This session discusses the lessons that can be gleaned from the public sector reform experience of the Commonwealth countries, notably from the case of Australia. The lessons point to the necessity for an explicit whole-of-government strategy championed by the budget agency and strongly supported by ministers. Furthermore, public sector reform must be integrated into the budget process and sustained over an extended period. Noting that the radical reform of the Labor Government had preceded the even more radical program of the Coalition Government, the Australian experience also illustrates the importance of sequencing reforms appropriately.