Queensland Public Sector Research Articles

Reforming Queensland’s police complaints system: recent inquiries and the prospects of a best practice model

ABSTRACT This paper critiques three recent inquiries and recommended changes in practice around the management of complaints against police in the state of Queensland, Australia, with a view to advancing a best practice model internationally. A civilian oversight system, closely aligned to a ‘civilian control’ model, was introduced in Queensland as part of a reform program following the 1989 Fitzgerald Inquiry into police corruption. However, external control of complaints was almost completely eroded over a 30-year period. The resumption of police control resulted in recurring scandals and widespread stakeholder disaffection. These issues came to a head and were addressed to varying degrees through three inquiries across 2022: the Review of Culture and Accountability in the Queensland Public Sector (‘Coaldrake Review’), the Commission of Inquiry relating to the Crime and Corruption Commission (‘Fitzgerald and Wilson Inquiry’) and, in particular, the Commission of Inquiry into Queensland Police Service Responses to Domestic and Family Violence (‘Richards Inquiry’). The combined findings and recommendations demonstrated the need for rigorous institutional independence and transparency in the processing of complaints, along with a range of complementary integrity management strategies to ensure adequate accountability of police.

Rural competencies in emerging medical practitioners: Beyond clinical skills.

Recruitment and retention of rural doctors remains a challenge in Australia. The Queensland Rural Generalist Program was developed to address this challenge and provides a range of tailored professional development opportunities to support rural medical training, recruitment and retention. The Rural Generalist Vocational Preparation Workshop was developed to maintain connection with trainees during a known attrition risk period and address a gap in training that focused on competencies required for rural practice. The Rural Generalist Vocational Preparation Workshop, designed using adult learning principles, includes an optimal balance between theory, scenario-based learning and facilitated group discussions. A cross-sectional survey design was employed to evaluate the workshops delivered between 2015 and 2017. The workshops were attended by Queensland Rural Generalist Program trainees in the year prior to undertaking a vocational training position in a rural hospital or general practice. Participants were from 10 Hospital and Health Services in the Queensland public health sector at the time of attendance. An evaluation survey captured participant feedback about the workshop, its value, impact and their intention to implement changes in practice. Fifty-one trainees attended the workshops across four locations. Eight-eight per cent of participants reported intentions to implement changes to practice in: pursuit of career options and enhanced team work, leadership skills and networking. Evaluation results indicated that Rural Generalist Vocational Preparation Workshop was a highly valued opportunity. It provided future rural medical practitioners with professional support and networking opportunities, promoted identity formation and stimulated rural career planning.

Compression garment service model: Facilitating access to compression garments through workforce and service redesign.

Patients in Queensland have had difficulty in accessing lymphoedema services, particularly in rural and remote locations. The aim was to trial and evaluate a compression garment service model, to provide care for patients with lymphoedema closer to their homes. The service model trialled compression garment, selection, fitting and monitoring services for stabilised malignancy-related lymphoedema undertaken by generalist therapists. Ten Hospital and Health Services in the Queensland public sector. The patients would have access to safe, quality services closer to their homes. The generalists were supported by telehealth coaching and supervision by lymphoedema therapists, an education program, resources and governance processes. Compression garment selection, fitting and monitoring by generalists (physiotherapists and occupational therapists without Level 1 Lymphoedema training), as defined in the service model, was safe, effective and evaluated positively by patients and health professionals. There was increased access to compression garment services provided by generalist therapists in rural and remote locations. The service model implemented has the capacity to address workforce and service provision issues. It provides resources, education and training for clinicians to improve access to the provision of compression garment services.

Corrigendum to: Clinical activity profile of preregistration physiotherapy students during clinical placements.

Objective The aim of the present study was to determine the clinical activity profile of preregistration physiotherapy students during clinical placements and their clinical activity contribution to health service delivery.Methods Clinical activity data for 2014 were obtained from five Queensland public sector hospitals providing preregistration physiotherapy students clinical education in three key clinical areas (cardiorespiratory, musculoskeletal and neurological) over four 5-week placement blocks. Data regarding the number of student occasions of service (OOS) and the length of the OOS (LOOS) were collected to determine the average OOS and LOOS per student in each clinical area.Results Twenty weeks of student data were collected from each hospital in each clinical area, representing 29.1% of cardiorespiratory, musculoskeletal and neurorehabilitation student placements. Students completed 19051 OOS. The average OOS per student per block for cardiorespiratory, musculoskeletal and neurorehabilitation placements was 98.3, 74.0 and 72.4 respectively. Two-way ANOVA revealed a main effect of weeks (F=402.1, P<0.001) and clinical area (F =1331.5, P<0.001) for LOOS.In addition, an interaction was found between clinical placement week and clinical area for LOOS (F=8.4, P<0.001).Conclusions Student clinical activity data are useful for understanding the student contribution to health services. Student contribution appears to increase throughout the clinical placement and consideration should be given to the clinical educator:student ratio to enhance overall student contribution.What is known about the topic? Quantitative data describing physiotherapy student clinical care activity during placements are limited.What does this paper add? This paper profiles physiotherapy student clinical care activity and the changes occurring over 5-week placements.What are the implications for practitioners? Physiotherapy students provide clinical activity for health services that changes over their 5-week placement. Student clinical activity should be considered when responding to placement demand and planning service delivery.

Clinical activity profile of preregistration physiotherapy students during clinical placements.

Objective The aim of the present study was to determine the clinical activity profile of preregistration physiotherapy students during clinical placements and their clinical activity contribution to health service delivery. Methods Clinical activity data for 2014 were obtained from five Queensland public sector hospitals providing preregistration physiotherapy students clinical education in three key clinical areas (cardiorespiratory, musculoskeletal and neurological) over four 5-week placement blocks. Data regarding the number of student occasions of service (OOS) and the length of the OOS (LOOS) were collected to determine the average OOS and LOOS per student in each clinical area. Results Twenty weeks of student data were collected from each hospital in each clinical area, representing 29.1% of cardiorespiratory, musculoskeletal and neurorehabilitation student placements. Students completed 19051 OOS. The average OOS per student per block for cardiorespiratory, musculoskeletal and neurorehabilitation placements was 98.3, 74.0 and 72.4 respectively. Two-way ANOVA revealed a main effect of weeks (F=402.1, P<0.001) and clinical area (F =1331.5, P<0.001) for LOOS.In addition, an interaction was found between clinical placement week and clinical area for LOOS (F=8.4, P<0.001). Conclusions Student clinical activity data are useful for understanding the student contribution to health services. Student contribution appears to increase throughout the clinical placement and consideration should be given to the clinical educator:student ratio to enhance overall student contribution. What is known about the topic? Quantitative data describing physiotherapy student clinical care activity during placements are limited. What does this paper add? This paper profiles physiotherapy student clinical care activity and the changes occurring over 5-week placements. What are the implications for practitioners? Physiotherapy students provide clinical activity for health services that changes over their 5-week placement. Student clinical activity should be considered when responding to placement demand and planning service delivery.

Cloud computing as a facilitator of SME entrepreneurship

The rapid adoption of Cloud-based information and communication technology (ICT) services reflects a Schumpeterian creative destruction scenario [Schumpeter, J. A. 1942. Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy. New York: Harper & Row], as they increasingly supplant traditional in-house ICT capital investment models [Ross, P. K., and M. Blumenstein. 2012. Leveraging the Opportunities of the Cloud: The Impact of Cloud Computing Strategies on Organisational Structures, Management Practices and ICT Worker Skill Sets in Queensland Private and Public Sector Organisations. Brisbane: Griffith University and the Department of Science, Information, Technology, Innovation and the Arts (SITIA)]. This research examines how Cloud technologies facilitate the development of internationally orientated small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) entrepreneurship by providing greater access to global markets, lowering opportunity costs and supporting collaboration and innovation in an increasingly connected world. The Cloud computing paradigm also brings associated threats for SMEs, including potential challenges in adapting to Cloud-based and supported business models and increased competition from globally based competitors. Therefore, while Cloud technologies offer a potential boon to SME entrepreneurship, they may also usher in a period of rationalisation, as some firms will inevitably fail to successfully adapt to a globally competitive Cloud environment.

Planning estimates for the provision of core mental health services in Queensland 2007 to 2017

To derive planning estimates for the provision of public mental health services in Queensland 2007-2017. We used a five-step approach that involved: (i) estimating the prevalence and severity of mental disorders in Queensland, and the number of people at each level of severity treated by health services; (ii) benchmarking the level and mix of specialised mental health services in Queensland against national data; (iii) examining 5-year trends in Queensland public sector mental health service utilisation; (iv) reviewing Australian and international planning benchmarks; and (v) setting resource targets based on the results of the preceding four steps. Best available evidence was used where possible, supplemented by value judgements as required. Recommended resource targets for inpatient service were: 20 acute beds per 100,000 population, consistent with national average service provision but 13% above Queensland provision in 2005; and 10 non-acute beds per 100,000, 65% below Queensland levels in 2005. Growth in service provision was recommended for all other components. Adult residential rehabilitation service targets were 10 clinical 24-hour staffed beds per 100,000, and 18 non-clinical beds per 100,000. Supported accommodation targets were 35 beds per 100,000 in supervised hostels and 35 places per 100,000 in supported public housing. A direct care clinical workforce of 70 FTE per 100,000 for ambulatory care services was recommended. Fifteen per cent of total mental health funding was recommended for community support services provided by non-government organisations. The recommended targets pointed to specific areas for priority in Queensland, notably the need for additional acute inpatient services for older persons and expansion of clinical ambulatory care, residential rehabilitation and supported accommodation services. The development of nationally agreed planning targets for public mental health services and the mental health community support sector were identified as priorities.

The Value of Public Sector Annual Reports and Annual Reporting Awards as a Signal of Management Performance

Australian public sector reforms have emphasised the accountability of agencies for the performance of management. Despite considerable diversity in public sector organisations, annual reports have been promoted as an appropriate tool to discharge the accountability of all government agencies. However, there remains an absence of consistent empirical evidence as to the value of the annual report for reporting on management performance. Further, debates about the role of public sector annual reports often become intertwined with notions of the quality of reports. Prior research has investigated the incentives of agencies to enter annual reporting awards as a means of signalling the quality of management. However, the research ignores the possibility that the value of annual reports to discharge performance accountability and the value of entry into an annual reporting award may vary depending on the type of public sector agency and on the relationships between stakeholders. This study focuses on the Queensland public sector and the Queensland Annual Reporting Award (QARA) and uses a series of case studies to examine the value of the annual report as a means of discharging accountabilities. The results reveal a cross sectional variation in the perceived value of the annual report in discharging accountabilities. In some cases it was thought that alternative forms of communication provided a more suitable means to discharge the accountability demands of stakeholders. Further, while annual reporting awards provide a mechanism to supply a credible signal of quality, it will only be used in those situations where the participants identify direct benefits of entry.

Participatory evaluation: a missing component in the sustainable social change equation for public services

Abstract This article draws on a case study of organizational change with the Queensland public sector to showcase the contribution participatory approaches to evaluation make to sustained change. Key points outlined in the paper include: changes in human service organizations generally, and child welfare services in particular, have been proven to be difficult to achieve and sustain. Participatory processes including participatory evaluation are presented as key strategies to enhance the uptake of social and organizational change initiatives. Parallels to continuous change models are found within policy formulation and evaluation theories. In particular, participative evaluation models share similarities to continuous change models through their reliance on self‐evaluation and self‐determination as means of promoting change. A theoretical contribution to organizational change theories is made through the development of a change model that includes a participatory evaluation component as part of the equation for sustainable change. It is proposed that this model has a wider practical application. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

Commercialisation of state government legal services

Most people who have worked in the public sector for over a decade have experienced dramatic change in the way they do business. For some, the change has been rapid. Others have been able to hold onto traditional methods. One area of business steeped in tradition is the area of legal services. In the Queensland public sector, current changes in the way in which legal services are provided reflect many of the changes that have already occurred in other business units. We should learn from the experiences of others, tap into the needs of those utilising legal services and reflect upon the importance of those traditional values. This article argues that the time for a comprehensive and transparent review of legal services in the Queensland public sector is now.

An Audit Tool for Intellectual Property Management

Smart State is a Queensland Government initiative that recognises the central role of knowledge-based economic growth. In this context, the management of intellectual property (IP) within Queensland and Australian government research and development agencies has changed dramatically over recent years. Increasing expectations have been placed on utilising public sector IP to both underpin economic development and augment taxes by generating new revenues. Public sector research and development (R&amp;D) management has come under greater scrutiny to commercialise and/or corporatise their activities. In a study of IP management issues in the Queensland Public Sector we developed a framework to facilitate a holistic audit of IP management in government agencies. In this paper we describe this framework as it pertains to one large public sector Agriculture R&amp;D Agency, the Queensland Department of Primary Industries (QDPI). The four overlapping domains of the framework are: IP Generation; IP Rights; IP Uptake; and Corporate IP Support. The audit within QDPI, conducted in 2000 near the outset of Smart State, highlighted some well developed IP management practices within QDPI's traditional areas of focus of innovation (IP Generation) and IP ownership and licensing (IP Rights). However, further management practice developments are required to improve the domains of IP Uptake and Corporate IP Support.

Managing intellectual property in the public sector

SummaryThe management of intellectual property (IP) within Australian government research and development agencies has changed dramatically over recent years. Increasing expectations have been placed on utilising public sector IP to both underpin economic development and augment taxes by generating new revenues. And public sector R&D management has come under greater scrutiny to commercialise and/or corporatise their activities. In a study of IP management issues in The Queensland Public Sector we developed a framework to facilitate a holistic audit of IP management in government agencies. In this paper we describe this framework as it pertains to one large public sector Agriculture R&D Agency, the Queensland Department of Primary Industries (QDPI). The four overlapping domains of the framework are: IP Generation; IP Rights; IP Uptake and Corporate Support. The audit within QDPI highlighted some well developed IP management practices within QDPI’s traditional focus of innovation (IP Generation) and IP ownership and licensing (IP Rights). However, further management practice developments are required to improve the domains of IP Uptake and Corporate IP Support.

Public Sector Change in Australia: Are Managers' Ideals Being Realized?

Public sector organizations traditionally have been associated with the internal process (bureaucratic) model of organizational culture. Public choice and management theory have suggested that public sector managers can learn from the experience of private sector management, and need to change from the internal process model of organizational culture. Due to these influences on managers, the current research proposes that managers' perceptions of ideal organizational culture would no longer reflect the Internal process model. Public sector managers' perceptions of the current culture, as well as their perceptions of the ideal culture, were measured. A mail-out survey was conducted in the Queensland (a state of Australia) public sector. Responses to a competing values culture inventory were received from 222 managers. Results indicated that a reliance on the Internal process model persists, while managers had a desire for cultural models other than the internal process model, as hypothesized.

Queensland public sector nurse executives: job satisfaction and career opportunities

During the past decade, economic and political forces have caused radical transformations in health care systems resulting in changed circumstances within which nursing executives must function. This paper provides an understanding of nursing executives' roles and responsibilities and the impact changes in the health industry have had on their careers. One hundred and forty-seven (52%) of the 281 nursing executives employed in the Queensland Public Health Sector completed a postal self-administered survey. The findings of this study demonstrate their role has expanded to include not only nursing administration, but also responsibility for financial, human resources, strategic and resource management, staff development and quality improvement. The impact of these role changes has affected the health and well-being of nursing executives, with nearly half reporting increased stress, frustration and irritation. Their workload has increased and some reported deterioration in their health, specifically, exhaustion, fatigue and insomnia. Respondents reported they now have less time to spend with families and friends, which has had a negative impact on family relationships. Overall, nursing executives were satisfied with their current position, the work itself and their relationships with their co-workers, but dissatisfied with organisational aspects, especially the quality of mentorship and opportunities for promotion.

The Queensland Public Sector: Recent Developments in Employment Relations

With the incumbent Labor government embracing a recentralisation of industrial relations, public sector agencies in Queensland are experiencing a dramatic shift in the framework of employment relations. This paper discusses the approach of the previous Coalition government to managing the public sector workforce and the emerging approach of the Labor government. The comparison of contrasting governmental approaches to public sector employment relations throughout the 1990s suggests that successive governments have balanced very differently the three main pressures they have faced: political, managerialist and industrial relations.

Organisational culture in the public sector: evidence from six organisations

A process of organisational change has accompanied managerial reforms in the public sector and is oriented towards the development of a post‐bureaucratic organisational culture. However, there remains a limited empirical understanding of culture in public organisations. Contributes to an understanding of organisational culture in the public sector through survey research that analyses culture by reference to the competing values of internal/external orientation and control/flexibility. Focuses on six organisations in the Queensland public sector which have been encouraged to depart from traditional bureaucratic values and to adopt a greater emphasis on change, flexibility, entrepreneurialism, outcomes, efficiency and productivity. Suggests, however, that public sector organisations continue to emphasise the values of a bureaucratic or hierarchical organisational culture.

Eating Its Own: The Whistleblower's Organization in Vendetta Mode

This paper reports on Australia's largest whistleblower study. Specifically it focuses on the experiences of whistleblowers in the Queensland public sector during the Goss Labor government's first term. Rather than being affirmed as good citizen‐workers when they took disclosures of wrongdoing to their supervisors within the units in which they worked, the whistleblowers encountered obstruction and vilification. Their experiences offer a rare check‐up on the state of workplace dissent.

Institutionalising ethics in the queensland public sector: Discussion of research into ethics education for public officials

This paper presents a case for a comprehensive approach to the institutionalisation of ethics in public sector organisational contexts. It argues that education and training have a central role in such strategies. The setting for this discussion is the State of Queensland, Australia, which is currently implementing a public sector ethics program. In particular, the author reports and analyses research conducted in the State of Queensland, Australia, in the latter half of 1993. The research explored the expectations of Queensland public sector managers as to the nature of ethics education programs. Analysis of the research supports the view that, with some reservations, public sector managers indicate significant support for the institutionalisation of public sector ethics in an educational framework.

Institutionalising ethics in the queensland public sector: Discussion of research into ethics education for public officials

This paper presents a case for a comprehensive approach to the institutionalisation of ethics in public sector organisational contexts. It argues that education and training have a central role in such strategies. The setting for this discussion is the State of Queensland, Australia, which is currently implementing a public sector ethics program. In particular, the author reports and analyses research conducted in the State of Queensland, Australia, in the latter half of 1993. The research explored the expectations of Queensland public sector managers as to the nature of ethics education programs. Analysis of the research supports the view that, with some reservations, public sector managers indicate significant support for the institutionalisation of public sector ethics in an educational framework.

Public sector reform and the long‐term public servant

Since the 1970s public services throughout the world have undergone significant reforms in terms of structure and personnel practices. In Australia these reforms have concentrated on the introduction of affirmative action and equal opportunity programmes, the revision of selection and promotion procedures to reinforce the merit principle and the opening up of positions in the public service to outside appointments. Examines how recent reforms in the Queensland public sector have impacted on long‐term public servants. Finds that the effects of the changes are being unevenly felt by different groups in the public service. Specifically, it appears that the processes are being more stringently applied to women than to men.