Improved public administration and support for the Victorian Public Service — progress

Key initiatives

In 2025–26, DPC delivered the following key initiatives in support of the departmental objective of Improved Public Administration and Support for the Victorian Public Service.

Output: Executive government advice and services

Provide legal and policy advice to support the Premier, DPC’s ministers and the department more broadly

In 2025–26, DPC’s key achievements included:

Leading development of a package of electoral reforms including the Electoral Amendment Act 2026, Electoral Further Amendment Act 2026 and the Electoral Amendment (Miscellaneous Matters) Act 2026, which collectively implemented a political donations, disclosure and state funding regime, and abolished Group Ticket Voting in Victoria.
Supporting the development and introduction of the Equal Opportunity Amendment (Work from Home) Bill 2026 and the passage of the Multicultural Victoria Amendment Act 2026, as well as other legislative and regulatory reform projects across DPC.
Advising on corporate and employment law matters, including the shared services arrangement between DGS and DPC and contractual arrangements for state funerals.
Advising the department and the Premier in relation to inquiries under the Inquiries Act 2014, such as the establishment of the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion, the Board of Inquiry into the McCrae landslide, and the Rapid Child Safety Review.

Provide clear, timely and practical guidance, expertise and support to our stakeholders in relation to Cabinet, Parliament, legislation, Executive Council and ministerial correspondence-related matters

In 2025–26, DPC provided expert guidance to support Cabinet, Parliament, Executive Council and ministerial correspondence matters. This included providing administrative support to the Cabinet, the Premier and DPC ministers, as well as other departments and the ministry where needed. DPC also provided high-quality administrative support for the Governor in relation to Executive Council matters.

Provide advice and guidance to improve Victoria’s parliamentary integrity and standards regime

In 2025–26, DPC continued to provide guidance and advice on parliamentary standards, including shadowing the Parliamentary Workplace Standards and Integrity Commission. DPC also supported the ongoing administration of the Ministerial Code of Conduct, including regular reporting obligations and ministerial and parliamentary secretary induction and training sessions.

Provide guidance and advice on public sector executive workforce policies to ensure consistent and transparent executive employment and remuneration practices across the public sector

In 2025–26, DPC continued to provide guidance and advice to ensure consistent and transparent executive employment and remuneration practices across the Victorian Public Service and public entities.

DPC reviewed and updated the standard employment contract and handbooks for public sector executives. The new contracts reflect best practice and support employers to maintain a high-performing executive workforce.

DPC also continued to support the Premier and Secretary in managing their employment powers and responsibilities for public service body heads.

Provide expert whole-of-government governance advice on the operation of Victorian public sector entities, best practice governance arrangements and Victorian Government board appointments

In 2025–26, DPC facilitated updates to the Premier’s Appointment and Remuneration Guidelines, including new guidance on appointing and remunerating single officer roles, such as Commissioners, Inspectors General and other statutory officer holders. The new guidance helps foster consistency, fairness and transparency across government in appointing single officer roles.

To assist best practice public entity governance, DPC implemented a review and revitalisation of its public website on creating and reviewing Victorian public entities. The revised website provides comprehensive guidance on critical considerations in establishing new entities, such as understanding appropriate legal structures and applying whole-of-government legislation and policies.

Advocate for Victoria’s interests in intergovernmental relations, and work collaboratively with other jurisdictions and the Commonwealth Government on Victorian, state and territory, and National Cabinet priorities

In 2025–26, DPC continued to lead advice to the Premier and senior departmental officials to support Victoria’s participation in National Cabinet, the Council for the Australian Federation, and other senior officials’ forums. During the reporting period, DPC facilitated Victoria’s engagement with the Commonwealth and other jurisdictions through more than 100 intergovernmental meetings.

DPC also provided strategic intergovernmental advice to advance Victoria’s priorities and maximise outcomes for the Victorian community. Key areas of focus in 2025–26 included health and disability reform, fuel security and firearms reform initiatives.

Finally, DPC supported departments and ministers in negotiating significant intergovernmental agreements to secure appropriate Commonwealth investment including record funding for hospitals under the National Health Reform Agreement.

Lead and advise Victorian Government departments and agencies on best practice and setting standards in advertising and research, governance, strategic communications, media strategy and insights

As part of its strategic governance and central advisory role for government advertising, in 2025–26, DPC ensured government advertising campaigns complied with the Victorian Government Communication Guidelines and relevant legislation. DPC provided best practice advice to government on the development of advertising campaigns, media buying, campaign evaluation, and communicating with diverse and regional audiences.

During 2025–26, DPC developed a new whole-of-government social media operational policy. The policy and associated guidelines were subsequently published in August 2026. The policy and guidelines provide best-practice guide advice for how departments and agencies moderate social-media content, as well as a new governance framework.

Strategic communications and media relations support was provided to all areas of the department and to DPC ministers on a range of priorities, including:

The investigation of alleged incidents in childcare centres and the Rapid Child Safety Review and Victorian Government response.
Victoria’s Multicultural Review and the Victorian Government’s response.
Consultation on work from home reforms.
The establishment of the Violence Reduction Unit.
The continuation of the cost-of-living campaign and new campaign on the redeployment of Protective Service Officers.

Provide advice on protocol matters to the public service and deliver events of major state significance

In 2025–26, DPC provided strategic advice and oversight of the protocol policies and functions of the Victorian Government, along with the delivery of state significant events.

Events and state services delivered included:

Victoria’s Australia Day public events as part of the National Australia Day Council program
delivery of Victoria’s Treaty: It’s Here event to mark the commencement of Australia’s first treaty
state services to honour the lives of:
- The Honourable Brian James Dixon
- Mr Allan Moffat OBE
- The Hon. Robert Knowles AO
- The Hon. Norman Henry Lacy
- Mr Neale Daniher AO
celebrating multicultural and multifaith communities at the:
- Premier's Diwali State Reception 2025
- Year of the Horse - Premier's Celebration Gala 2026
- Victorian Iftar Dinner 2026
- Vaisakhi Volunteer Appreciation Reception 2026
- Victorian Christian Communities Dinner 2026

DPC provided protocol support to the Victorian Government for the:

Victorian State Vigil at St Paul’s Cathedral on the National Day of Mourning for the Victims of the Bondi Terrorist Attacks.
Visit to Australia by the President of the State of Israel, His Excellency Mr Isaac Herzog.
Visit to Australia by Their Majesties The King and Queen of Denmark.

Deliver a whole-of-government communications strategy to support Victoria’s path to Treaty

In 2025–26, activities in the strategy were designed to inform Victorians about Treaty, supporting audiences who are interested in Aboriginal Affairs to engage, prevent and address misinformation and foster understanding and respect for Aboriginal Victorians and culture.

The strategy focused on proactive digital engagement through tools such as the Treaty Victoria email program, an expanded and regularly updated website, enhanced social media activity, Joint Statements, coordinated media opportunities and shareable stakeholder communications products. This approach ensures that stakeholder engagement remains impactful, inclusive, and aligned and responsive to the evolving needs of the process and audiences.

The public communications campaign has worked to ensure Victorians have information about the foundations for Treaty-making, the Treaty negotiation process and the benefits of Treaty, and will continue to build awareness and understanding following the public release of the Statewide Treaty and passage of legislation through Parliament.

Deliver a whole-of-government communications strategy to improve access to information for people with disability

DPC led a program of work to build accessible communications capability and capacity across the VPS, which included the development of a whole-of-Victorian Government accessible communications policy. In 2025–26, the Victorian Government Accessible Communications Policy was published on the Victorian Government website, which aims to ensure all Victorians can access and understand government information.

Oversee the government’s Regional Press Policy, Regional Advertising Policy and Multicultural Advertising Policy to ensure all Victorians have relevant and timely access to information

DPC oversaw government compliance with a range of advertising policies in 2025–26, to ensure all Victorians have access to relevant and timely information, including supporting local and regional newspapers.

DPC reviewed all Victorian Government advertising campaigns undertaken in
2025–26 to ensure they included a minimum 15 % expenditure on regional and rural media and a minimum 15% expenditure on multicultural media.

Supports the Governor of Victoria in all aspects of their role for the benefit of Victoria

The Office of the Governor continued to support the Governor of Victoria, Her Excellency Professor the Honourable Margaret Gardner AC, across her constitutional, ceremonial, community and international duties.

Activities in 2025–26 included hosting a Games on the Green Cricket Day for school students, the signing of the Statewide Treaty Bill, the Australia and Malaysia Foreign Minsters’ Bilateral meeting, launch of the Australian Performing Arts Museum and events for the Emergency Services Foundation, Victorian Farmers affected by drought and the Centenary of the Royal Australian Corps of Signals.

Engagement with regional Victoria included official visits to Mount Alexander and Macedon Ranges; Moira, Greater Shepparton and Benalla; Bendigo; Yarra Valley, Glenelg and South Grampians; Yarriambiack and Horsham. Additional regional visits included bushfire affected communities in Harcourt and Castlemaine; as well as communities across the shires of Mithcell, Strathbogie, Mansfield and Murrindindi. In addition, the Governor visited areas affected by flash flooding events in Colac Otway and Surf Coast shires.

The Governor’s international duties included official visits to Malaysia and Indonesia focusing on a range of priority sectors including infrastructure development, educational and cultural exchange and healthcare. The Governor also visited Victoria’s largest two-way trading partner, China to promote stronger economic and cultural engagement, including with Victoria’s oldest and newest sister-state relationships in Jiangsu province and Sichuan province; where the Governor participated in celebrations to mark the official 10-year anniversary.

Official visitors received at Government House included the Vice Governor of Aichi Prefecture, Japan; the Foreign Secretary and Defence Secretary, United Kingdom; Vice President of the Republic of El Salvador, Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal and Sir Tim Laurence, Their Majesties King Frederik X and Queen Mary of Denmark, Dame Susan Langley DBE, Lady Mayor of London; His Excellency Mr Isaac Herzog, President of the State of Israel; the Ambassadors of China, Italy, Lebanon, Philippines, Ireland, Afghanistan, Denmark, and to the United Arab Emirates and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN); as well as the High Commissioners for Bangladesh, Canada, India, Kenya.

Output: Public sector administration advice and support

Enhance public sector integrity and governance capability

DPC unifies government’s efforts to promote good governance and effective public administration. The department maintains whole-of-Victorian-government guidance and provides advice that fosters high-quality decision-making and policy-making, government integrity and accountability, and trust in public institutions.

Key DPC achievements in 2025–26 include:

administering whole-of-government guidelines, including the Appointment and Remuneration Guidelines, to support good governance in non-departmental entities
publishing the updated Appointment and Remuneration Guidelines to strengthen the integrity of appointments and ensure a fair and consistent approach across non departmental entities
supporting ongoing administration of the Ministerial Code of Conduct, including quarterly publications of ministerial diaries and the publication of the Ministerial Register of Interests and the Ministerial Register of Gifts, Benefits and Hospitality.
providing guidance and advice on public sector executive workforce policies to ensure consistent and transparent executive employment and remuneration practices across the public sector.

Output: Chief Parliamentary Counsel Services

Build capacity in legislative drafting to provide drafting and legislative services to implement the government’s legislative program, support Parliament and to provide public access to Victorian legislation

In 2025–26, the Office of the Chief Parliamentary Counsel (OCPC) drafted a variety of legislation to implement major government policy initiatives and reforms. OCPC drafted 60 government bills in the reporting period, including the passage of the Statewide Treaty Act 2025. Other legislation included bail and justice legislative reforms, significant amendments to legislation relating to childcare services and education and to dangerous goods and environmental legislation. In addition, 193 statutory rules were drafted and made.

OCPC continued to provide drafting services to Parliament throughout 2025–26 to facilitate the passage of Victorian Government legislation, the preparation of House amendments and the drafting and introduction of Private Members’ Bills. The demand for drafting services from opposition, non-government parties and independent members of parliament has continued to increase compared to previous years.

OCPC has continued to focus on building the office's drafting capacity to ensure that it can continue to meet expectations and demands into the future.

Progress towards the objective

The objective indicator, associated data sets and descriptions below show how the following outputs contribute to DPC’s Improved Public Administration and Support for the Victorian Public Service departmental objective:

Executive government advice and services
Public sector administration advice and support
Chief Parliamentary Counsel services
State electoral roll and electoral events.

Objective indicator: Support for Cabinet, committee members and Executive Council is valued and informs decision making

Throughout 2025–26, DPC’s policy advice to the Premier, Cabinet and its committees, and Executive Council has supported decision-making through augmenting departmental submissions, identifying risks and their management, and linking related work.

DPC’s contribution to this objective indicator is also demonstrated through the following data:

Data set	Unit	2022–23	2023–24	2024–25	2025–26
Number of briefs supporting Cabinet and Cabinet committee decision making	number	913	1,149	1,176	1,052

Objective indicator: Agency compliance with government advertising and communication guideline

Throughout 2025–26, DPC’s policy advice to the Premier, Cabinet, portfolio ministers and key governing boards and committees continued to shape the government’s agenda in the medium- to long-term by supporting the efficient development of campaign creative and media buying across government and providing strategic advice on communicating with all Victorians, including diverse and regional audiences.