Chapter 2: Statistical snapshot

Abbreviations

A list of the abbreviations used in this report is available in the Glossary

Length of service

The median length of service in the APS for ongoing employees at June 2006 was 7.5 years, down from 9.0 years in 2005. This drop reflects the strong growth in engagements during 2005–06, both in Medicare Australia moving into coverage¹⁰ and engagements to other agencies. Figure 2.11 shows the profile of length of service over the past 10 years. The number of employees with fewer than five years service has risen steadily over this period, reflecting the growth in engagements, especially since 2000. As a proportion of all ongoing employees, those with fewer than five years service has risen from 23.0% in 1997 to 34.5% this year. In the past five years there have been 68,948 ongoing engagements, compared with 45,458 in the five years before that.

A substantial proportion of those engaged this year had worked previously in the APS. Further details can be found in the ‘Prior service’ section below.

Figure 2.11: Ongoing employees—length of service, 1997 to 2006

Source: APSED

Length of service for all Medicare Australia employees is taken as their date of movement to the APS unless they had prior APS employment.