2.5 People with disability

The APS is committed to supporting a more inclusive Australia where everyone can participate socially and economically.[20] As an employer, this means providing opportunities for people with disability to build rewarding public service careers.

The number of people living with disability in Australia is estimated to be 17.7% of the population, or about 4.4 million people. The unemployment rate of working-age people with disability (10%) is twice that of those without disability (4.6%).[21]

In the APS, the rate of employees who identify in their agencies’ HR system as living with disability is significantly less than those who identify anonymously in the Employee Census. This situation is not unique to the APS. It is reflected in public and private sectors both nationally and internationally.

Research shows that some employees feel safe identifying within their immediate work areas but are less inclined to provide this information centrally and without context.[22] The APSC is working to better understand the cultural or structural barriers to identification. In the 2022 Employee Census, almost one in three (30%) of respondents advised that their disability status was not recorded in their agency’s HR system. The top three reasons for this were that respondents:

• did not require any adjustments to perform their role (38%)
• were concerned about being discriminated against (34%)
• saw no reason or benefit in sharing this information with their agency (33%).

The Disability Employment Strategy 2020–25 aims to attract, recruit and retain more people with disability in the APS and ensure that workplace cultures and environments are accessible and inclusive (Figure 2.15). A mid-point strategy evaluation, due to start at the end of 2022, will assist the APS to better understand the scope of work being implemented across the public service and identify where to further focus agency actions.

Figure 2.15: Focus areas of the Australian Public Service Disability Employment Strategy 2020–25
 

Source: Australian Public Service Disability Employment Strategy 2020–25

The proportion of APS employees who identify in their agencies’ HR system as having a disability has slightly increased since 2013 to 4.7%. The Australian Public Service Disability Employment Strategy 2020–25 sets a goal of 7% employees with disability across the APS by 2025.[23] Only 10% of agencies have met this target.

In the anonymous 2022 APS Employee Census, 9.9% of employees reported having an ongoing disability, a slight increase from 9.3% in 2021 (Figure 2.16).

Figure 2.16: Proportion of employees who reported having a disability within APSED and the APS Employee Census (2019 to 2022)

Source: APSED; APS Employee Census
 

Recruitment and retention

When compared to employees without disability, a greater proportion of those with disability are employed at the APS 1 to APS 5 classification levels. They are less represented at EL 1 and EL 2 classifications (Figure 2.17). Greater attraction and retention of people with disability will help balance disability by all classification levels.

Figure 2.17: Proportion of employees with disability by classification (30 June 2022)

Source: 2022 APS Employee Census, APSED, 30 June 2022

The proportion of engagements of employees with disabilities was between 3.6% and 4.3% over the past five financial years (Figure 2.18). Advertising positions under Affirmative Measures provisions and using the RecruitAbility scheme are core initiatives to support candidates with disability. RecruitAbility allows candidates who meet the minimum requirements for the position to progress to the next stage of recruitment. In most cases, this is the interview stage. Over 65% of jobs in the APS are now advertised with RecruitAbility.

The proportion of separations of employees with disability declined in 2021–22 (Figure 2.18). While this may have been influenced initially by COVID-19, increased workplace flexibility, including more opportunities to work remotely may also be having an effect.

Figure 2.18: Engagements and separations for employees with disability (2017–18 to 2021–22)

Source: APSED

Accessible and inclusive workplace cultures and environments

The APS must continue to focus on removing barriers to the career development of people with disability.

Employees with disability were more likely (39%) to report barriers to seeking a temporary move compared to employees without disability (26%). One barrier reported by a high proportion of employees with disability was concerns about losing flexible working arrangements (34%). People living with disability are more likely to be:

• in part-time work (19% compared with 14% for employees without disability)
• accessing flexible hours (30% compared with 26% for employees without disability).

Normalising flexible working and ensuring it is offered consistently throughout the APS will help address some reported barriers around mobility and career development for people with disability.

Lack of accessibility is another key barrier to mobility. In 2021–22, the Department of Finance and the APSC progressed Action 10 of the Disability Employment Strategy 2020–25 to build an understanding of accessibility across APS premises. This is being achieved by reviewing a sample of Australian Government owned and rented premises for their levels of accessibility. Work is expected to be completed by the end of 2022.

Visibility of senior leaders with disability is important to demonstrating that the APS is a place where people with disability can aspire to leadership positions. The establishment in 2021 of a network for SES with disability provides visible leadership. It is also an opportunity for SES officers with lived experience to provide input into initiatives that support career development for people with disability.