Statistical/Information services

In supporting a high-performing APS, the Commission collects and analyses workforce statistics. This data collection and analysis assists the APS in identifying workforce challenges and helps agencies in benchmarking their workforce planning activities.

Table 19: Performance Information: Output 3.3—Statistical/information services
Target	Result
Quantity
1. Maintain and analyse data on APS employment for research within the Commission and by other organisations.
a) APS Employment Database.	Achieved. APSED was used for APS-wide workforce analysis and reporting, including for the State of the Service report, the MAC disability report and briefing on workforce issues for Portfolio Secretaries.
b) Internet accessible data reporting tool.	Achieved. The APSED Internet Interface is fully functional, with enhancements made during the year.
c) Australian Public Service Statistical Bulletin—1 per year.	Achieved. The APS Statistical Bulletin was published in hard copy and electronically.

Quality
1. Comprehensive and reliable data in a useful format.	Achieved. Improved data quality was achieved by ongoing liaison with agencies and HR vendors.


Estimated price: $1.280 million	Actual price: $1.246 million

Maintain APS Employment Database and undertake related research

The Commission maintains the APS Employment Database (APSED), the central source of information on APS workforce trends and an important tool for ensuring cross-service accountability, especially for the State of the Service report. APSED is used as the sampling frame for the State of the Service employee and other surveys. APSED is also used for other research such as MAC projects. This year, data from APSED was used extensively for the State of the Service and MAC report on employment of people with disability in the APS. APSED was also used for additional analysis of the composition of the SES and EL 2 cadres for consideration by the Portfolio Secretaries’ Group.

The provision of APSED data by APS agencies continues to improve, with almost all agencies providing regular data through automated processes. The Commission works in close collaboration with agencies to ensure APSED requirements are incorporated into updates of their HR systems to ensure the integrity of data. It is important that APS agencies allocate sufficient resources to ensure data meets APSED specifications. Securing accurate data initially means fewer resources are needed to respond to queries.

This year, we worked closely with several agencies that moved into coverage of the Public Service Act 1999 (the Act), to ensure the integrity of their APSED data.

Some agencies continue to send data based on old APSED data specifications presenting some problems with data consistency and reducing the completeness of newly collected data items such as email addresses for employees.

In 2006–07 the Commission completed the development of the Online Employee Provided Information (OEPI) system for implementation across agencies. OEPI enables Commission staff to contact APS employees directly by email, to obtain data such as diversity status, educational qualifications and previous workforce experience. This data is loaded directly into APSED and also provided to agencies to enable them to update their records. OEPI has been implemented in a number of agencies, bringing about improved data quality with fewer missing fields. To date, emails inviting APS employees to update their details on OEPI have been sent to approximately 4,700 employees. Around one-third of these employees have accessed the system and of this group, over one-quarter have updated their details. Overall, provision of diversity data by many agencies continues to be of concern.

APS Employment Database internet interface

The APS Employment Database Internet Interface (APSEDII) promotes better practice in workforce planning and benchmarking, enabling users to produce data similar to that published in the APS Statistical Bulletin. APSEDII produces charts and tables and users can download the results for further manipulation. Agencies and other users can access aggregated data directly through the APSED Internet Interface (APSEDII) at: https://www.apsedii.gov.au.

Some 30 agencies have requested access to more detailed information on APSEDII through a secure logon and password procedure. This level of access allows designated users to look at unit record information for employees in their agency, which assists in workforce planning and improves data integrity.

APS Statistical Bulletin

The APS statistical bulletin 2005–06 (the Bulletin) provides useful information to agencies in benchmarking their activities against APS-wide trends. The bulletin is distributed to all Australian APS agency heads, New Zealand Public Service Commissioners and major public and university libraries. It is available in hard copy and electronically on the Commission’s website.

The 2005–06 bulletin contained a snapshot of APS-wide staffing as at June 2006 and staff movements throughout 2005–06. The bulletin also provided summary data for the past 15 years and its format largely followed that of the previous year, with the exception of a new table showing all promotions and transfers between states and territories.

The online version was considerably enhanced this year, enabling users to easily download and print tables, with graphs presented in a format more accessible to visually impaired users (see: http://www.apsc.gov.au/stateoftheservice/0506/statistics/).