Data, digital and cyber workforce plan

Foreword

The Australian Public Service has a key role to play in supporting the Australian Government’s visions for the future to deliver simple, secure, and connected public services for all people and business, and to establish Australia as a world leader in cyber security by 2030. These goals for our future can only become reality when supported by a capable and adaptable APS workforce with data, digital and cyber expertise.
 

Dr Gordon de Brouwer, PSM	Chris Fechner	Stephanie Foster, PSM	Dr David Gruen AO
Australian Public Service Commissioner	Chief Executive Officer Digital Transformation Agency	Secretary Department of Home Affairs	Australian Statistician Australian Bureau of Statistics

This APS Data, Digital and Cyber Workforce Plan 2025-30 aligns with broader government strategies and provides a coordinated approach to attract, develop and retain people with skills in these areas of growing need.

It ensures our collective efforts are aligned, while retaining flexibility for agencies to address their individual workforce requirements. It addresses shared challenges across the APS, including skill shortages, the growing demand for specialised expertise and the need for cultural change to support collective effort, innovation, and the inclusion of diverse cohorts.

The delivery of this plan requires whole-of-APS collaboration and leadership. This will allow us to share knowledge, make the most of available resources and to create opportunities to benefit the entire APS.

In addition, this plan recognises the importance of fostering partnerships with industry and academia to build talent pipelines and maintain our competitive edge.

Together, we aspire to create a workforce that meets today’s demands and anticipates tomorrow’s opportunities. Putting this plan into action will enable the APS to remain an exemplar of public sector excellence, delivering meaningful outcomes for the Australian community.

Introduction

In 2023, the Australian Government launched the Data and Digital Government Strategy and the 2023-30 Australian Cyber Security Strategy. These strategies set bold visions to deliver simple, secure and connected public services for all people and business, and to be a world leader in cyber security by 2030, respectively.

Realising these visions will not be possible without uplifting the capability of the Australian Public Service (APS) workforce. This Data, Digital and Cyber Workforce Plan has been produced as a call to action to attract, develop and retain data, digital and cyber talent in a unified and strategic way across the APS.

In recent years, workforce plans that focus on specific industries and sectors have become essential for aligning workforce strategies with national and global trends. These plans encourage collaboration between businesses, professional associations and educational institutions. This leads to improvements in talent acquisition, retention and development, ultimately boosting productivity and competitiveness by taking an economy-wide approach.

This Data, Digital and Cyber Workforce Plan:

• identifies the complexities in the external environment that affect government operations, policy making and digital transformation
• explains the crucial role of the APS data, digital and cyber security workforce in achieving the government’s aims
• outlines the common workforce challenges faced by agencies
• provides a coordinated approach to tackle these challenges, using the benefits of scale and collaboration.

This plan outlines four key action areas that will support agencies to build and strengthen their data, digital and cyber workforce and enhance future skills planning now and into the future. 

Many of the challenges identified in this plan are not new. This plan builds on important work underway across the system including APS Reform, Delivering for Tomorrow: APS Workforce Strategy 2025, the Commonwealth Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Workforce Strategy 2020-2024, the APS Gender Equality Strategy 2021-2026, the APS Academy, and the Data and Digital Professions.