The troubled Department of Parliamentary Services is to be thoroughly reviewed to establish if its structure, systems and staffing fits the profile of running the national parliament.
The Speaker of the House Tony Smith and Senate President Stephen Parry broke the news of the "fit for purpose" review on Thursday morning to the department's 862 public servants who have endured a torrid time in recent months.
Departmental boss Carol Mills was sacked in April after a series of clashes with senators and MPs led to the loss of confidence of the Speaker and President.
DPS has been mired with bullying allegations, figures from workplace insurer Comcare revealed parliament is the most dangerous workplace in the Commonwealth government and it is trying to cope with strikes by its cleaners and looming industrial action by its public servants as wage battles rage on two fronts.
The building itself is unable to cope with the growing demands of up to 10,000 politicians, staffers, public servants, journalists and other workers who flock there on a busy sitting day and the department is considering spilling out into the surrounding suburbs.
The man chosen to lead the review is Ken Baxter, a 30-year veteran of the Commonwealth, Victorian and NSW governments, who is due to report by October
In their announcement on Thursday, Mr Smith and Mr Parry did not try to conceal the challenges confronting the department.
"We are conscious that the department has been subject of much attention and review over recent years," they wrote.
"The review is expected to be short in duration and is not expected to interfere with the daily work of the department.
"We are confident that this process will allow us to establish a firm base for the future."
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported that the Department of Parliamentary Services had 1750 staff. The correct figure is 862.
