ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on accountability for the Australian Public Service, although much of the discussion applies to the state systems. It considers the main dimensions of this complex concept, the different ways of thinking about it, and several of the key debates. A definition of accountability is ‘a relationship in which an individual or an agency is held to answer for performance that involves some delegation of authority to act’. Accountability has become a complex area, and that very complexity, and its enigmatic and ambiguous nature, has prompted lively debate. One approach to clarifying public service accountability issues is by classifying the various accountability mechanisms in a two-dimensional taxonomy according to whether the mechanism is internal or external to the department or agency concerned, and whether or not the mechanism is part of the formal system of government. Internal/formal accountability is the most immediate environment of the public service.
