The operating environment for the public service is increasingly digital, Public Sector Commissioner Peter Woolcott said in the latest snapshot of the bureaucracy, but almost 40 per cent of public servants surveyed said data and information technology were capability gaps in their working group.

"The APS will not be immune from the labour market disruption that has already started due to advancements in artificial intelligence, machine learning and big data," the report said.

"Reskilling some segments of the APS workforce will be an important aspect of workforce planning to manage job transitions for employees as skills requirements change."

Digital literacy, driving organisational performance, leadership capability and mobility across the public service were identified as areas the Commission's workforce strategy, to be released next year, will cover.

"The workforce strategy aims to better prepare the APS for the increasing pace of social, technological and environmental change, and ensure workforce planning efforts are guided by a shared vision."

According to the report, only 1 per cent of respondents said they worked in digital roles, including those working in cyber security.

Agencies also reported skill shortages and difficulty recruiting across a range of digital roles.

"Strategic, targeted recruitment of entry and mid-level digital specialists, as well as APS-wide supported reskilling, may be necessary to meet this growing demand."

A digital professional stream, similar to the human resources stream already announced, is likely to be introduced next year.

A minimum digital capability will likely become necessary, the report said, with the ability to manage cyber security risks to become a de facto core competency for public servants.

"This aspect of the changing nature of work is likely to give rise to minimum standards of 'digital literacy' for the APS workforce.

"APS leaders will have an important role to play, not only in developing their own digital capability, but also in driving new digital approaches to their agency's work."

The report found almost all agencies had challenges in assessing and tracking the capability of employees, mainly due to the functionality of HR systems and resource constraints.

While respondents were likely to report more favourably about their direct supervisor or their executive service member, only around half reported internal communication within their agency was effective.

Only 39 per cent of respondents said change was managed well at their agency, and even fewer respondents said appropriate risk-taking was rewarded.

The report said in the years to come a "whole-of-service perspective on organisational capability will become increasingly important".