Work/Life Balance Award

The Australian Public Service Commission was rated 11th out of a total of over 310 public and private sector organisations that participated in the 7th Annual Work/Life Initiatives Benchmarking Study. It was rated 2nd in the Commonwealth Government Category.

The Commission received a Certificate of Achievement from Work/Life Balance International at an awards ceremony in Sydney in April 2004. The certificate acknowledges the Commission as one of the top 25 participating Australian companies in promoting and providing effective strategies for employees to balance work and private lives.

The benchmarking study found that ‘best practice organisations’ had leaders who supported work/life strategies to increase productivity and service delivery as well as specific strategies to enable employees to accommodate changing personal circumstances and any unforeseen emergencies. As a result, these organisations enjoyed lower turnover, increased staff morale and lower levels of absenteeism.

The Australian Public Service Commission offers a comprehensive suite of benefits to employees to enable them to tailor their working arrangements to best suit their personal and family circumstances. These include:

  • Flexible working hours, regular part-time work, home-based work and an extended bandwidth of normal working hours for optimum flexibility
  • Reasonable time off in lieu for travel on official duty
  • Flexible leave arrangements that can be accessed at full-pay, half-pay or without pay depending on employee requirements with scope for employees to purchase additional recreation leave or access forms of discretionary leave (eg adoption leave)
  • Purchased leave (48/52, 49/52,50/52 or 51/52)
  • Maternity leave including 24 weeks at half pay
  • Reimbursement of reasonable expenses arising from additional family care arrangements due to work (in particular travel)
  • On-site Carer’s Rooms.

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