ACT Public Service Workforce 2015-16

Introduction

The ACT Public Sector workforce delivers a wide range of services to the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) community, including health, education, planning and urban renewal, transport, law enforcement and maintenance of infrastructure.

At June 2016 the ACT Public Sector consisted of eight ACTPS directorates and seven ACT Public Sector entities.

ACT Public Service Directorates

• Capital Metro Agency;
• Chief Minister, Treasury and Economic Development Directorate;
• Community Services Directorate;
• Education Directorate;
• Environment and Planning Directorate;
• Health Directorate;
• Justice and Community Safety Directorate; and
• Territory and Municipal Services Directorate.

ACT Public Sector Entities

• ACT Audit Office;
• ACT Electoral Commission;
• Calvary Health Care ACT;
• Canberra Institute of Technology;
• Cultural Facilities Corporation;
• Director of Public Prosecutions³; and
• Office of Legislative Assembly.

Approximately ninety per cent of the ACT Public Sector’s workforce is found within the eight directorates. The remaining ten per cent fall within ACT Public Sector entities which operate independently of the ACTPS. Because of this, information contained in the ACT Public Service Workforce 2015-16 section relates to the ACTPS directorates only⁴. Information relating to the ACT Public Sector entities is contained within the section ‘ACT Public Sector Entities 2015-16’.

Previous editions of the State of the Service reported two separate sections for the Agency Survey and Workforce Profile information. In an effort to provide a consolidated picture of the composition and profile of the ACTPS, Workforce Profile data and data collected in the 2016 Agency Survey has been integrated into the ACT Public Service Workforce 2015-16 section.

2016 Agency Survey

Background, Aims and Objectives

Section O.1 of the Directions requires that the Commissioner for Public Administration produce a report on culture and behaviour within the ACT Public Sector workforce. The State of the Service Agency Survey (the Agency Survey) is the method by which information on culture and behaviour is collected from directorates and ACT Public Sector entities.

The aims of the Agency Survey is to collect data on the outcomes delivered under the RED Framework and identify how the values under the ACTPS Code of Conduct are being embedded into workplace culture⁵. These objectives are met through collecting and analysing information via the Agency Survey on the following topics:

• learning and development activities provided by directorates and entities;
• human resource strategies employed by directorates and entities (i.e. attraction and retention, workforce planning, managing performance);
• disciplinary action and preventing bullying and harassment;
• the tools and measures used by directorates and entities to implement the RED Framework and Employment Strategies for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and People with Disability; and
• risk and fraud strategies used by directorates and entities.

Methodology

The 2016 Agency Survey was conducted inhouse through the Workforce Capability and Governance Division (WCGD) within the Chief Minister, Treasury and Economic Development Directorate (CMTEDD).

This is the first year in four years that an online survey provider was not used as the platform to conduct the Agency Survey. In 2015 Qualtrics, LLC (Qualtrics) was used to collect information via an online survey instrument survey; Insightrix Pty. Ltd. (Insightrix) conducted the survey from 2014 to 2012; and prior to 2012 information was gathered using a variety of communication methods. The changes to the 2016 Agency Survey streamline the process of data collation.

The data was collected from 10 May to 29 July 2016. A writable PDF instrument was sent to contacts at each participating directorate and entity. Information was then gathered by each directorate and entity, and was collated and analysed by WCGD. All eight directorates and seven ACT Public Sector entities completed the Agency Survey.

Development of the Survey Instrument

To achieve the research objectives, WCGD, in collaboration with Human Resource Directors, conducted a review of the survey questions and design in March 2016. The 2016 Agency Survey was then restructured to reflect the main strategic objectives for ACTPS people planning: an agile, innovative, responsive and engaged workforce.

The 2016 Agency Survey provided respondents with the opportunity to document any actions or initiatives that their directorate or entity had undertaken during the reporting period. This allowed directorates and entities to support their data with contextual information and commentary.

The survey instrument, a writable PDF, was prepared by WCGD and emailed to directorates and entities to enable them to participate at their convenience. Upon completion of the survey, directorates and entities were required to gain approval from their delegate prior to submitting their responses to WCGD.

A full copy of the 2016 Agency Survey can be found at Appendix 4.

Reporting Notes

• Questions that have multiple response options will result in percentages that could add up to more than 100 per cent. In the case of open-ended questions, respondents often provide more than one reason for their response and in these cases, percentages will add up to more than 100 per cent.
• Data has been rounded to one decimal place and as such, percentages may not add up to exactly 100 per cent on certain graphs.
• Where possible comparisons are made within this report between 2015-16 results and those collected by Qualtrics for the 2014-15 reporting period, and Insightrix for the 2012-13 and 2013-14 reporting periods.

The ACT Public Service Workforce Profile

Background, Aims and Objectives

Section 0.3 of the Directions requires that Agencies produce a Workforce Profile report, specifically including information on Attraction and Retention Incentives (ARins). Further, Section 0.3 requires that the State of the Service include relevant information at a whole of government level on Full Time Equivalent (FTE), headcount and demographics.

The Workforce Profile information is intended to provide a holistic overview of the ACT Public Sector and detailed analysis of ACT Public Service workforce data. It includes data, analysis and commentary on employment and key demographics, including part time employment, employment growth, separation rates and diversity. Further, Workforce Profile data provides a historical summary of indicators based on the ACTPS structure, including high-level time series information over the past five years. This allows for time series comparison and incorporates retrospective updates that help to remove time lag in human resources data processing.

Workforce statistics contained within the Workforce Profile data are based on information from the ACTPS payroll system and information provided by ACT Public Sector entities as at the final pay of June 2016 (‘June 2016’). Indicators apply to the period over the 2015-16 financial year.

Reporting Notes

• Shared Services, a division of CMTEDD, administers all but one per cent of staff payroll across ACT Public Service directorates and provides the data for the Workforce Profile. The Workforce Profile provides data for the directorates and entities that are administered through Shared Services.
• For the purposes of reporting:
  • ACT Insurance Authority, Gambling and Racing Commission, Independent Competition and Regulatory Commission, Land Development Agency and Long Service Leave Authority are reported on separately to Chief Minister, Treasury and Economic Development Directorate (in most instances);
  • the ACT Teacher Quality Institute operates independently of the Education Directorate and as such, is reported separately to reflect this;
  • ACTION is included in the reporting of Territory and Municipal Services Directorate;
  • while a Public Sector entity, Director of Public Prosecutions is included in the Workforce Profile data of Justice and Community Safety Directorate; and
  • the ACT Audit Office, ACT Electoral Commission, Calvary Health Care ACT, Canberra Institute of Technology, Cultural Facilities Corporation and Office of Legislative Assembly are reported on as Public Sector entities and their data is included in the section ‘ACT Public Sector 2015-16’.
• Workforce indicators included in the Workforce Profile are based on paid staff and exclude employees on leave without pay, board members and contractors.
• The data reported in this section, and the ACT Public Sector 2015-16 section (including the appendices) excludes contractors and staff of Territory Owned Corporations.
• These are point in time indicators and do not adjust for seasonal fluctuation, such as demand for casual teachers and back pay. Directorates and employee cohorts with small numbers are susceptible to fluctuation.
• Additional data can be found in Appendix 2, including a detailed breakdown of each directorate’s FTE, time to hire statistics and further information on the recruitment and higher duties actions of the ACT Public Service.
• Data has been rounded to one decimal place and as such, percentages may not add up to exactly 100 per cent on certain tables/graphs.

<sup>3. For the purposes of reporting in the ACT Public Service Workforce 2015-16 section, Director of Public Prosecutions is included in the workforce profile data of the Justice and Community Safety Directorate.
4. The ACT Teacher Quality Institute is included in the ACT Public Service Workforce 2015-16 section. It does however operate
5. From the Annual Reports (Government Agencies) Notice 2015, (the Annual Report Directions) Section O.1 Culture and Behaviour.</sup>

Previous page Next page