Government & Public Administration
Industry Overview
Public Administration and Safety include federal, state, and local government administration and services like the police force. It was one of the few industries to experience growth over the COVID-19 pandemic. The increase in workers is potentially due to the development and implementation of support programs as part of the Australian Government’s Coronavirus economic response, or equivalent state/territory government initiatives.
The Public Sector comprises federal and state/territory governments, statutory bodies, and state-owned corporations. Public Sector employees play a key role in the development, review, and implementation of government policies and provide an array of services for the community. There is a diverse range of occupations within the Public Sector, spanning areas including policy, finance, governance and regulation, and multiple disciplines, such as education, health, transport, police, and emergency services. There are currently over 1,987,000 Public Sector employees in Australia and the Public Sector is expected to experience strong levels of growth over the next five years.
Employment in the Public Administration industry increased steadily between 2000 and 2020. In 2020 there were 607,700 workers, which is projected to grow to 656,000 by 2024. Though not all workers in the area of Government may be captured by this industry, it nevertheless provides a good indicator of employment in the area.
Employment in Public Order, Safety, and Regulatory Services has risen between 2000 and 2020, with some variability between 2007 and 2013. This measure includes workers out of scope for this cluster, such as those in the police, fire, and prison services, however, it is also relevant to the regulatory functions this cluster includes. Employment in Public Order, Safety, and Regulatory Services is projected to increase from 207,200 in 2020 to 208,300 by 2024.
Market Size
The market size, measured by revenue, of the Local Government Administration industry, is USD 39.28 bn in 2021.
The market size of the Local Government Administration industry is expected to increase 1.5% in 2021.
The market size of the Local Government Administration industry in Australia has grown 2.4% per year on average between 2016 and 2021.
Employment in the Public Administration industry increased steadily between 2000 and 2020. In 2020 there were 607,700 workers, which is projected to grow to 656,000 by 2024. Though not all workers in Government may be captured by this industry, it nevertheless provides a good indicator of employment in the area.
Facts and figures
The Local Government Administration industry in Australia is the 1st ranked Public Administration and Safety industry by market size and the 21st largest in Australia.
The number of households in Australia directly correlates with industry revenue. Council rates are typically set on a per-property basis. Therefore, an increased number of households provides councils with an opportunity to earn more rate-related revenue. The number of households in Australia is expected to increase in 2020-21.
Public Administration and Safety employs approximately 865,100 persons (ABS seasonally adjusted data), which accounts for 6.6 % of the total workforce. Over the past five years, employment in the industry has increased by 13.6%. The median age for workers in this industry is 43 years and median weekly earnings are around $1500 (USD 1085.08) per week.
Nearly half (48%) of the Australian Public Service (APS) workforce is aged 45 years or over.
Millions of Australians are already securely accessing a range of government services online every day, including, myGov, myTax, and My Health Record.
7% of the Australian workforce is employed in public administration and safety. Every year the industry accounts for about 9720 workers’ compensation claims (8%) and eight work-related fatalities (4%).
Transparency International has rated Australia 11th of 91 countries in terms of a low degree of corruption, as perceived by businesspeople, academics, and risk analysts (score of 8.5 out of 10, with 10 indicating a very low level of corruption).
Australia exports public sector innovations (approximately $2 billion in 1997, or two % of total exports).
Some academic and professional opinion places Australia in the vanguard of efficiency reforms.
The 1998 Global Competitiveness Report rated Australia 12th (of 53 countries) in terms of perceived civil service independence.
The 2001 World Competitiveness Yearbook rated Australia 5th in terms of its public service being perceived by executives to be immune from political interference.
The 2001 World Competitiveness Yearbook rated Australia 6th in terms of executives' perceptions that bribery and corruption do not exist in the public sphere.
Trends
Digitalisation and Cybersecurity
Most of the government and public administration were getting digitised and the skilled labour is increasing in this industry. The COVID-19 pandemic saw a massive increase in cyber-attacks as hackers looked to take advantage of security gaps as people, processes, and technology in government moved to a more remote environment. In 2021, government organisations will increasingly turn to enterprise Identity and Access Management (IAM) platforms to build zero trust capabilities. However, these solutions must be able to encompass partners and contractors to protect against attacks at every level of the supply chain.
Transparency
Public administration' refers to the rules governing the use of public resources and government authority. These rules partially determine how government revenue is spent and also help to shape relationships between the government and citizens. Sound practices in this area are critical for sustaining a healthy democracy because public confidence in government can only be maintained when the use of authority and public resources is demonstrably fair, efficient, and ethical.
IT modernisation
To facilitate modernisation and technology adoption, public sector organisations will increasingly look to digital platforms to allow new systems to be quickly developed and information shared between employees, agencies, and citizens. By embracing the transition to digital platforms in 2021 and beyond, the government can deliver effective, connected public services in a challenging time of heightened demand and shrinking budgets.
Hyper Automation
COVID-19 rapidly forced government organisations towards remote, digital-first business models. Organisational resilience and digital operational excellence were required in a situation where most agencies were forced to do more with less. As a result of the pandemic, Forrester suggests that new forms of automation will support one in four remote workers either directly or indirectly by 2022. This is accelerating another trend that was already in progress: hyper-automation.
Risks
Skilled Labour
Most of the employees in the public sector are above 45 where the young employees (just 6% are aged 15 to 24 years) are very few in the public sector since there is a shortfall of technically skilled labour in the public sector.
Economic Risk
The economy is constantly changing as the markets fluctuate. Some positive changes are good for the economy, which lead to booming purchase environments, while negative events can reduce sales. It's important to watch changes and trends to potentially identify and plan for an economic downturn.
Cyber liability
In the public sector, as in the private business sector, cyber threats are increasing in complexity and intensity. For example, there have been more than a million different ransomware attacks over the last year. Some experts estimate that there are as many as 60,000 new ransomware variants in a single day. If you have a suspected breach, you may need to hire a high-priced legal firm that will conduct forensics.
Budget constraints
All businesses deal with budget constraints, but public sector organisations must be accountable to stakeholders and must adhere to their directives. It is not uncommon for public organisations to sustain budget cuts on a regular cycle, requiring managers to get creative at preventing a loss of vital services.
Disaster recovery
Another real challenge that many public institutions are facing is their ability to recover from natural disasters, such as:
- Avalanches and landslides
- Earthquakes
- Sinkholes
- Volcanoes
- Floods
- Tsunami
- Thunderstorms
- Blizzards
- Hailstorms
- Ice storms
- Heatwaves
- Droughts
- Tornadoes
- Hurricanes
- Wildfires
Conclusion
In Australia, the number of households is closely proportional to industrial revenue. Council rates are usually determined on a property-by-property basis. As a result, an increase in the number of homes allows councils to generate additional rate-related money. In Australia, the number of households is predicted to rise in 2020-21.
The Australian government and public administration are working more on digitalisation.
The Public Administration department is focussing more on the development of infrastructure and all factors for the future.
The Government is also more focussing on recruiting skilled labour in the process of digitisation.
Risk Outlook:
Emerging risks that will impact your organisation.
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