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This is the second year that the PS Commissioner’s report on Diversity in the APS has been included in the State of the Service report. This approach ensures that workplace diversity is considered within the broader context of the APS Values and organisational capability in the APS.

As Chapter 9 indicates, agencies are putting more effort into workforce planning for corporate and business outcomes. Recognising the contribution workplace diversity can make to achieve those outcomes is an important part of this process. A strategic approach to workforce planning that takes account of the diversity of the Australian community will ensure that agencies are better placed to attract and retain the skills they need to achieve their goals in the context of a competitive and ageing labour market.

A diverse workforce also contributes to the responsiveness of agencies to an increasingly demanding and informed Australian public. Diversity can make a positive difference where agencies want to ensure there is effective consultation with stakeholders, where it is important to tap into community agendas, or where service delivery mechanisms need to be established on the ground.

There is therefore a strong business case for a diverse workforce. However, as the legislative framework makes clear, diversity in the APS also encompasses equity in employment–a core component of the APS Values. Agencies are required to take measures to ensure that, among other things, employment related disadvantage on the basis of gender, Indigenous status, disability and on the basis of race and ethnicity is eliminated. While employment related disadvantage is not defined in the legislation, it includes access to employment opportunities, salary, promotions, and management positions.

This chapter draws on APSED data and on responses to the agency and employee surveys. It also incorporates, where appropriate, conclusions, case studies and other material from an evaluation of agencies’ written workplace diversity programs (WDPs) that was carried out by the Commission this year.

The chapter begins by briefly outlining the legislative framework for workplace diversity in the APS, and presents the key findings of the WDP evaluation. Key issues in collecting and analysing diversity data in the APS are then examined, as are employment disadvantage in the four EEO areas specified in the PS Commissioner’s Directions, age diversity and work-life balance issues for the APS. The chapter concludes with a consideration of how bullying, harassment and discrimination are managed in the APS.