Effective relationships between departments and ministerial offices are crucial to ensuring that ministers have the information, advice and support they need to exercise their powers and meet their responsibilities to account to Parliament and the public for the performance of their portfolios.
This guide has been developed to inform new ministerial officers working with and alongside the public service to serve the government of the day. It provides an overview of the roles of ministerial officers, departmental secretaries and departmental liaison officers, and the relationships between these parties.
This guide is not intended as the definitive reference on working as a ministerial officer. Rather it sets out some of the key facts, and answers some questions about the Victorian public sector that can help incoming ministerial officers to undertake their roles.