PUBLIC SECTOR

Often in budget-constrained environments, public sector entities must balance pursuing opportunities with addressing needs, such as ageing infrastructure, ageing workforce, public/private partnerships, disaster preparedness, law enforcement liability and cyber risk preparedness.  

In Australia, all levels of government continue to attract greater public and media scrutiny, encouraging more transparent operating processes.

Meanwhile, the sector recently changed how it provides several services. For example:

• Government-owned-enterprises, operating in monopoly or near-monopoly environments, now commonly provide non-core government functions.
• Government-owned energy, utility and health institutions have been and are continuing to be corporatised or privatised.

With public dependence on this infrastructure and increasing regulatory scrutiny, government is more frequently held to account in law. Common themes include complex injunctions, damages claims against local governments for financial loss and challenges and torts arising from compliance and enforcement activities.

Apart from such professional liabilities, the public sector owns and manages large-scale assets. Often the state’s major employer, they also face the same workplace health and safety, property protection, industrial relations and liability issues as private sector organisations.

Public accountability adds another dimension to all of these issues. Sound governance structure encompassing risk management and prudent management plans are therefore increasingly important.

Much can be achieved with focus, determination and original thinking. With risk management, claims, workforce solutions and analytics experts, Marsh can provide the support you need.

Marsh’s public sector expertise can provide comprehensive and innovative solutions around self-management, mutuality, risk management and risk transfer of government assets (both physical and people risk). These solutions can help public sector entities achieve both transparency and efficiency, whilst lowering their total cost of risk.