Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C), Michael Thawley, says the Australian Public Service (APS) should “open its doors” to the outside world.

Mr Thawley says that upon returning to PM&C after 20 years, he saw an unexpected number of closed doors, and he wonders about what message that sends about sharing ideas in our interconnected world.

“The Public Service more widely must open its doors to the outside world,” Mr Thawley wrote in an article for News Corp.

“We must reach out more to the private sector, universities, think tanks, not-for-profits, State Governments and other countries; we must invite into our ranks colleagues from outside who have expertise and useful experience.”

He wanted to see anyone including philosophers, mathematicians, engineers and physicists become engaged with public policy.

Likewise, Mr Thawley says, APS staff have a lot to gain from working in the private sector.

“We will welcome back Public Servants who leave to gain a firsthand understanding of how business works,” Mr Thawley said.

“We may not want a revolving door but we do want a door that revolves more readily.”

“We are advertising jobs not by hard-to-understand Public Service classifications but by the expertise and outcomes we want.

“We are abandoning stilted selection criteria and asking for a one-page pitch explaining what you can achieve.”

He said PS staff should take advantage of the fact that they have more access to Government decision-making than anyone else.

“That imposes on us an obligation to put forward good ideas — and as persuasively as possible,” he said.

“A Government rightly will draw on many sources of advice, but the Public Service has the advantage of being there every day.

“We aspire to make our country more successful and make a difference in the lives of Australians.”

He said most would not expect to find so many barriers in their way when they joined the public service.

“No Prime Minister I’ve served has asked about the level of his briefer; Prime Ministers just want to hear from the person who knows the answer,” Mr Thawley said.