Empathy and objectivity: must public servants choose?
The Bridge Live, hosted by ANZSOG
and IPAA NSW
In partnership with the Australian and New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG), IPAA NSW presents a focused discussion on empathy as a core public service value — and the tensions that can arise in practice.
Empathy is often seen as sitting in tension with neutrality, objectivity and evidence-based decision-making. So how can it be applied in a way that strengthens, rather than compromises, professional judgement?
As public expectations evolve, the ability to understand lived experience — and translate this into effective decisions — is becoming increasingly important.
Join this Bridge Live forum, led by The Bridge Editor Maria Katsonis, featuring Dr Assel Mussagulova (University of Sydney), Tracey Hall PSM and David Hartley. Drawing on research from the Australian Journal of Public Administration and an ANZSOG Bridge research brief, the discussion will connect academic insight with real-world practice.
You will gain insights into:
How empathy can enhance impartial decision-making
What it looks like in practice across the public sector.
How to apply it to improve outcomes for stakeholders, teams and organisations.
Event details
Speakers
Maria Katsonis (Host)
Maria Katsonis is a Public Policy Fellow at The University of Melbourne where she teaches policy design and implementation at a post graduate level. She has 20 years’ experience in the Victorian Public Service as a senior executive and has a deep understanding of public policy and public management. She held the roles of Director, Governance and Director, Equality in the Department of Premier and Cabinet (DPC) and served as Special Adviser to the Secretary of DPC. She was also the Executive Director of Public Policy and Organisation Reviews at the Victorian Public Service Commission where she led governance and service delivery reviews at the request of the Premier and Ministers.
Maria has a Master of Public Administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University where she was named a Lucius Littauer Fellow for academic achievement and commitment to public service. A Fellow of Leadership Victoria, Maria was named an Australian Financial Review/Westpac Woman of Influence in 2016 for her leadership in diversity and inclusion. She is an associate editor of the Australian Journal of Public Administration.
Tracey Hall PSM
Tracey Hall PSM is the 24th Sheriff of New South Wales, bringing more than 40 years’ experience across policing, legal practice and the public sector. She is recognised for her strong strategic leadership and commitment to justice and community safety.
She began her career with the NSW Police Force in 1981, later qualifying in law and working as both a Police Prosecutor and private solicitor. She has held senior roles across Victims Services, the Victims Compensation Tribunal and Court Services, before her appointment as Sheriff in 2013.
As Sheriff, she leads operations across more than 180 locations, overseeing court security, jury services and civil enforcement. She has led significant reforms, including modernising enforcement practices, strengthening court security, and establishing the NSW Sheriff and Justice Academy.
David Hartley
David Hartley (A/Deputy Director-General Queensland Health) has spent the past 27 years with Queensland Ambulance Service, beginning his career as a paramedic and has experience across a range of executive roles, most recently as Chief Operating Officer in QAS, where his role had a similar focus on quality and patient outcomes across eight regions.
David is deeply passionate about empowering our workforce through support, innovation, governance and technology to improve patient outcomes across Queensland. He is committed to delivering public value in his role through his leadership and the promotion of effective and strong teamwork.
David has a Masters of Public Sector Leadership and has recently completed a Masters of Public Administration.
Dr Assel Mussagulova
Assel Mussagulova is a Lecturer in Public Policy and Public Administration at the School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Sydney.
Her research interests lie at the intersection of public administration, human resource management, and public policy. She is particularly interested in how bureaucratic structures and institutions shape individual attitudes and motivations, and how to design public sector management policies that leverage these motivations for the public good. More narrowly, her research focuses on what drives individuals to join public service and what sustains or hampers their desire to create public good while employed in the public sector. This includes individual differences, cultural, and larger environmental, factors, such as bureaucratic systems and economic conditions.
Her bigger research agenda is about contributing to scholarship on building more efficient, empathetic, and attractive civil service systems.