Employee engagement

The Australian Public Service Commission’s model of employee engagement measures the emotional connection and commitment employees have to working for their organisation. In this model, an engaged employee will ‘say’, ‘stay’ and ‘strive’:

  • Say – the employee is a positive advocate of the organisation.
  • Stay – the employee is committed to the organisation and wants to stay as an employee.
  • Strive – the employee is willing to put in discretionary effort to excel in their job and help their organisation succeed.

Ten questions contribute to the Employee Engagement Index. Tables 9.1 to 9.6 report on the index scores for agencies, by agency size, for APS respondents.

Table 9.1: Employee Engagement Index, by agency size

Agency size Employee Engagement Index score
Overall APS 73
Extra-large (10,000+ employees) 71
Large (1,001 to 10,000 employees) 74
Medium (251 to 1,000 employees) 74
Small (101 to 250 employees) 73
Extra-small (20 to 100 employees) 76

Table 9.2: Employee Engagement Index for extra-large agencies (10,000+ employees)

Agency Employee Engagement Index score
Extra-largeagencies ꟷ overall 71
Australian Taxation Office 74
Department of Defence 73
Department of Home Affairs 69
Services Australia 69

Table 9.3: Employee Engagement Index for large agencies (1,001 to 10,000 employees)

Agency Employee Engagement Index score
Large agencies overall 74
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission 79
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet 78
National Disability Insurance Agency 77
Department of the Treasury 76
Attorney-General's Department 76
Department of Health and Aged Care 76
Australian Bureau of Statistics 75
Australian Trade and Investment Commission 75
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade 75
Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water 74
Department of Veterans' Affairs 74
Department of Finance 74
National Indigenous Australians Agency 74
Department of Social Services 73
Bureau of Meteorology 73
Department of Employment and Workplace Relations 73
Federal Court of Australia 73
IP Australia 73
Department of Industry, Science and Resources 72
Department of Education 72
Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry 72
Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts 72

Table 9.4: Employee Engagement Index for medium agencies (251 to 1,000 employees)

Agency Employee Engagement Index score
Medium agencies ꟷoverall 74
Future Fund Management Agency 83
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 81
Murray–Darling Basin Authority 77
Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre 77
Aboriginal Hostels Limited 77
Clean Energy Regulator 76
National Library of Australia 76
Comcare 76
Australian Electoral Commission 75
Geoscience Australia 75
Fair Work Ombudsman 75
Australian National Audit Office 75
Fair Work Commission 75
Australian War Memorial 73
Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission 73
Australian Financial Security Authority 73
Australian Digital Health Agency 73
Office of the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions 73
Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission 73
Australian Public Service Commission 72
National Archives of Australia 72
Defence Housing Australia 72
National Emergency Management Agency 72
Australian Communications and Media Authority 71
Administrative Appeals Tribunal 71
National Disability Insurance Scheme Quality and Safeguards Commission 70
Digital Transformation Agency 70

Table 9.5: Employee Engagement Index for small agencies (101 to 250 employees)

Agency Employee Engagement Index score
Small agencies overall 73
Office of the Special Investigator 81
Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity 80
Office of Parliamentary Counsel 78
Australian Transport Safety Bureau 76
Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies 76
Australian Human Rights Commission 76
Australian Fisheries Management Authority 76
National Health and Medical Research Council 76
Safe Work Australia 75
Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency 75
National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority 75
National Museum of Australia 75
National Film and Sound Archive of Australia 74
Office of the Australian Information Commissioner 74
Torres Strait Regional Authority 74
Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission 74
Sport Integrity Australia 73
Food Standards Australia New Zealand 73
Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman 72
Productivity Commission 72
Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority 71
Australian National Maritime Museum 70
Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority 70
Australian Research Council 69
Royal Australian Mint 67
Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency 67
Australian Skills Quality Authority 63

Table 9.6: Employee Engagement Index for extra-small agencies (20 to 100 employees)

Agency Employee Engagement Index score
Extra-smallagencies overall 76
Organ and Tissue Authority 86
Commonwealth Grants Commission 84
Workplace Gender Equality Agency 83
Climate Change Authority 83
Professional Services Review 80
National Portrait Gallery 80
Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House 79
National Health Funding Body 78
Australian Office of Financial Management 78
National Capital Authority 77
Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority 77
Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research 77
Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care 75
National Blood Authority 74
Cancer Australia 74
Inspector-General of Taxation and Taxation Ombudsman 73
Office of the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security 72
Australian Institute of Family Studies 69
National Mental Health Commission 50

See also

Working in the APS – APS employee engagement, State of the Service Report 2022–23.

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