Glossary

ANZSOG was established by the Australian and New Zealand governments. It works to strengthen the quality of public sector leadership in Australia and Aotearoa-New Zealand through education programs, thought leadership and government-focused research that meet the contemporary challenges faced by

public services.

The agency survey is an annual survey of all Australian Public Service (APS) agencies with at least 20 employees.

An APS agency operates under the Public Service Act 1999 (Cth). This includes departments, statutory agencies and executive agencies. APS agencies are a subset of Commonwealth agencies. A list of APS agencies is available on the APSC website at  www.apsc.gov.au/publication/aps-agency-listing-agencies-covered-public-…;

An APS employee is an employee engaged under the Public Service Act 1999 (Cth).

The Australian Public Service Employment Database (APSED) contains employment, diversity and education details for all people employed in the APS under the authority of the Public Service Act 1999 (Cth).

The APS Values are set out in Section 10 of the Public Service Act 1999 (Cth). The APS Values articulate the Parliament’s expectations of public servants in terms of their performance and standards of behaviour. The values are: impartial, committed to service, accountable, respectful and ethical.

Another term for substantive classification, which is the classification level an APS employee has been engaged at, or were last promoted to.

An agency under the Commonwealth of Australia, including those not covered under the Public Service Act 1999 (Cth).

The Australian Public Service Commissioner’s Directions 2016 are made under the Public Service Act 1999 (Cth). The  directions prescribe standards with which agency heads and APS employees must comply to meet their obligations under the Act. In 2019, the Commissioner updated parts of the directions.

The Chief Operating Officers Committee was established by the Secretaries Board with a remit to embed an enterprise-wide approach to APS operations and management. It first met in February 2020 and its membership includes the COOs from all departments and major agencies.

An engagement refers to the engagement or re-engagement of employees under Section 22 of the Public Service Act 1999 (Cth). Employees of agencies moving into coverage of the Act are counted as engagements. Engagement can be employment as an ongoing APS employee; for a specified term or for the duration of a specified task; or for duties that are irregular or intermittent.

The APS Job Family Model groups functionally similar positions that have related skills, tasks and knowledge requirements. The model does not reflect work level classification.

A Machinery of Government change occurs when the Government decides to change the way Commonwealth responsibilities are managed. It can involve the movement of functions, resources and people from one agency to another.

Non-ongoing employment is a generic term which refers to the engagement of APS employees for either a specified term or for the duration of a specified task or for duties that are irregular or intermittent as mentioned in sections 22(2)(b) and (c) of the Public Service Act 1999 (Cth).

The Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) is an international organisation founded in 1961. It aims to find evidence-based solutions to a range of social, economic and environmental challenges.

Ongoing employment refers to the employment of an APS employee as an ongoing employee as mentioned in Section 22(2) (a) of the Public Service Act 1999 (Cth).

The actual classification that an employee is currently working in. It includes employees on temporary assignment to a higher or lower classification.

A promotion is when an existing APS employee moves to a higher classification level. For example, an APS 6 employee is successful in gaining a promotion to an EL 1 classification.

The Secretaries Board was established by the Public Service Act 1999 (Cth) to set the direction for the APS, drive collaboration and draw together advice from senior government leaders, business and the community. It is made up of secretaries from each APS department and the Australian Public Service

Commissioner. Currently the Director-General of the Office of National Intelligence also sits on the board.

The Secretaries Digital Committee was established in 2020 to help deliver digital transformation commitments and to ensure effective APS digital governance.

A separation occurs when an employee ceases to be employed under the Public Service Act 1999 (Cth). It does not refer to employees moving from one APS agency to another. Separations include retirement, resignations, and terminations of employment for grounds stated at section 29 in the Act.

Stewardship in the public sector context refers to the effective planning, management and protection of resources; as well as to the role of building a culture of innovation and integrity in policy advice. Under section 57 of the Public Service Act 1999 (Cth), as part of their roles, Secretaries are expected to provide stewardship to their departments.

Includes the following leave types: sick, community service, compassionate, Defence Reservist, leave without pay, miscellaneous, parental, and workers compensation.

Includes the following leave types: personal, carers’ and miscellaneous leave (bereavement, compassionate and emergency leave).