Corporate governance framework

People

Both the Commission’s 2003—04 Corporate Plan and the 2003—06 Certified Agreement contain commitments to building the Commission’s strategic capability. The Commission has established a Strategic Capability Development Team (SCDT) to focus activity on functions related to all human resource, workforce planning, learning and development, information and communications within the Commission.

Workforce Planning

At 30 June 2004, the Commission employed 190 staff of whom 165 were employed on an ongoing basis. These staff were divided between Canberra (77.9%) and regional offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.

During 2003—04, Commission staffing increased by 2.2% as work continued on a number of strategic priorities. This included staff for the Integrated Leadership System (ILS) and Indigenous Employment Strategy (IES) for which the Commission received additional funding.

Table 29 outlines ongoing and non-ongoing staff numbers for the last 5 years.

TABLE 29: Commission Staff Numbers at 30 June 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004

	June 2000	June 2001	June 2002	June 2003	June 2004
Ongoing	111	122	135	159	165
Non-ongoing	26	36	26	27	25
Total	137	158	161	186	190

More detailed information about the nature of our workforce is set out in Appendix G. Overall, however, we have noticed the following trends:

The Commission retains a strong pattern of ongoing employment supplemented by a relatively stable level of non-ongoing employment to meet particular business needs. Over the last two years non-ongoing employees comprised between 13 and 14% of our workforce.
There has been a modest shift in the classification mix with increased employment at Executive levels (from 41.8% in 2003—04 to 45.8% in 2003—04) while the proportion of APS 5/6 employees decreased from 54.3% in 2002—03 to 50.5% in 2003—04.
As in recent years, the majority of people working in the Commission are women, comprising 68.4 per cent of our workforce in 2003—04, down slightly on 2002—03 (70%).
Women continue to predominate as part-time employees with no men taking up this employment option in the last two years.
The proportion of employees identifying as being of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent has fallen slightly from 3.8% to 3.2% over the last two years.
The proportion of employees who identify as having a disability has substantially increased from 5.4% in 2002—03 to 7.9% in 2003—04.

During 2003—04 the Commission introduced a number of workforce planning initiatives and strategies, essential in addressing human resource issues and that built on work commenced during 2002—03. It implemented a workforce-planning framework and developed a structured corporate learning and development strategy. In addition, the Commission commenced:

the introduction of a comprehensive and accurate Human Resource Information System
the revision of the Commission’s recruitment processes
the design of a new induction process and
review of its engagement and probation policy.

Graduate recruitment

The Commission’s three 2002—03 graduates successfully completed their training year in December 2003. Two were placed in ongoing positions in the Commission’s Canberra office, and one in the Sydney office. The Commission recruited a further three graduates through its 2003—04 recruitment campaign, one of whom is Indigenous.

The Commission has in place a comprehensive training program that provides graduates with the opportunity to incorporate practical job rotations with formal off-the-job training. During 2003—04 the Commission introduced a coaching/ mentoring program for graduates. The program has been expanded into a second-year mentoring program to further support graduates beyond their first year.

A decision has been made not to recruit graduates in 2004—05, as the Commission has devoted its limited resources to building a more structured approach to learning and development consistent with the commitments to build capability in its Certified Agreement.

Corporate learning and development

The Commission's Corporate Performance Planning and Management Framework links its Corporate Plan, business plans, individual performance agreements and individual development plans. In this way, individual performance planning and development are closely linked to the Commission's business needs.

Individual development needs are aggregated to form the basis for establishing corporate learning and development priorities. These common priorities are met through a corporate program of development activities managed by the Corporate Strategy and Support Group. Meeting learning and development needs that have more of an individual or technical focus is the responsibility of individual staff members and their Group Managers.

During 2003—04 the Commission introduced a more structured Corporate Training Calendar, which links Commission, Group and individual capability to organisational performance improvements. The calendar represents a significant investment by the Commission in the development of staff. Participation and expenditure information in Table 30 provide a measure of this investment. In addition to the corporate training program, groups funded training and development opportunities for staff that addressed individual development needs.

TABLE 30: Participation rates in training and development activities, 1999—2000 to 2003—04

Participation rates	1999—2000	2000—01	2001—02	2002—03	2003—04
Total Staff days	695	761	562	678	1176
Days per staff member	5.0	4.8	3.5	3.7	6.1
Total Estimated cost	$178 000	$140 000	$145 000	$247 000	$617,484
Cost per staff member	$1299	$886	$900	$1330	$3250

During the year several significant activities were undertaken on a Commission-wide basis including workshops for Executive and APS Level staff. The workshops were attended by 157 Commission staff from both Canberra and regional offices and represent 273 days of training. Results from the workshops indicate that considerable progress has been made toward addressing the objectives of building a shared understanding of the Commission’s role and strategic direction, establishing a more collegiate culture with improved communication, and building capability.

In addition to the EL and APS workshops, staff spent on average 1.4 days participating in Corporate Training Calendar activities.

Other significant activities were also undertaken including, for example, one staff member undertaking the Senior Women in Management Program and another participating in the Australia and New Zealand School of Government. The Commission also introduced an internal seminar program called ‘Corporate Made Easy’ which aims to provide staff with information on services and assistance available through the Corporate Strategy and Support Group.

Groups are responsible for assessing the relevance and effectiveness of training in which their staff participate and it is standard practice for regular group meetings to discuss the training that staff have undertaken.

The Commission continues to support formal study through the Study Encouragement Scheme focusing on qualifications in the fields of public administration, human resource management, learning and development and public policy and governance. In 2003—04, 14 people utilised the Scheme to pursue further study.

Staff Survey

The Commission surveys its staff to ‘obtain feedback on the Commission’s culture, working arrangements and internal policies, and to assess the extent to which staff understand the APS Values’.

From 2004 the Commission will conduct a survey in October every second year, with results available in November—December. The surveys will continue to be based on a set of core questions that will allow comparison in trends and views over time and with the findings of the APS-wide State of the Service findings.

Several initiatives have been carried out in 2003—04 to follow up issues raised in the 2002—03 Commission staff survey:

Executive and APS level workshops. Workshops were held for all staff within the Commission with the objective of building a shared understanding of the Commission’s role and strategic directions and establishing a more collegiate culture with improved communication. The workshops were attended by 157 staff and are discussed further in the section on Learning and Development.
regular work station assessments, including acquisition of some new furniture, and OH&S and stress prevention training
active promotion of the Commission’sEmployee Assistance Program including through training activities
commencement of the revision and promotion of the Commission’s Plan for a Harassment- Free Workplace, including the conducting of several harassment training sessions in 2003—04
expansion of the health awareness program during 2003—04 to focus on health and lifestyle with increased emphasis on work life balance. (Coverage of the health awareness program is included later in this section of the report.)

Agreement Making in the Commission

The Commission provides terms and conditions of employment under either its Certified Agreement or through Australian Workplace Agreements with individual employees. As at 30 June 2004, 155 non-SES employees were covered by the certified agreement while 33 employees have entered into AWAs.

The salary ranges for the Commission’s classification levels is set out in Table 31.

TABLE 31: Salary ranges (as at 30 June 2004)

Classification	Min	Max
APS 1/2	$29,725	$37,720
APS 3/4	$38,643	$46,330
APS 5/6	$47,765	$58,835
EL 1	$61,090	$73,800
EL 2	$75,338	$95,000
SES 1	$100,000	$120,000

NB The Band 3 salary range is not included in this table as the Commission has only one Band 3 employee.

Certified Agreement

The Commission’s third Certified Agreement Building Our Capability: People and Performance has had a smooth implementation since being certified by the Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC) on 11 June 2003.

It is a comprehensive agreement made directly with staff under section 170LK of the Workplace Relations Act 1996 and notionally expires in June 2006. It covers the employment arrangements and conditions for staff not covered by Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs).

The Commission’s Certified Agreement covers the terms and conditions of employment for 93 APS 1—6 employees and 62 Executive level employees.

Major initiatives in the Certified Agreement include:

the move from salary ranges to a salary points structure with the possibility of salary advancement
increased focus on capability development through the performance appraisal scheme and commitment to a greater focus on learning and development
adoption of a consistent approach to a multi-source feedback process
the introduction of a workplace giving scheme.

Non-pay benefits for employees include:

additional or enhanced flexibility in relation to recreation leave, sick leave, carer’s leave, personal leave and access to purchased leave arrangements
access to Commission-sponsored health awareness and Employee Assistance Program
flexible working arrangements.

AWAs

Thirty-three AWAs are in place covering 7 Senior Executives, 24 Executive level employees and 2 APS1—6 employees.

This represents 17.4% of the Commission’s workforce. The majority of the Commission’s current AWAs nominally expire in June 2006.

The Commission’s AWAs generally include similar provisions to its Certified Agreement. In addition some AWAs include the following benefits:

car parking at the place of employment
home access to information technology
airline lounge membership
business class air travel when travelling on official business
executive lease vehicle.

Managing performance

A significant feature of the Commission's Certified Agreement is the performance appraisal scheme that directly links annual assessment of people's performance with their remuneration. The scheme operates as part of the Commission's overall approach to performance management and integrates corporate, group and individual performance planning and management. The scheme also provides a basis for planning individual development and for managing poor performance.

The Commission’s scheme provides for:

annual productivity increases in base pay
the possibility of salary advancement
the possibility of modest bonuses for high-performing staff.

In 2003—04, the Commission paid $121,675 in performance bonuses to 68 employees. Details of payments made to staff are included in Table 32. These payments relate to performance during the 2002—03 year as the Commission's appraisal cycle operates on a financial year basis with performance-linked increases in remuneration being made in July each year based on an assessment of performance in the preceding year.

TABLE 32: Performance pay for 2003—04

Classification	Number of Staff	Number receiving	Total Payment	Average Payment	Range
APS 1/2	4	Nil	Nil	Nil	0
APS 3/4	39	8	$8 900	$1 112	$700—$1 200
APS 5/6	49	22	$28 400	$1 291	$800—$2 400
EL 1	58	21	$30 875	$1 470	$ 875—$1 500
EL 2	28	13	$34 500	$2 654	$2 250—$4 500
SES	7	4	$19 000	$4 750	$3 000—$10 000

Australia Day awards

One of the features of Australia Day Celebrations in the Commission is the presentation of Australia Day medallions. The medallions are awarded to non-SES members of the Commission who have worked in the Commission for longer than 12 months and made an exceptional contribution to the performance, culture or identity of the Commission. Contributions of many areas and regions of the Commission were recognised in 2004.

Four awards comprising two individual awards and two team awards were presented in 2004:

Karin Fisher (OPVG), Patrick Palmer (REG) and Karen Labrum (OPVG) for the Values in Agencies Project
Kerri Russ (OPVG) and Adam McInerney (OPVG) for the Get it Right recruitment kit project
Steven Eady (CSSG) for contribution to the Commission’s culture
Susan Kurtjak (RSSWG) for contribution to the Commission’s work in Western Australia.

Occupational health and safety

As in past years, the Commission continued to promote activities to enhance the health and wellbeing of its employees. In 2003—04, the Commission conducted an annual health awareness program, ran regular health and lifestyle sessions, provided all staff with OH&S training opportunities and continued to provide a program of regular workstation assessments.

Last year’s Health Week program, from 17—21 November 2003, was conducted in all Commission offices and included:

information sessions e.g. psychological health awareness, breast cancer awareness, skin and sun care practices and a library display including health-related books and pamphlets
clinical assessments e.g. lifestyle screenings, bone density screenings and respiratory function tests
activities and exercise e.g. back and neck management, introduction to healthy exercise, massage for stress management, wetlands walk, healthy lunch and debate, hand and feet care, croquet and meditation.

The Health Week program was very popular with staff, many of whom participated in multiple events. There was a total of 476 attendances at organised health week activities that covered a total of more than 480 hours. This represents an increase of 22% on 2002—03 participation rates.

In 2003—04 the Commission also:

introduced a series of Health and Lifestyle sessions to continue developing staff awareness of health issues, lifestyle and work balance through the year
provided access to an electronic Office Gym program which gave regular reminders of the need to exercise and take physical breaks from computer operations
provided all staff and their families with access to a confidential Employee Assistance Program.

Work/Life Balance

During 2003—04 the Commission participated in the 7th annual Work/Life Balance Benchmarking Study. The study, conducted by private firm Managing Work/Life Balance and publishers CCH Australia, surveys both public and private organisations and assesses executive support, organisational policies and procedures, and barriers to achieving work/life balance in organisations.

The Commission ranked 2nd of the 21 Commonwealth Government agencies and 11th out of 310 participants in the study. (See feature)

The Commission last participated in the study in 2002 where it finished 8th of 195 participants and was 2nd of the Commonwealth Government participants.

Workplace diversity

The Commission’s Workplace Diversity Program continues to contribute to ensuring that the Commission fosters an environment that positively values diversity of backgrounds and ideas and achieves the creativity and performance that flow from diverse contributions. During 2003—04, the Commission provided three workshops to enhance staff skills and awareness about diversity in the workplace.

The Commission's Certified Agreement continues to provide staff with flexible forms of employment and increased access to personal leave. Over 12% of Commission staff work part-time and about 8% of staff have made use of the purchased leave arrangements to increase their leave entitlements. Purchased leave is particularly popular as a means of caring for children during school holidays.

As discussed under Graduate Recruitment, the Commission undertook a graduate recruitment campaign during 2003—04 with some of the employment opportunities identified as being open to Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders within the meaning of the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 and consistent with the Public Service Commissioner’s Directions 1999.

The Commission succeeded in recruiting three graduate employees, one of whom identified as being of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent. The Commission employs 190 staff, of whom 68.4% are women, 3.2% identify as being of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent, 16.3% were born overseas, 5.3% born overseas with English not their first language and 7.9% identify as having a disability. Table 33 provides a comparison with recent years.

TABLE 33: Representation of EEO groups as a percentage 2000—01 to 2003—04

	2000—01	2001—02	2002—03	2003—04
Women	65.0	67.7	68.3	68.4
Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander Descent	1.9	3.7	3.8	3.2
People with disabilities	3.8	3.1	5.4	7.9
Born overseas	13.1	16.1	15.1	16.3
Born overseas and English not first language	6.9	5.0	7.5	5.3

Further information on the Commission's staffing numbers and EEO statistics are included in Appendix G.

NAIDOC Week

The Commission and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) jointly hosted an event to celebrate NAIDOC Week on 8 July 2003. The celebration at the Edmund Barton Building included a didgeridoo performance, a display of Indigenous art by Indigenous artists and DAFF and Commission Indigenous staff sharing life experiences.

A Ngunnawal Elder gave a Welcome to Country and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags were raised.

International Day of People with a Disability

A Celebration of Ability function was held jointly with the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Foresty in December 2003. The event was very well attended and received with enthusiasm from the audience.

Mary Henley-Collopy from Centrelink discussed her life and work, with the challenges of a significant physical disability, demonstrating the richness of her experience and achievement of her goals.
Lori Grovner from the ACT Guide Dog Association spoke about the work of guide dogs, while her dog Crosby demonstrated his skills in assisting people with vision impairment.
The Hands On Studio provided a display of varied artwork created by students with disabilities.

Prevention of harassment

The Commission's Plan for a Harassment-Free Workplace assists in eliminating harassment that might arise in the workplace. The plan establishes procedures to address harassment and sets out the rights and responsibilities of staff and managers, the role of Harassment Contact Officers and provides some key information including listing the current Harassment Contact Officers. The plan will be reviewed in 2004—05.

Harassment awareness and prevention training was undertaken during the year and harassment is discussed at induction sessions for new staff. There were no cases of harassment reported in the Commission during 2003—04.

Personnel Services

The Commission receives its routine personnel services under contract from RelCorp Management Services, jointly with the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, the Commonwealth Ombudsman, the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, and the Office of National Assessments. These services include processing of salaries and entitlements, administration of leave and some other conditions of service, and compensation and rehabilitation services.

A survey of staff about the quality of the services provided by RelCorp was undertaken during the year. Staff indicated through the survey that they were satisfied with the service provided by RelCorp.

A management committee, comprised of senior staff from each agency covered by the contract, monitors RelCorp's performance against the specified contract requirements. RelCorp continues to perform well against its key performance indicators. The current contract with RelCorp expires in August 2005.

Workplace Relations Committee

The Commission's Certified Agreement continues to provide for a Workplace Relations Committee (WRC) as an important consultative body in the Commission. The WRC is comprised of three management-nominated representatives, three employee-elected representatives and three union nominees.

The WRC continues to be a useful forum for obtaining the views of staff on issues relating to the management of the Commission and met five times during 2003—04. The WRC complements the fortnightly Group meetings that provide a regular forum through which staff may express their views on issues relevant to their work and the Commission and receive feedback from the Commission’s management committees.

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