Gordon de Brouwer announced as new Australian Public Service Commissioner, following retirement of Peter Woolcott

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Public Service Minister Katy Gallagher announced their plans to recommend the Governor-General appoint Dr de Brouwer to the role, following a merit-based selection process.

Dr de Brouwer is Secretary for Public Sector Reform, and has more than 35 years of public policy experience.

The Prime Minister and Public Service Minister will recommend Dr de Brouwer be appointed from May 11, for a five-year term.

"As APS Commissioner, Dr de Brouwer will continue his work to build a stronger Australian public sector that delivers better outcomes for the community, acts as a model employer and contributes to a fairer and more inclusive Australia," they said in their statement.

He has previously held the role of secretary of the former department of the environment and energy, and worked in senior roles at the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, the Treasury, the Australian National University and the Reserve Bank of Australia.

Dr de Brouwer has also conducted a number of reviews for government, and was a member on the Thodey review panel on APS reform in 2018.

Appointed to his current role as APS reform boss in June 2022, Dr de Brouwer had been charged with overseeing the rollout of public sector reforms promised by the Albanese government at the election.

The broad reforms of the public service are modelled on recommendations made in the Thodey review, released in 2019.

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Changes will focus on bolstering integrity within the APS, such as the establishment of the National Anti-Corruption Commission, tailoring policy and services to businesses and people, making the APS a model employer and improving its capabilities.

In April, Dr de Brouwer said the public sector had "lost its soul" at times during the rollout of the unlawful robodebt scheme.

"I think what we can see is that to some degree, the service, parts of the service at times have lost its soul, lost its focus on people, its empathy for people," he told the Institute of Public Administration Australia's Work with Purpose podcast.

The APS would need to reflect on how it discharged its legal and ethical duties, including through its leadership, following the release of the robodebt royal commission by mid-2023.

"And we'll need to examine and act to strengthen our systems, including training and performance management across the service, to ensure that what we've seen so far, isn't repeated."

Mr Woolcott marked the end of his public service career with an address at the National Press Club on Tuesday, calling the appointment of a public sector reform secretary "striking".

The former diplomat said he was passing "the baton" to his successor to advance the public service agenda.

"I believe we have a very clear sense of direction, but we are running over shifting ground."

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