Chapter 1: Introduction

Purpose

The Australian Public Service (APS) Remuneration Report provides an annual snapshot of remuneration across the APS. The purpose of the report is to document remuneration trends based on data collected from APS agencies as at 31 December 2018. This report is available in HTML and PDF versions and can be downloaded from the APSC website.

Inclusions and exclusions

This report covers employees engaged under the Public Service Act 1999, including Graduate-level APS.

Casual employees, locally-engaged staff, employees on leave without pay, and those classified as Trainees or Cadets are excluded. Agency Heads and public office holders are also excluded as their remuneration is set by the Remuneration Tribunal.

Valid data for the 2018 report was received for 135,833 APS employees. 2,614 were Senior Executive Service (SES) and 133,219 were non-SES employees.

Further information on the size and shape of the APS as at 31 December 2018.

Executive remuneration management policy

The APS Executive Remuneration Management Policy provides that total remuneration should not exceed 65% of the lowest pay point of the Secretaries structure. The policy applies to all classifications.

The Australian Public Service Commissioner can approve remuneration above this point where compelling circumstances apply.

APS Classifications

This report presents remuneration data using the classification system outlined in the Public Service Classification Rules 2000.

A number of agencies use ‘local’ classifications in addition to the approved classifications. Remuneration data for local classifications have been assigned their corresponding APS classifications for the purposes of this report.

Workplace Bargaining Policy

APS agencies negotiate their own workplace arrangements within a policy framework established by the Australian Government. During the coverage period of this report, the Workplace Bargaining Policy 2018 allowed for remuneration increases up to an average of 2.0% per annum.