Public sector policy capacity and parliamentary oppositions in Australia

In the Westminster model, policy formulation by parliamentarians and oppositions takes place in policy advisory systems similar to government, absent direct advice from departments. Parliaments and governments have sporadically introduced services to supply policy capacity, including parliamentary libraries, parliamentary budget offices, and election policy costing processes. This study identifies and compares the policy capacity that is provided by these components across major Australian national and sub-national jurisdictions and, based on the experience of the participants, identifies gaps that could be addressed in future measures. The study finds supply gaps in the provision of policy capacity for design and implementation, and a lack of connection between problems, interventions, and outcomes. There are also opportunities to develop the connection mechanisms between agencies and the stages of the policy cycle, in order to enhance information sharing and policy logic.

Points for practitioners

• This new research identifies a gap in the supply of public sector policy capacity to parliamentarians and oppositions in the provision of policy design and implementation expertise, leading to a disconnect between policy problems, interventions, and outcomes.
• The findings present opportunities for reform including a more systemic approach, across the policy cycle, to the supply of policy capacity to parliamentarians and oppositions.
• Policy actors identified opportunities, including publishing more information on policy logic and evaluation, enhancing the interface between agencies, and augmenting the role of current parliamentary agencies to include design and implementation expertise and advice.