Appendix 5—Unscheduled absence
The APSC remains committed to managing workplace absence and collects data from APS agencies on personal and miscellaneous leave use. This appendix reports on unscheduled absence, measured as the average number of unscheduled absences per employee during the year.
The unscheduled absence rate has remained relatively stable over the last five years (Table A5.1).
| 2013–14 | 2014–15 | 2015–16 | 2016–17 | 2017–18 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rate | 11.2 | 11.6 | 11.5 | 11.4 | 11.4 |
Table A5.2 shows the personal and miscellaneous leave usage by agency size during 2017–18. The overall rate of unscheduled absence in the APS has remained stable since 2016–17.
| Agency size | Unscheduled absence 2017–18 |
Unscheduled absence 2016–17 |
|---|---|---|
| Small agencies | 10.5 | 10.6 |
| Medium agencies | 11.9 | 12.1 |
| Large agencies | 12.5 | 12.3 |
| Overall APS | 11.4 | 11.4 |
Table A5.3 provides unscheduled absence data by individual agency.
| Agency name | Days | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sick leave 2017–18 | Carer’s leave 2017–18 | Misc. leave 2017–18 | Total unscheduled absence rate 2016–17 | Total unscheduled absence rate 2017–18 | |
| Aboriginal Hostels Limited | 11.8 | 1.4 | 0.7 | 16.7 | 13.9 |
| Administrative Appeals Tribunal | 9.6 | 2.0 | 2.2 | 13.2 | 13.8 |
| Agriculture and Water Resources | 11.3 | 2.6 | 0.2 | 14.5 | 14.0 |
| Attorney-General’s Department | 7.1 | 2.1 | 0.3 | 10.9 | 9.5 |
| Australian Aged Care Quality Agency | 10.2 | 2.5 | 0.6 | 11.1 | 13.3 |
| Australian Building and Construction Commission | 8.1 | 2.0 | 0.2 | 11.8 | 10.4 |
| Australian Bureau of Statistics | 9.6 | 2.3 | 0.5 | 11.8 | 12.3 |
| Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research | 7.0 | 1.9 | 0.3 | 8.2 | 9.2 |
| Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission | 8.4 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 8.7 | 10.2 |
| Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity | 6.5 | 1.5 | 0.4 | 10.5 | 8.4 |
| Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care | 10.1 | 1.7 | 1.0 | 9.9 | 12.8 |
| Australian Communications and Media Authority | 8.7 | 2.2 | 0.3 | 11.7 | 11.2 |
| Australian Competition Consumer Commission | 6.1 | 1.7 | 0.3 | 8.1 | 8.1 |
| Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission | 10.2 | 2.3 | 0.2 | 13.3 | 12.7 |
| Australian Digital Health Agency | 9.5 | 1.4 | 0.5 | 8.2 | 11.5 |
| Australian Electoral Commission | 11.1 | 3.4 | 0.4 | 14.6 | 14.9 |
| Australian Financial Security Authority | 9.4 | 2.7 | 0.3 | 12 | 12.5 |
| Australian Fisheries Management Authority | 12.0 | 2.9 | 0.8 | 15.4 | 15.7 |
| Australian Human Rights Commission | 5.2 | 1.6 | 0.4 | 8.9 | 7.3 |
| Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Studies | 10.6 | 2.4 | 0.4 | 12.1 | 13.4 |
| Australian Institute of Family Studies | 8.6 | 1.3 | 0.2 | 14.9 | 10.2 |
| Australian Institute of Health and Welfare | 8.7 | 2.1 | 0.7 | 11.2 | 11.5 |
| Australian National Audit Office | 8.1 | 2.1 | 0.4 | 11 | 10.6 |
| Australian National Maritime Museum | 6.4 | 1.7 | 1.0 | 8.6 | 9.2 |
| Australian Office of Financial Management | 5.6 | 3.1 | 0.3 | 8.6 | 9.0 |
| Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority | 12.4 | 2.7 | 0.5 | 15.5 | 15.5 |
| Australian Public Service Commission | 7.4 | 2.8 | 0.6 | 9.8 | 10.8 |
| Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency | 8.2 | 2.1 | 0.2 | 10 | 10.6 |
| Australian Research Council | 9.1 | 3.1 | 0.7 | 13 | 12.8 |
| Australian Securities and Investments Commission | 7.2 | 1.7 | 0.4 | 9.4 | 9.4 |
| Australian Skills Quality Authority | 9.6 | 1.4 | 1.5 | 13.1 | 12.5 |
| Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority | 4.5 | 1.0 | 0.1 | 7.5 | 5.6 |
| Australian Taxation Office | 9.1 | 2.1 | 0.4 | 11.8 | 11.6 |
| Australian Trade Commission | 7.8 | 1.8 | 0.2 | 9.1 | 9.9 |
| Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre | 7.9 | 1.8 | 0.3 | 10.4 | 10.0 |
| Australian Transport Safety Bureau | 6.4 | 2.6 | 0.3 | 10.7 | 9.3 |
| Australian War Memorial | 7.6 | 2.7 | 0.2 | 11 | 10.4 |
| Bureau of Meteorology | 8.2 | 2.6 | 0.3 | 10.4 | 11.0 |
| Cancer Australia | 4.9 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 10.1 | 6.6 |
| Clean Energy Regulator | 10.1 | 2.3 | 0.9 | 12.9 | 13.2 |
| Comcare | 12.8 | 2.3 | 0.6 | 15.4 | 15.6 |
| Commonwealth Grants Commission | 9.0 | 1.9 | 0.4 | 9.8 | 11.3 |
| Commonwealth Ombudsman | 10.5 | 2.2 | 0.3 | 12.5 | 13.1 |
| Communications and the Arts | 8.7 | 2.4 | 0.3 | 12 | 11.4 |
| Defence | 11.3 | 2.5 | 0.4 | 12.9 | 14.2 |
| Defence Housing Australia | 8.6 | 2.1 | 0.8 | 11.5 | 11.5 |
| Digital Transformation Agency | 6.9 | 1.7 | 0.2 | 9.9 | 8.8 |
| Director of Public Prosecutions | 8.6 | 1.8 | 0.2 | 9.8 | 10.6 |
| Education and Training | 9.9 | 2.8 | 0.8 | 13.8 | 13.6 |
| Environment and Energy | 9.7 | 2.0 | 0.3 | 11.3 | 12.1 |
| Fair Work Commission | 7.2 | 1.7 | 1.0 | 11.3 | 9.9 |
| Federal Court Statutory Agency | 7.6 | 1.6 | 0.5 | 7.7 | 9.7 |
| Finance | 10.0 | 2.7 | 0.3 | 13.3 | 13.1 |
| Food Standards Australia New Zealand | 7.1 | 2.6 | 0.6 | 10.7 | 10.3 |
| Foreign Affairs and Trade | 7.8 | 2.2 | 0.2 | 10 | 10.1 |
| Future Fund Management Agency | 3.6 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 4.7 | 4.8 |
| Geoscience Australia | 8.2 | 2.6 | 0.2 | 11.2 | 11.0 |
| Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority | 7.6 | 2.9 | 1.0 | 11.4 | 11.5 |
| Health | 10.7 | 2.3 | 0.7 | 14.1 | 13.6 |
| Home Affairs | 11.4 | 2.9 | 0.7 | 13.6 | 15.0 |
| Human Services | 13.3 | 2.3 | 0.6 | 15.5 | 16.1 |
| IP Australia | 9.1 | 2.8 | 0.3 | 12.1 | 12.1 |
| Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority | 11.1 | 2.3 | 0.3 | . | 13.6 |
| Industry, Innovation and Science | 8.9 | 1.9 | 0.1 | 10.6 | 10.9 |
| Infrastructure and Regional Development | 10.2 | 2.6 | 0.4 | 12.6 | 13.1 |
| Jobs and Small Business | 10.5 | 2.8 | 0.4 | 13.4 | 13.7 |
| Murray-Darling Basin Authority | 8.1 | 2.8 | 1.0 | 9.7 | 11.9 |
| Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House | 7.6 | 2.3 | 0.6 | 10.8 | 10.5 |
| National Archives of Australia | 13.0 | 3.7 | 0.3 | 16.7 | 17.1 |
| National Blood Authority | 7.6 | 2.6 | 0.2 | 9 | 10.4 |
| National Capital Authority | 8.0 | 3.1 | 1.1 | 12.4 | 12.2 |
| National Disability Insurance Agency | 10.1 | 1.9 | 0.8 | 12.6 | 12.8 |
| National Film and Sound Archive | 9.6 | 3.6 | 0.3 | 14.3 | 13.5 |
| National Health and Medical Research Council | 8.1 | 2.4 | 0.4 | 12.8 | 10.9 |
| National Library of Australia | 11.0 | 2.7 | 0.4 | 13.4 | 14.1 |
| National Museum of Australia | 11.1 | 2.8 | 0.5 | 13.8 | 14.3 |
| National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority | 7.6 | 2.1 | 0.2 | 8.2 | 9.9 |
| National Portrait Gallery | 7.6 | 2.5 | 0.4 | 12 | 10.5 |
| Office of National Assessments | 5.0 | 2.6 | 0.5 | 9.5 | 8.1 |
| Office of Parliamentary Counsel | 9.3 | 3.4 | 0.7 | 15.3 | 13.5 |
| Office of the Australian Information Commissioner | 7.9 | 2.4 | 0.3 | 13.1 | 10.6 |
| Office of the Fair Work Ombudsman | 9.9 | 2.3 | 0.4 | 13.6 | 12.6 |
| Office of the Inspector-General of Taxation | 4.7 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 5.1 | 5.5 |
| Organ and Tissue Authority | 8.5 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 9.9 | 10.4 |
| Prime Minister and Cabinet | 10.7 | 2.4 | 0.5 | 12.9 | 13.6 |
| Productivity Commission | 7.2 | 1.5 | 0.3 | 9 | 8.9 |
| Royal Australian Mint | 6.5 | 1.3 | 0.2 | 11.6 | 8.0 |
| Safe Work Australia | 8.9 | 1.9 | 0.9 | 13.2 | 11.6 |
| Social Services | 10.4 | 2.7 | 0.4 | 14.1 | 13.4 |
| Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency | 6.5 | 1.5 | 0.6 | 7.5 | 8.7 |
| Torres Strait Regional Authority | 6.4 | 2.0 | 0.4 | 8.3 | 8.8 |
| Treasury | 7.5 | 1.9 | 0.4 | 9.4 | 9.9 |
| Veterans’ Affairs | 11.8 | 1.7 | 0.3 | 14.6 | 13.8 |
| Workplace Gender Equality Agency | 6.2 | 1.6 | 0.7 | 8.1 | 8.4 |