Guidelines released by the Secretaries Board last week advise agencies that all employees can request a flexible working arrangement, including options to vary when and where they work.

"These principles indicate a radical change in direction from the Australian government in regards to flexibility," Sue Williamson, an Associate Professor of Human Resource Management at UNSW Canberra said.

"All roles flexible was really popular in the public sectors, mostly state government, a few years ago ... and then it kind of fell off the agenda, particularly in the APS."

Flexibility will be a cornerstone of the Australian Public Service Commission's approach to attracting and retaining highly skilled workers in the midst of a global skills shortage.

The principles will also inform the commission's stance on a common flexibility term, to be determined during APS-wide pay and conditions bargaining currently underway.

Unions, agencies, individuals and the commission are meeting weekly to finalise a deal on more common conditions across the sector and a pay rise by July 31.

Flexible work has not yet been discussed.

Though all roles can be flexible going forward, there will be caveats around the type and extent of individual arrangements.

Flexibility also needs to be mutually beneficial for teams, agencies and individuals, the principles note, "to ensure flexibility works for everyone".

"On the one hand, it's sensible because not every job can be done from home," Dr Williamson said.

"But the principle should mean that every job can have some degree of flexibility."

Australian Services Union branch secretary Jeff Lapidos dismissed mutually beneficial flexibility as "incorrect".

He pointed to the definition contained in the Fair Work Act, which does not include a requirement for flexible arrangements to benefit employers.

"The problem with the Secretaries Board's [principles] is they're so far removed from the day-to-day work of people applying for workplace flexibility, and delegates approving it, that their principles are far removed from the everyday reality," Mr Lapidos said.

"And therefore are of no assistance to anyone."

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He also slammed the government for not consulting unions on the guidance.

"This can be seen because the principles are not clear at all, in fact, many of them are confusing and they're wrong."

Public service agencies have increasingly embraced flexible conditions, such as working from home, since the coronavirus pandemic reconfigured the way bureaucrats work.

The shift is also a cost-saving measure for government, with agencies able to seek out less office floorspace as leases expire.

All of the 16 departments allow staff to work from home, and some, such as the Attorney-General's Department are already moving towards more generous policies.

The department will revise a requirement for staff to work from the office a minimum of three days per week down to four days a fortnight.

The principles maintain team leaders can set benchmarks for face-to-face contact such as this, a policy Dr Williamson questions.

"The idea of mandating the number of days people have to be in the office is something that needs further conversation," she said.

Australian National University politics researcher Professor John Wanna raised concerns about the impacts of relaxing traditional working arrangements on productivity.

"One of the big issues going forward for the economy, both private sector and public sector is efficiency and productivity and I'm not sure working from home is is always going to be the best option," he said.

A broad-brush approach to flexibility would not succeed, Professor Wanna said.

"The APS has always been very diverse, it's got diverse pay rates, it's got diverse conditions, it's got completely different, diverse areas of operation," he said.

"You can be in the APS, and you're working on the Great Barrier Reef in Townsville."

But Dr Williamson was confident the guidelines signaled a step in the right direction: "The principles make it very clear, that flexible working is to become the norm, that it's the default position."

"I think it will send out a very strong message that organisations and managers have to take this seriously and be more proactive."

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