Our people

PM&C maintained a strong commitment to individual and organisational excellence. We worked closely with communities, with stakeholders and across all areas of government to provide robust, compelling and evidence-based advice to the Prime Minister and to the APS as the convening agency.

We invested in our people, fostered and actively promoted an inclusive and diverse workplace, and focused heavily on developing new and technologically savvy ways of working, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, to allow for wide-scale working-from-home arrangements.

Employment performance

Table 3.3: All Ongoing Employees Current Report Period (2019–20)*

	Male			Female			Indeterminate			Total
	Full time	Part time	Total male	Full time	Part time	Total female	Full time	Part time	Total indet.
NSW	1	-	1	1	-	1	-	-	-	2
Qld	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
SA	1	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	1
Tas	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Vic	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
WA	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
ACT	315	13	328	541	99	640	-	-	-	968
NT	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
External territories	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Overseas	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Total	317	13	330	542	99	641	-	-	-	971

*Staffing data in the ‘Employment performance’ section includes the Secretary.

Table 3.4: All Non-Ongoing Employees Current Report Period (2019–20)

	Male			Female			Indeterminate			Total
	Full time	Part time	Total male	Full time	Part time	Total female	Full time	Part time	Total indet.
NSW	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Qld	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
SA	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Tas	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Vic	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
WA	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
ACT	27	5	32	41	11	52	-	-	-	84
NT	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
External territories	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Overseas	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Total	27	5	32	41	11	52	-	-	-	84

Table 3.5: All Ongoing Employees Previous Report Period (2018–19)

	Male			Female			Indeterminate			Total
	Full time	Part time	Total male	Full time	Part time	Total female	Full time	Part time	Total indet.
NSW	31	-	31	41	10	51	-	-	-	82
Qld	28	1	29	50	7	57	-	-	-	86
SA	14	-	14	26	9	35	-	-	-	49
Tas	3	-	3	2	1	3	-	-	-	6
Vic	6	-	6	17	2	19	-	-	-	25
WA	22	1	23	48	8	56	-	-	-	79
ACT	483	25	508	839	218	1,057	-	-	-	1,565
NT	57	1	58	96	13	109	-	-	-	167
External territories	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Overseas	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Total	644	28	672	1,119	268	1,387	-	-	-	2,059

Table 3.6: All Non-Ongoing Employees Previous Report Period (2018–19)

	Male			Female			Indeterminate			Total
	Full time	Part time	Total male	Full time	Part time	Total female	Full time	Part time	Total indet.
NSW	-	-	-	3	-	3	-	-	-	3
Qld	3	-	3	3	-	3	-	-	-	6
SA	1	-	1	4	-	4	-	-	-	5
Tas	1	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	1
Vic	1	-	1	1	-	1	-	-	-	2
WA	2	-	2	6	1	7	-	-	-	9
ACT	33	4	37	36	12	48	-	-	-	85
NT	1	-	1	7	-	7	-	-	-	8
External territories	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Overseas	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Total	42	4	46	60	13	73	-	-	-	119

Table 3.7: Australian Public Service Act Ongoing Employees Current Report Period (2019–20)

	Male			Female			Indeterminate			Total
	Full time	Part time	Total male	Full time	Part time	Total female	Full time	Part time	Total indet.
SES 3	5	-	5	3	-	3	-	-	-	8
SES 2	6	-	6	8	-	8	-	-	-	14
SES 1	23	-	23	13	5	18	-	-	-	41
EL 2	47	4	51	81	11	92	-	-	-	143
EL 1	97	3	100	175	43	218	-	-	-	318
APS 6	77	5	82	134	21	155	-	-	-	237
APS 5	33	-	33	68	9	77	-	-	-	110
APS 4	11	-	11	38	10	48	-	-	-	59
APS 3	17	-	17	21	-	21	-	-	-	38
APS 2	-	-	-	1	-	1	-	-	-	1
APS 1	-	1	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	1
Other	1	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	1
TOTAL	317	13	330	542	99	641	-	-	-	971

Table 3.8: Australian Public Service Act Non-Ongoing Employees Current Report Period (2019–20)

	Male			Female			Indeterminate			Total
	Full time	Part time	Total male	Full time	Part time	Total female	Full time	Part time	Total indet.
SES 3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
SES 2	1	-	1	1	-	1	-	-	-	2
SES 1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
EL 2	1	-	1	3	-	3	-	-	-	4
EL 1	3	1	4	9	1	10	-	-	-	14
APS 6	12	-	12	14	2	16	-	-	-	28
APS 5	7	-	7	5	2	7	-	-	-	14
APS 4	3	-	3	8	1	9	-	-	-	12
APS 3	-	-	-	1	2	3	-	-	-	3
APS 2	-	4	4	-	3	3	-	-	-	7
APS 1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Other	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
TOTAL	27	5	32	41	11	52	-	-	-	84

Table 3.9: Australian Public Service Act Ongoing Employees Previous Report Period (2018–19)

	Male			Female			Indeterminate			Total
	Full time	Part time	Total male	Full time	Part time	Total female	Full time	Part time	Total indet.
SES 3	8	-	8	3	-	3	-	-	-	11
SES 2	12	1	13	14	-	14	-	-	-	27
SES 1	35	1	36	36	10	46	-	-	-	82
EL 2	102	3	105	146	20	166	-	-	-	271
EL 1	214	18	232	332	110	442	-	-	-	674
APS 6	163	4	167	287	74	361	-	-	-	528
APS 5	54	-	54	149	29	178	-	-	-	232
APS 4	40	-	40	115	24	139	-	-	-	179
APS 3	15		15	34	1	35	-	-	-	50
APS 2	-	-	-	2	-	2	-	-	-	2
APS 1	-	1	1	1	-	1	-	-	-	2
Other	1	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	1
TOTAL	644	28	672	1,119	268	1,387	-	-	-	2,059

Table 3.10: Australian Public Service Act Non-Ongoing Employees Previous Report Period (2018–19)

	Male			Female			Indeterminate			Total
	Full time	Part time	Total male	Full time	Part time	Total female	Full time	Part time	Total indet.
SES 3	-	-	-	1	-	1	-	-	-	1
SES 2	1	-	1	1	-	1	-	-	-	2
SES 1	-	-	-	2	1	3	-	-	-	3
EL 2	3	-	3	5	2	7	-	-	-	10
EL 1	7	-	7	8	3	11	-	-	-	18
APS 6	11	1	12	18	3	21	-	-	-	33
APS 5	8	1	9	9	2	11	-	-	-	20
APS 4	11	-	11	15	2	17	-	-	-	28
APS 3	1	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	1
APS 2	-	2	2	1	-	1	-	-	-	3
APS 1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Other	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
TOTAL	42	4	46	60	13	73	-	-	-	119

Table 3.11: Australian Public Service Act Employees by Full-time and Part-time Status Current Report Period (2019–20)

	Ongoing			Non-ongoing			Total
	Full time	Part time	Total ongoing	Full time	Part time	Total non-ongoing
SES 3	8	-	8	-	-	-	8
SES 2	14	-	14	2	-	2	16
SES 1	36	5	41	-	-	-	41
EL 2	128	15	143	4	-	4	147
EL 1	272	46	318	12	2	14	332
APS 6	211	26	237	26	2	28	265
APS 5	101	9	110	12	2	14	124
APS 4	49	10	59	11	1	12	71
APS 3	38	-	38	1	2	3	41
APS 2	1	-	1	-	7	7	8
APS 1	-	1	1	-	-	-	1
Other	1	-	1	-	-	-	1
TOTAL	859	112	971	68	16	84	1,055

Table 3.12: Australian Public Service Act Employees by Full-time and Part-time Status Previous Report Period (2018–19)

	Ongoing			Non-ongoing			Total
	Full time	Part time	Total ongoing	Full time	Part time	Total non-ongoing
SES 3	11	-	11	1	-	1	12
SES 2	26	1	27	2	-	2	29
SES 1	71	11	82	2	1	3	85
EL 2	248	23	271	8	2	10	281
EL 1	546	128	674	15	3	18	692
APS 6	450	78	528	29	4	33	561
APS 5	203	29	232	17	3	20	252
APS 4	155	24	179	26	2	28	207
APS 3	49	1	50	1	-	1	51
APS 2	2	-	2	1	2	3	5
APS 1	1	1	2	-	-	-	2
Other	1	-	1	-	-	-	1
TOTAL	1,763	296	2,059	102	17	119	2,178

Table 3.13: Australian Public Service Act Employment Type by Location Current Report Period (2019–20)

	Ongoing	Non-ongoing	Total
NSW	2	-	2
Qld	-	-	-
SA	1	-	1
Tas	-	-	-
Vic	-	-	-
WA	-	-	-
ACT	968	84	1,052
NT	-	-	-
External territories	-	-	-
Overseas	-	-	-
Total	971	84	1,055

Table 3.14: Australian Public Service Act Employment Type by Location Previous Report Period (2018–19)

	Ongoing	Non-ongoing	Total
NSW	82	3	85
Qld	86	6	92
SA	49	5	54
Tas	6	1	7
Vic	25	2	27
WA	79	9	88
ACT	1,565	85	1,650
NT	167	8	175
External territories	-	-	-
Overseas	-	-	-
Total	2,059	119	2,178

Table 3.15: Australian Public Service Act Indigenous Employment Current Report Period (2019–20)

	Total
Ongoing	20
Non-ongoing	1
Total	21

Table 3.16: Australian Public Service Act Indigenous Employment Previous Report Period (2018–19)

	Total
Ongoing	292
Non-ongoing	15
Total	307

Table 3.17: Details of Accountable Authority during the Reporting Period Current Report Period (2019–20)

		Period as the Accountable Authority or member within the reporting period
Name	Position title / Position held	Date of commencement	Date of cessation
Dr Martin Parkinson	Secretary	1 July 2019	30 August 2019
Ms Stephanie Foster	Secretary	31 August 2019	1 September 2019
Mr Philip Gaetjens	Secretary	2 September 2019	30 June 2020

Inclusion and diversity

PM&C’s commitment to inclusion and diversity reflects the importance we place on our people and on creating a workplace culture in which every employee is valued and respected for their contribution.

PM&C’s Inclusion and Diversity Committee progressed inclusion and diversity initiatives within the Department. The committee provided strategic advice on the Department’s inclusion and diversity agenda, as well as alignment of diversity initiatives with business goals. The committee chaired by the Secretary, included members from the Executive Board and PM&C’s Inclusion and Diversity Champions.

Diversity and inclusion initiatives were driven by the Deputy Secretary Inclusion and Diversity Champion, and were supported by seven Executive Champions and staff-led employee networks:

• Gender Champion—Women’s Network
• Indigenous Champion—Mara Network (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander)
• Wellbeing Champion–Wellbeing Network
• Ability Champion—Ability Network (Disability)
• Pride Champion—Pride Network (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex and Queer (LGBTIQ))
• Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) Champion—CALD Network
• Reconciliation Champion—Reconciliation Action Plan Working Group.

The Champions and employee networks supported and celebrated difference and developed ideas for valuing diversity and fostering inclusion. The networks provided visible leadership and support, facilitated effective consultation and advanced issues that matter to staff.

Inclusion and diversity workforce information, including but not limited to information relating to PM&C’s staff with a disability, is publicly reported in the APS statistical bulletin.

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Secretaries Equality and Diversity Council

Until February 2020, PM&C convened the Secretaries Equality and Diversity Council—a quarterly meeting of all APS departmental secretaries and two external members whose aim was to create a more diverse and inclusive APS. It led work on:

• APS-wide equality and diversity strategies, including the Gender Equality Strategy, the Commonwealth Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Employment Strategy and the Disability Employment Strategy
• APS workplace responses to domestic and family violence
• removing barriers to employment and progression for people with disability, people from CALD backgrounds, people who identify as part of the LGBTIQ community, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
• transformative cultural change through inclusive work practices.

In early 2020, members recognised that there had been a significant shift in how the APS deals with inclusion and diversity. In line with recommendations from the APS reform agenda, members agreed that inclusion and diversity must now be incorporated into the core strategic decision-making body of the APS in order to drive better outcomes.

Members subsequently agreed to elevate matters of inclusion and diversity to the Secretaries Board and that the newly established Chief Operating Officers Committee would be leveraged to drive inclusion and diversity at an operational level across the APS. The Secretary thanked external members Professor Tom Calma AO and Ms Kathryn Fagg AO for their time on the council.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee (NAIDOC)

Every year NAIDOC Week gives all staff at PM&C the opportunity to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Once again this year, our NAIDOC Week events gave us an opportunity to build community among Indigenous and non-Indigenous staff and encourage collaboration on Indigenous issues within the Department. The week’s events began with a Flag Raising Ceremony at One National Circuit, Barton. The Flag Raising Ceremony incorporated the raising of three flags—the Australian Flag, the Aboriginal Flag and the Torres Strait Islander Flag—by staff and Indigenous community members. Afterwards, staff took part in various NAIDOC craft events and the annual APS NAIDOC touch football carnival, NAIDOC Block Party and NAIDOC Happy Hour, held by NIAA ACT Region ATSIEN (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Employee Network) in collaboration with the PM&C Inclusion and Diversity Networks.

PM&C and NIAA held a joint NAIDOC Staff Awards event. The NAIDOC Staff Awards recognise employees who have gone above and beyond to make a positive impact on the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The event, jointly hosted by the PM&C Secretary and the NIAA CEO, was widely attended by both PM&C and NIAA staff, who enjoyed the opportunity to celebrate the achievements of their peers.

Awards were given to two individual employees and five teams from across the two organisations. Recipients demonstrated outstanding performance in the provision of policies, programs and services that impact positively on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and communities. Staff were treated to a didgeridoo performance by Dunghutti and Gamilaroi man Chaydin Reid; and a selection of Indigenous foods from local Indigenous catering company Ribanas Catering.

Reconciliation

On 4 March 2019, PM&C launched its ‘Stretch’ Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) 2018–2020, which outlined the next steps for embedding reconciliation within the Department. Following the creation of the NIAA as a new executive agency in July 2019, a new RAP Working Group was established to drive the deliverables that remained applicable to PM&C. The RAP Working Group worked diligently to implement the RAP under the guidance of the PM&C RAP Champion.

PM&C commemorated National Reconciliation Week (NRW) 2020 in new and unique ways as a result of changes to the working environment brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. The PM&C Reconciliation Champion opened the week with a virtual commitment to ongoing reconciliation. PM&C employees then had an opportunity to attend various virtual activities, including watching Indigenous-made films, attending virtual Ngunawal (Canberra, Nation) language workshops and joining the RAP Virtual Book Club.

PM&C also recognised NRW by producing the PM&C NRW2020 Video Series. The series features employees from PM&C, NIAA, the National Bushfire Recovery Agency and the Australian Public Service Commission, as well as guests from the public sector, including Karen Mundine, Chief Executive Officer of Reconciliation Australia. The video series highlighted the NRW theme, ‘In This Together’, while demonstrating collaboration, respect and understanding during times of uncertainty and change.

Indigenous talent attraction and development

During 2019–20, PM&C maintained its commitment to retaining and growing our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workforce through the delivery of the PM&C Graduate Program and participation in the Sir Roland Wilson Pat Turner Scholarship. PM&C also committed to several Affirmative Measures recruitment rounds to address the under-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians in the APS.

Flexible work

Workplace flexibility gives employees choice about how, when and where they work in consultation with their manager and taking into account operational requirements—for example, they can choose to work outside standard business hours or work from home for a portion of their week. Flexible work can help to stimulate greater innovation, collaboration and productivity.

Flexible work is an important lever for employee wellbeing, inclusivity and productivity at PM&C. The Department has had an ‘if not, why not’ approach to flexible work for several years. During that time we have developed flexible options that benefit both our people and PM&C outcomes. Flexible work in PM&C is underpinned by modern IT infrastructure that enables activity-based and remote working, including by ensuring that all staff have personal laptops.

Because of our early adoption of flexible work practices, we were well prepared to deal with the social distancing challenges arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. When physical distancing was introduced in March 2020, PM&C had the necessary technical capacity and policies in place to allow us to rapidly move our workforce out of the office. Thanks to our fully integrated IT systems, strong people management frameworks and work health and safety guidance, staff were able to seamlessly continue to deliver critical outcomes for the Prime Minister, the Cabinet and the Australian people while working from home. For PM&C managers, this period was a masterclass in leading teams remotely, while confirming that it is possible to be just as effective regardless of whether you are working flexibly or from the office. In an internal staff pulse survey run in May 2020, most respondents reported that levels of productivity and wellbeing were maintained, or in some cases improved, while working flexibly as a result of the pandemic compared with levels prior to COVID-19.

Workplace response to domestic and family violence policy

In 2019–20, PM&C continued to support the Australian Government’s National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2010–2022 by providing workplace responses to employees affected by domestic and family violence.

On 25 November 2019, PM&C participated in the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, taking the opportunity to launch its revised Family, Domestic and Intimate Partner Policy. The seminar featured keynote speaker Natasha Stott Despoja AO, the founding Chair of Our Watch, who shared her message on the need for changed attitudes and behaviours towards domestic violence both in Australia and internationally. Ms Stott Despoja was joined for a question and answer session by Mirjana Wilson, CEO of the Canberra Domestic Violence Crisis Service. Attendees also heard from a community member who works as a Voices for Change Advocate, who shared her lived experience of domestic violence, providing staff with real-life examples of the complexities surrounding different forms of domestic violence.

The seminar provided an opportunity to understand the complex issues associated with domestic violence and its impact on those who experience it. The event raised money for local women’s refuge Karinyah House.

Recruitment

PM&C continued its commitment to recruiting staff through a range of entry pathways. In 2019–20, we ran two specialist recruitment programs and participated in five external programs:

• PM&C Graduate Program (internal)
• Indigenous Australian Government Development Program
• Indigenous Apprenticeship Program
• Australian Indigenous Graduate Pathway
• Domestic Policy Group Summer Intern Program (internal)
• Australian Government ICT Graduate Program
• APSC Centralised Specialist Streams-Economist, Data and STEM.

Employment arrangements

The terms and conditions of employment for non-SES employees are covered by the PM&C Enterprise Agreement 2017–2020. Individual flexibility arrangements are also made with non-SES employees where this meets the genuine needs of PM&C and the employee.

The terms and conditions of employment for substantive SES employees were provided by individual section 24(1) determination made under the Public Service Act 1999. One section 24(1) determinations was in place covering a number of non-SES employees. Data on employment arrangements for all departmental staff is provided at Table 3.18 below.

Table 3.18: Australian Public Service Act Employment Arrangements Current Report Period (2019–20

	SES	Non-SES	Total
Enterprise agreement	-	989	989
Section 24(1) determination	65	15	80
Individual flexibility arrangement	-	30	30

Note- Non-SES employees covered by individual flexibility arrangements and Section 24(1) determinations are also included in the enterprise agreement total.

 

 

Performance pay and other benefits

PM&C did not offer performance pay to staff in 2019–20.

Employees had access to a range of monetary benefits such as salary sacrifice of additional superannuation and leased motor vehicles; and non-monetary benefits such as flexible work arrangements and generous leave entitlements.

Performance Management Framework

In 2019–20, PM&C implemented a new Performance Management Framework that supported a high-performance culture consistently over time, and in line with our organisational priorities and the Department’s strategic objectives. The framework used a strengths-based approach to performance—we focused on leveraging and developing our strengths; and identifying actions we could take to improve weaknesses. This strengths-based approach supported our employees to strive for excellence and for managers to get the best out of their teams.

Learning and development

In 2019–20, PM&C delivered the EL2 Leadership Forum, which connected EL2 officers as a leadership cohort and explored perspectives on leadership, innovation, global trends and people management. Across the APS, leadership has typically been focused at the senior executive level. However, it is typically the EL2 cohort that drives cultural practices, change management and strategic direction.

In 2018–19, PM&C expanded the Practical Management Workshop Series with new modules, including on recruitment, working together and performance appraisals. In addition, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we delivered a module on leading remote teams. These short, focused workshops are developed and delivered in-house. In late 2019, we launched a new Coaching Panel, with independent career advisory coaches contracted to provide one-on-one advice, knowledge and guidance to staff on all aspects of career development.

Our learning and development program was supported by the addition of The Learning Continuum, which provided a range of recommended learning opportunities on the PM&C intranet linked to our Performance Model. In 2019–20, we were proud to deliver bespoke training on Mental Health Conversations and look forward to adding our next bespoke training—Beyond Indigenous Cultural Competency—to our learning and development program. Our program continued to be supported by our Guest Speaker Series, Learnhub and Lynda.com. PM&C also supported employees via Studies Assistance.