Output 1: APS policy, legislation and information

APS Employment Database

The APS Employment Database (APSED), which is maintained by the Commission, contains data on APS employment back to 1966. The data is a rich source of information on overall APS workforce trends and is used extensively in the State of the Service Reports.

The first of a new series of research papers, Graduate Trends, was released in April 2003. Work has commenced on a research paper to examine trends in engagements.

The provision of regular and accurate data by agencies, which is essential to the operation of APSED, still remains a concern. The Commission continues to work with the vendors of HR systems and agencies to ensure that data can be provided accurately and regularly, preferably through automatic processes. Progress has been slower than planned, partly because changes to the software provided by the vendors fail to take into account the Commission’s data requirements.

Following a review of the security aspects of the system by Ernst and Young in February 2002, the major recommendations of the final report have been implemented. These recommendations relate to the way agencies transmit data to APSED. Discussions were also held with the Defence Signals Directorate to confirm that the APSED data transmission security procedures were acceptable.

The Commission continues to respond to the demand from agencies for APSED data for workforce planning purposes and to benchmark themselves against other agencies and the APS as a whole. APSED data was used extensively in the Management Advisory Committee report Organisational Renewal.

To assist agencies in making best use of APSED for workforce planning, the Commission has begun developing an interface that will allow agencies and other users to access aggregated data directly through the Internet, with tabulations and graphical presentations.

Efforts to improve the quality of data relating to persons with a disability, race or ethnicity, Indigenous status and education qualifications are continuing.

Figure 6: Price for the APS employment database