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Last updated: 6 February 1998
Managing diversity
Please note: These documents are for reference purposes only and are no longer considered by the APS Commission to be current. They may contain good practice advice and/or advice on the transitional arrangements between the 1922 and 1999 Public Service Acts.
Introduction
These guidelines are the expression of Government policy in respect of Workplace Diversity Programs and outline requirements for Equal Employment Opportunity Programs (EEO) referred to in section 22B of the Public Service Act 1922. Previous guidelines issued under section 22B of the Act are revoked.
Following the Government's rejection of the Senate's amendments to the Public Service Bill 1997 in December 1997, it has been decided that the Australian Public Service (APS) will proceed with the development and implementation of workplace diversity through:
- section 22B of the Public Service Act which allows the Public Service Commissioner to issue guidelines concerning the development, implementation and review of EEO programs for agencies (ss22B(10)) and requires Agency Heads to give effect to any guidelines issued under subsection (10) in the establishment and maintenance of an agency's EEO program (ss. 22B(2)(f)); and
- the Government's policy decision on workplace diversity matters that supplement EEO.
This means that, until the new Public Service Bill is enacted, APS agencies will be required to maintain the basic principles of the EEO provisions of the current Act and, in addition, develop and implement workplace diversity measures. However, both requirements will be met through the establishment by agencies of Workplace Diversity Programs.
Purpose
The purpose of the guidelines is to:
- advise agencies of the requirement to develop Workplace Diversity Programs; and
- provide preliminary advice to assist agencies in setting up their Workplace Diversity Programs pending the issuing of a practitioner handbook in early 1998.
The practitioner handbook will provide more detail to agencies on developing, implementing, reviewing and reporting on Workplace Diversity Programs.
Background
The Government is committed to public sector reform and, as part of that, to the promotion of workplace diversity.
What is workplace diversity?
The diversity of those who work in the APS is one of its greatest strengths. To manage that workplace diversity well, means creating an inclusive environment that values and utilises the contributions of people of different backgrounds, experiences and perspectives.
Diversity relates to gender, age, language, ethnicity, cultural background, sexual orientation, religious belief and family responsibility.
Diversity also refers to the ways we are different in other respects such as educational level, work experience, socio-economic background, personality profile, geographic location, marital status and whether or not one has carer responsibilities.
All organisational policies, practices and processes that impact on the lives of employees need to recognise the potential benefits that can be derived from having access to a diversity of perspectives and to take account of these differences in managing the workplace. Work systems, organisational structures, performance appraisal schemes, recruitment and selection practices and career development opportunities all impact upon the management of diversity.
Workplace diversity in the APS will maintain the basic principles of the EEO provisions of the Public Service Act. To that end, Workplace Diversity Programs will need to include measures to remedy any employment related disadvantage of women, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people of non-English speaking background and people with disabilities.
Workplace diversity goes beyond rectifying disadvantage and correcting past actions. In the APS, procedural fairness and legal compliance have been the main drivers of EEO Programs with a resulting emphasis on redress and correction, largely through recruitment and promotion action.
Managing diversity builds upon this foundation and emphasises the importance of valuing workplace difference as good practice. This approach means that organisations must develop people management strategies to value and accommodate differences in the background, perspectives and family responsibilities of their employees. It requires them to acknowledge the positive contribution a diverse workforce, one that more broadly reflects the Australian community they serve, can make to improving productivity and generating new ideas and ways of doing things.
The Programs should take into account the particular corporate goals of the agency as well as the broader legal and policy framework.
Agency Head requirements
Agency heads are responsible for the development and implementation of Workplace Diversity Programs in their organisations. The Programs should take into account the particular corporate goals of the agency as well as the broader legal and policy framework.
Prohibition of discrimination
Agency Heads are bound by Commonwealth legislation covering direct and indirect discrimination in employment. In particular:
- the Public Service Act prohibits discrimination in appointment, promotion and transfer on the grounds of political affiliation, race, colour, ethnic origin, social origin, religion, sex, sexual preference, marital status, pregnancy, age or physical or mental disability;
- the Racial Discrimination Act 1975, the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 and the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 prohibit certain types of direct and indirect discrimination in employment; and
- a principal object of the Workplace Relations Act 1996 is to help prevent and eliminate discrimination on the basis of race, colour, sex, sexual preference, age, physical or mental disability, marital status, family responsibilities, pregnancy, religion, political opinion, national extraction or social origin.The Act prohibits discrimination on these grounds in the making of awards and agreements and in the termination of employment, subject to some exceptions.
Equal Employment Opportunity
Section 22B of the Public ServiceAct sets out the current compliance framework for EEO. This requires Agency Heads:
- to develop a program to ensure that appropriate action is taken to eliminate discrimination against women, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people of non-English speaking background and people with disabilities, and to enable them to compete for promotion and transfers and to pursue careers as effectively as other people;
- to inform staff, including relevant staff organisations, of the contents of the program;
- to collect data and assess the effectiveness of the program against relevant indicators;
- to give a copy of the program to the Public Service Commissioner;
- to review the program from time to time, in consultation with staff, including relevant staff organisations; and
- to provide a copy of this review to the Public Service Commissioner.
In addition:
- regulation 71B(1) provides for programs to encourage the appointment to the Service of members of the Aboriginal race of Australia or descendants of the indigenous inhabitants of the Torres Strait Islands. This enables agencies to establish special recruitment programs for Indigenous Australians in recognition of the fact that cultural difference may disadvantage them in mainstream recruitment. Such programs are to be subject in all other respects to the merit principle. Staff recruited through these programs must compete on merit for subsequent promotion; and
- regulation 71B(2) provides for the program known as the Intellectual Disability Access Program to encourage the appointment to the Service of people with intellectual disabilities.
Workplace Diversity Programs
The development and implementation of Workplace Diversity Programs must include existing EEO legislative requirements. In addition, the Programs are intended to go beyond the traditional EEO framework to emphasise the contribution that a diverse workforce can make to organisational effectiveness and performance.
It is Government policy that agency Workplace Diversity Programs include measures to ensure that:
- the Program is available to all agency employees;
- all employees are encouraged to develop their work skills and contribute to their maximum potential;
- the diverse skills, cultural values and backgrounds of employees are recognised and used effectively; and
- workplace structures, systems and procedures assist employees to balance their work and family responsibilities effectively.
Agency Heads are required to establish Workplace Diversity Programs (incorporating EEO requirements) within six months other issuing of these guidelines on workplace diversity, i.e. by the end of August 1998. Current EEO Programs will continue until the more comprehensive Workplace Diversity Programs are established.
Agency Heads must evaluate both the effectiveness and outcomes of Workplace Diversity Programs. This will include the development of appropriate performance indicators. Agency Heads are required to report on the effectiveness and outcomes of their Workplace Diversity Programs in their agency annual report. They are also required to provide performance information to the Commissioner for the State of the Service Report which is to be tabled in Parliament each October.
Role of the Public Service Commissioner
The Public Service Commissioner's major role will be to monitor EEO and diversity outcomes and to report, through the Prime Minister and Minister, to Parliament.
Equal Employment Opportunity
Section 22B of the Public Service Act gives the Public Service Commissioner the power to:
- seek a report from Agency Heads on the development, implementation or review of the agency EEO program;
- recommend to the Agency Head action to improve the program. An Agency Head who does not comply with a recommendation has to inform his/her Minister of the reasons;
- issue guidelines which Agency Heads must take into account in developing, implementing and evaluating their EEO programs; and
- report annually to the Prime Minister on the operation of s.22B.
Workplace Diversity Programs
It is Government policy that the Public Service Commissioner will:
- develop an analytical framework for the purpose of making the comparative assessment of agency performance;
- make a comparative assessment of the effectiveness and outcomes of agency Workplace Diversity Programs on the basis of centrally collected data as well as information which Agency Heads must provide; and
- report annually on this assessment in the Commissioner's annual State of the Service Report.
An integrated approach to monitoring and reporting
For monitoring and reporting purposes, the Public Service and Merit Protection Commission (PSMPC) regards the EEO Program required by legislation and the Workplace Diversity Program required by Government policy as a single integrated entity. This means in particular that the Commissioner's legislative and policy responsibilities in relation to reporting to Government and Parliament on Workplace Diversity Programs and EEO Programs will be covered in a single documentthe State of the Service Report. There is no need for two separate reports.
The Commissioner will hold copies of all Workplace Diversity Programs. As necessary, the Commissioner may seek further information and advice from an agency on the effectiveness of its program. Further information on reporting arrangements follows on the next page.
Steps for Agencies
Commitment to equitable employment and effective will be demonstrated by the obligation on every agency to develop its own Workplace Diversity Program which will address issues including gender, race, culture, disability and family. As indicated above, Agency Heads will be required to establish their Programs by August 1998. The objective is to ensure that the APS makes the fullest use of and gains most benefit from the diverse backgrounds, skills, talents and perspectives of all its people.
Stages in developing workplace diversity programs
Stages in developing Workplace Diversity Programs will be outlined in the practitioner handbook to be issued by the PSMPC. However, it is expected that, in a devolved environment, no single strategy or implementation process will be appropriate to each agency. Each agency's organisational requirements, and the particular needs of its employees, should shape the Program's development.
Reporting
While it is recognised that minimising prescription in relation to workplace diversity is desirable, this approach needs to be balanced by appropriate and effective central monitoring and reporting arrangements. That is the basis of accountability. Agencies will be required to keep sufficient records, not only to enable them to report on their performance but to enable the Commissioner to evaluate the comparative effectiveness of their Programs for the annual State of the Service Report.
In order to lessen reporting requirements the basis of the Commonwealth's monitoring will be agency statistical data consolidated centrally on an ongoing basis. It will be necessary for the PSMPC to work closely with agencies to ensure that there is maximum consistency between agency data collection and any additional information required by the PSMPC to fulfil its reporting functions.
It is envisaged that data collection will be supplemented from time to time by more detailed surveys, studies and evaluations of emerging issues and concerns which impact upon employment equity and the management of diversity in the APS.
Practitioner handbook
A practitioner handbook for developing Workplace Diversity Programs is to be issued in early 1998. It is being developed by the PSMPC in close consultation with agencies. The intention is for the handbook to stimulate innovative approaches, not to regulate process.
