed.
"Quite frankly, we really don't have much of a choice," she said.
"The public service is similar to other organisations, but other institutions constantly have a mindset of adaptation … [they] keep thinking about how their workforce is structured and able to respond to the complexity out there."
'You are a rank first and a person second'
Job titles like "APS5" and "EL1" (executive level 1) mean little outside Canberra.
But these rankings are ingrained cultural markers in the national capital, where more than one in four workers are APS staff.
The review found these titles had undermined productivity, affecting how managers allocated work.
"APS employees noted their professional identity – from their own and others' perspectives – was bound up with their classification level and seniority was a key factor in determining how APS colleagues relate to each other."
One graduate employee told the review team: "In the APS, you are a rank first and a person second."
Dr Smith said current classifications reinforced hierarchical attitudes, discouraging government agencies from being more effective.
"If you think of a public service meeting that only, say, a band 1 can go to, well that is just building in hierarchy and a sense of disempowerment," she said.
The review has proposed eight new classifications, none of which have numerical rankings.
But it wants public servants to refer to their actual job — for example, "policy adviser", "customer service officer" or "data analyst" — rather than their classification.
The report also criticised the growth of the senior executive service (SES), suggesting it was symptomatic of "micro-managing" and a failure to delegate.
It recommended two senior executive levels replace the existing three.
"This change is more than just administrative — it will embed new ways of working to support broader cultural reform, seeing a move away from hierarchical practices into an environment where APS staff are valued for the skills and expertise they bring to their role," the report said.
New pathway for specialists who don't manage staff
The review also noted the difficulty the APS had recruiting highly skilled staff, such as technical and scientific specialists.
It said the existing classifications favoured managers for higher-paid roles, leaving agencies less able to hire specialists directly.
"This has been problematic in situations where an employee is needed to perform roles of a high work value, but does not have the aspiration or experience to manage large teams," the report said.
"Requiring such individuals to manage people is an ineffective use of expertise and does not result in a positive team experience."
The review proposed a new job pathway for specialists, which would cover a wide range of levels and salaries. It also recommended abolishing the rarely used "SES (specialist)" classification.
EL2s the 'powerhouses' of the bureaucracy
EL2s — the most senior public servants below the SES ranks — are at the heart of the review's vision of a flatter, more effective public service.
The report said the government should "invest urgently" in these middle managers, giving them more training, staff, support and responsibility.
It said these officers should be the APS's "powerhouses", capable of managing most government work, "freeing up senior executives to focus on high priority issues".
"This aligns with what the panel heard from private sector entities and other state and territory public services – pushing responsibility down to the lowest level where it is safe and effective to do so, empowering middle managers to take a greater leadership role."
Public Service Commissioner Peter Woolcott, who requested the review, said any changes would be gradual.
"The [review] panel makes a good case for its ambitious proposals around classification reform, but the timing and viability of such complex reform needs to be carefully weighed," he said.
Consultations will begin with APS staff in November.
