In response to the COVID-19 crisis, the Australian government has set up a Taskforce to oversee the temporary mobilisation of staff across government functions. Employees (from all government departments) whose assignments are identified as non-critical to the government’s COVID-19 response can volunteer to be made available – depending on their experience and skills, and for a fixed term – for functions considered critical.

The Treasury Board, which is responsible for HR policy, has outlined its Departmental Plan for the civil service. It contains three objectives for the employer arm: Public Service attracts and retains a skilled and diverse workforce, the workplace is healthy, safe and inclusive, terms and conditions of employment are fairly negotiated. The results of the annual Public Service Employee Survey have been selected as indicators to monitor the achievement of these objectives.

Having been developed by a multi-disciplinary team during a hackathon, the authorities have put a chatbot online to provide a first level of information and guidance for the population. The answers, which are official and have been validated by the relevant government agencies, are updated in real time. This instrument, which uses open source technology, is available to other countries and around forty have already expressed their interest.