The Governance Institute of Australia (GIA) has put out a new guide to help people navigate the nation's public sector on state and federal levels.

The indepdentent instutue compiled the report to explain the framework of the State, Territory and Commonwealth levels of government.

President of the GIA, Alan Evans, says the Guide to the Public Sectors in Australia will allow new insights into the structure of the public sector across jurisdictions.

Speaking to news outlet PSnews, Mr Evans said there are some high-level governance arrangements in place, and they deserve frequent review.

"The guide seeks to explore the variety in the size, scope of business activity, purpose and accountability mechanisms which exist in each of the public sector jurisdictions in Australia," Mr Evans told PSnews.

"Determining the corporate governance arrangements for the various public sectors of Australia is about understanding the interactions on stewardship and accountability matters between parliament, the portfolio (or responsible) minister, the treasurer or finance minister, secretaries or directors-general of departments, chief executives and the board of directors."

He said there is no one method for good corporate governance.

"This guide however, lays the foundation for a better understanding of governance in the public sectors in Australia and provides a starting point for discussions on improving the governance framework for all public sectors in Australia," Mr Evans said.

"The challenge remains however, to accommodate the differences in each jurisdiction and to understand why such processes have developed.''

The guide is available in PDF form, here.