Planning the annual secretaries retreat

The review, conducted by former Finance boss Rosemary Huxtable, scrutinised the monthly meetings at which secretaries discuss strategies and work for the federal public service.

Published last week, the report does not include any mention of whether the three-hour meetings are catered, and which - if any - Arnott's biscuits are provided. (An obvious oversight.)

Ms Huxtable was appointed to consider how effective the bosses club was, and found that things were mostly running smoothly.

More than anything, her report provides a peek behind the curtain at the secretive meetings.

Membership is fairly true to the name, but the Prime Minister and Cabinet secretary can nominate "other persons" to sit in.

In the past, this has included the Services Australia, Tax Office and National Indigenous Australians Agency bosses, as well as Chief of the Defence Force and Director-General of National Intelligence.

The vibes at meetings are mostly good, Ms Huxtable found after interviewing members over January and February.

"The general view expressed in interviews was that the Board works well, is collegiate and collaborative, able to have honest discussions and sets a good tone across the APS," the report states.

"While significant areas of disagreement are rare, dissenting views can be voiced and discussions occur in a respectful way."

There are also five sub-committees of the board, and a Secretaries Committee on National Security, which apparently can get pretty spicy.

The PM&C secretary Glyn Davis told a conference earlier in April that discussions in the secretaries national security committee are "very lively, often frank and often there are disagreements and that's exactly as it should be".

Despite this, there is no equivalent for social policy, with the review noting more thought should be given to a collaborative approach in that area.

The report made eight recommendations relating to operational matters, including calling for an annual work agenda to be set early in the year.

But secretaries were also keen for an annual "off-site meeting" for one to two days to "support deeper and more policy-oriented discussions and strengthen links between members".

Ideally, this would be booked in early in the calendar year on a non-sitting week, and an organising group of two to three secretaries will be tasked with developing the agendas for the meetings. (Read: More junior bosses to be stuck with the admin.)

Public Eye welcomes any ideas on where the annual secretaries retreat could take place.

Staff at the Public Service Commission reported 17 credit cards lost between July 2023 and March 2024.

There were no replacement costs, the agency said in its response to a Senate estimates question on notice from Liberal senator Jane Hume. Still, where are they keeping these credit cards?

Its response also revealed the largest outstanding amount on a commission-issued credit card in the last financial year was $40,384.

Nine purchases were considered "illegitimate or contrary" to commission policy, adding up to $542. Seven of them have been repaid, but two transactions worth $68 hadn't been by the end of February.

Surprisingly, questions on notice - and their substance and timing - do generate a bit of chatter. Government Services Minister Bill Shorten has previously copped heat from the Coalition over some of his agency's responses.

Last estimates, Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie asked the Infrastructure department if it adjusts "the quality of its responses to Questions on Notice based on the number of Questions on Notice received".

The answer to that was a simple, "No". Good for you, Infrastructure APS6.