During 2018–19, DPS restructured the human resource function to provide a stronger focus on employee wellbeing, performance and conduct, organisational culture and capability. The restructure followed the successful integration of the payroll function into the Corporate Business Operations Centre. The Health and Recreation Centre (HRC) also transitioned from the Parliamentary Experience Branch to the People and Governance Branch to better align with other work health and safety functions. The HRC is enhancing service offerings with a number of new initiatives planned for 2019–20. These changes mean that DPS will continue to achieve the right balance between people strategy and operations that reflect contemporary people management practices.

Employee engagement was a major focus for 2018–19. A number of focus groups were held with staff from across DPS to better understand the nature of the drivers of staff engagement in DPS. The focus groups identified that a key strategy to improve staff engagement would be to create opportunities to increase staff collaboration and to continue to build capability.

DPS also introduced a new online training program to help DPS staff work consistently in accordance with the Australian Parliamentary Service Values, Employment Principles and Code of Conduct. Team Leader training and support has been enhanced in the Parliamentary Security Service, resulting in a renewed focus on how values shape leadership, behaviour and performance. The leadership training will be delivered across the department.

Approaches to change management were strengthened through greater collaboration across DPS. This includes commencing the development of the DPS Accessibility and Inclusion Action Plan, formed by a multi-disciplinary DPS staff working group.

A Workforce Diversity Calendar has been developed to ensure that all DPS staff demonstrate the appropriate levels of awareness and confidence in order to contribute to maintaining a safe and inclusive workplace.

DPS Workforce performance

As at 30 June 2019, DPS³⁸ employed 1,041 staff (including staff on leave, secondment and inoperative staff), all based in Canberra. The DPS workforce comprised 833 ongoing employees (80 per cent) and 208 non-ongoing employees (20 per cent). Of the 208 non-ongoing employees, 119 are engaged for a ‘specified term or a specified task’ and 89 are engaged in ‘irregular or intermittent’ (casual) duties, as shown in Figure 23.

The DPS workforce comprised full-time, part-time, sessional and casual work arrangements—80 per cent full-time; eight per cent part-time; three per cent sessional; and nine per cent casual, as shown in Figure 24. These types of employment arrangements are used by the department to support the nature and demands of the parliamentary sitting patterns. The department’s workforce statistics tables can be found at Appendix A.

Figure 23: DPS workforce composition—30 June 2019

Figure 24: DPS employee working arrangements—30 June 2019 2018

Table 33: Employment Performance 2017–18 and 2018–19

Indicator	2017–18	2018–19
Total number of staff employed (headcount)	998	1,041
Total number of staff employed (headcount excluding casuals)	917	952
Diversity
Women (percentage of total workforce)	40%	39%
People with identified disability (percentage of total workforce)	1.8%	2.2%
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (percentage of total workforce)	14 (1.4%)	23 (2.2%)
Staff with English as a second language (percentage of total workforce)	10%	9.7%
Health and Safety
Health and safety incidents (per 100 employees headcount)	10.6	12.5
Health and safety ‘near misses’ (per 100 employees headcount)	0.9	1.5
Number of health and safety representatives	28	28
Learning and Development
Number of staff undertaking studies assistance	35	26
Number of recorded attendances at DPS compliance training activities	3,679	3,331
Recruitment
Average number of days to fill vacancy (from advertising to delegate sign-off)	61	59
External ‘new engagement’ hires (percentage of total new ongoing hires)	71%	46%
Net recruitment rate*	1.2	1.2

* Net recruitment rate indicates whether the DPS workforce is growing (net recruitment rate greater than 1) or contracting (net recruitment rate less than 1).

Workforce diversity profile

Twenty three employees identified as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, making up 2.2 per cent of all DPS employees. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander headcount increased by nine employees, resulting in a percentage increase of 0.8 per cent for the year. Twenty three employees identified as People with Disability (up from 18 in 2017–18), or 2.2 per cent of all DPS employees. Cultural and Linguistic Diverse employees were represented by a headcount of 101 (up from 100 as at 30 June 2018) or 9.7 per cent of all DPS employees.

2018–19 again saw a marginal increase in the number of women represented in the DPS workforce, with a total headcount of 408 employees (up from 403 in June 2018). Overall, however the percentage of women in the DPS workforce dropped by one per cent to 39 per cent. Of the 408 women employees, 24 per cent were at the PEL1–2 classification—an increase of one per cent on the previous year. The percentage of women representation in the SES cohort remained steady at 30 per cent from the previous year.

Workforce diversity

In 2018–19 DPS continued to focus on diversity initiatives that build and develop a diverse and inclusive workforce. In April 2019, DPS released its first Diversity and Inclusion Calendar, highlighting the department’s commitment to acknowledging and celebrating the individual skills, perspectives and experiences that people bring to the workplace.

Reconciliation Action Plan

DPS continued to deliver on practical actions committed to on the 8 July 2016, during NAIDOC Week, when the four parliamentary departments launched their second joint Reconciliation Action Plan.

Reconciliation Action Plans (RAP) are business plans that set out practical initiatives to build stronger relationships and enhanced respect between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and other Australians and help foster equality by supporting improved opportunities. This second RAP, which has been endorsed by Reconciliation Australia, outlines what the four departments will do to be more actively involved in the journey of reconciliation and to play our part in closing the gap between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and other Australians.

In 2018, the Parliamentary Service RAP Drafting Group was formed with representatives across the four departments to commence drafting of the new RAP 2019–2021. The drafting group conducted high-level consultation with stakeholders and ensured strong representation from members of the Parliamentary Service Indigenous Employee Network (PSIEN). The new RAP 2019–2021 will be implemented in the second half of 2019 following endorsement from Reconciliation Australia.

During 2018–19, the DPS RAP Champion was invited to become a member of the APS Indigenous Champions Network. The Network meets on a quarterly basis to collaborate between agencies and explore ideas that lead to better employment outcomes for Indigenous staff.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Employment Strategy

In 2018–19, DPS participated for the third time in the Indigenous Australian Government Development Program, coordinated by the Department of Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business. DPS placed one Indigenous participant in the Capital Works Branch.

In September 2018, DPS participated in the Work Exposure in Government (WEX) event that brought 70 Indigenous Year 11 and 12 students to Canberra to promote careers across the Australian Government. Working in partnership with the Department of the Prime Minster and Cabinet, DPS organised an all-day event that included breakfast with Ministers, a Parliament House building tour, a career pathway presentation and a visit to Question Time. The WEX Career Expo provided DPS another opportunity to connect and promote career opportunities to the Indigenous students.

In 2018–19, eight bulk recruitment rounds across the Chief Operating Officer Division and Building and Security Division applied affirmative measures to increase Indigenous employment opportunities.

In October 2018, two additional e-learning modules from the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) Core Cultural Learning course were released to DPS staff. In May 2019, an all-day workshop titled EVOLVE Cultural Awareness was rolled out to DPS staff. The new training courses build greater understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and increase the department’s cultural capability across all aspects of work.

Parliamentary Service Indigenous Employee Network (PSIEN)

The Parliamentary Service Indigenous Employee Network (PSIEN) continued to gain momentum increasing its membership and providing peer and mentoring support amongst Indigenous staff.

The PSIEN has played a key role in the development of the Australian Parliament’s Acknowledgement of Country card.

NAIDOC Week 2018 and National Reconciliation Week 2019

To celebrate NAIDOC Week 2018, DPS staged an exhibition to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the presentation of the Barunga Statement, partnering with the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies together with a display of works by Indigenous women from the Parliament House Art Collection— Because of Her, We Can.

To mark National Reconciliation Week 2019, two temporary exhibitions, Indigenous Design Now and My Voice for My Country were opened to the public. In addition to this a number of events were held including a screening of the film Gurrumul on Reconciliation Day and a Parliamentary Library lecture by Professor Tom Calma AO.

A new tour was launched focusing on presence, place and visibility of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander parliamentarians and cultures.

Ceremonial flags were flown at the entrance of Australian Parliament House in support of NAIDOC Week 2018 and National Reconciliation Week 2019.

Disability

Work has commenced on the development of the first DPS Accessibility and Inclusion Action Plan. The three year plan will outline DPS’ commitment and approach to achieving better outcomes for people with disability and increasing disability confidence. Following further consultation, the DPS Accessibility and Inclusion Action Plan will be implemented in the second half of 2019.

DPS continues to be a member of the Australian Network on Disability (AND) and in May 2019 raised its membership to Gold Level. In January 2019, AND completed a recruitment review which benchmarked current barrier-free practices and outlined recommendations for further improvement. Work continues on the development of a new workplace adjustment policy and procedure document.

During 2018–19, DPS continued to be an active participant in the AND Disability Champions Round Table meetings, which are held on a quarterly basis. In March 2019, the DPS Diversity Champion was invited to become a member of the APS Disability Champions Network. The network meets on a quarterly basis and provides opportunities for DPS to gain insight into current strategies implemented across the APS for people with disability.

Recruitment–entry level programs

DPS employed one participant in the Capital Works Branch as part of the 2018–19 Indigenous Australian Government Development Program (IAGDP).The IAGDP is a structured learning program that provides participants with ongoing full-time employment, as well as the opportunity to study and obtain a diploma qualification.

In February 2019, DPS employed eight apprentices through a new Apprenticeship Program initiative. The Apprenticeship Program was designed to build specialist trade skills to deliver efficient and effective services across Parliament House. The apprentice trades included an apprentice Greenkeeper and Horticulturist (Landscape Services), apprentice Carpenter, Plumber, and Stonemason (Building Maintenance Services), apprentice Electrician (Electrical Services) and two apprentice Chefs (Catering and Events).

Table 34: Entry Level Programs 2018–19

	PS level	Number of participants
Indigenous Australian Government Development Program (IAGDP)	PSL 3 to PSL 4	1
Apprenticeship Program	PSL 3 to PSL 4	8

Workforce mobility and retention

The DPS workforce grew in 2018–19, as at 30 June 2019, the net recruitment rate was 1.2 (see Table 33). During 2018–19 there were a total of 211 employee commencements and 173 employee separations.

During 2018–19, the DPS commencement rate (for all employees) remained relatively steady and only decreased marginally by 0.1 per cent from 22 per cent in 2017–18 to 21.9 per cent in 2018–19. The Security Branch continued to recruit Parliamentary Security Officers at PSL1–2 classification—of which there were 31 new commencements in 2018–19. There was also significant recruitment activity in the Parliamentary Experience Branch, where 16 new employees commenced in Visitor Services and 10 employees (including two apprentices) commenced in APS Catering and Events.

Table 35: Overview of DPS commencement rates for staff from 2016–17 to 2018–19

	2016–17	2017–18	2018–19
Commencements	281	221	211
Commencement rate39	30.4%	22%	21.9%
Commencements (ongoing employees)	125	113	78
Commencement Rate (ongoing employees)	16.4%	13.7%	9.5%

In the same 12-month period, there were 173 employee separations—16 fewer than in 2017–18. Of these, 110 were ongoing employee separations, the same number reported in the previous year. The ongoing employee turnover rate remained relatively stable over the past three years, at around 13 per cent.

Table 36: Overview of the DPS separation rates for staff from 2016–17 to 2018–19

	2016–17	2017–18	2018–19
Staff separations (headcount)	191	189	173
Employee turnover rate (total)40	20.7%	19%	17.1%
Staff separations (ongoing employees)	100	110	110
Employee turnover rate (ongoing employees)41	13.1%	13.3%	13.4%

The highest numbers of ongoing separations were employee-initiated resignations, of which there were 46 (42 per cent). There were 22 transfers at level to either the Australian Public Service or elsewhere in the Parliamentary Service (20 per cent); 18 age retirements (16 per cent) and nine promotions to either the Australian Public Service or elsewhere in the Parliamentary Service (eight per cent). There were also 11 voluntary redundancies (10 per cent), three more than in 2017–18.

Most of the ongoing employee separations were in Security Branch (25), Research Branch (13), Chief Finance Officer Branch (13), Parliamentary Experience Branch (11) and People and Governance Branch (10).

Instruments of employment

The Department of Parliamentary Services Enterprise Agreement 2017 was the primary employment instrument in 2018–19. At 30 June 2019, a total of 1,020⁴² employees were covered by the agreement and, of these, 29 had individual flexibility arrangements. Nineteen Senior Executive Service (SES) officers were covered by determinations under subsection 24(1) of the PS Act.

No DPS employee receives a bonus or performance pay.

Remuneration and employment conditions

Non–salary benefits

Non-salary benefits available to DPS employees include influenza vaccinations, free membership to the Parliament House HRC, access to the Employee Assistance Program and dependent on approved requirement, parking. Other benefits that may be available are laptop computers, tablets, mobile phones and airline lounge membership.

Learning and development

DPS continues to develop capability of staff through a number of job related technical training programs to help develop broader organisational capabilities. Learning and development programs are aligned to the corporate plan and strategic themes. In order to broaden staff understanding of learning and development, DPS promotes the 70:20:10 learning principles—learning and development is most effective when there is a balance between on-the-job learning (70 per cent); mentoring, coaching, and peer learning (20 per cent); and formal learning (10 per cent).

Formal training and development

In 2018–19, there were 3,331 recorded attendances for DPS compliance training activities. Mandatory compliance training accounted for 89 per cent of all training activities undertaken.

DPS coordinated 78 in-house, face-to-face training sessions, which were attended by 410 employees. Of these 78 training sessions, 25 were facilitated by external providers.

Leadership development

As part of leadership development, DPS offered PEL2, PEL1 and PSL6 staff the opportunity to participate in the Public Sector Management Program (PSMP) through a competitive nomination process. Two staff commenced the 15 month program in October 2018 and upon successful completion will obtain a Graduate Certificate in Business (Public Sector Management).

Studies assistance

DPS provides support for employees to undertake tertiary studies administered through the DPS Studies Assistance Policy. DPS supported 26 employees to undertake a range of tertiary studies. A total of 1,092 hours of study leave was provided to employees, and $38,835 in financial contributions was made.

Organisational culture and employee engagement

In May and June 2018, DPS participated in the annual APS Employee Census. A total of 587 employees provided feedback—a 63 per cent response rate.

The 2018 census results show that overall the DPS workforce continues to be engaged:

• DPS is a place where staff believe they can actively apply their skills and knowledge (>90 per cent positive result)
• there was a four per cent increase in staff satisfaction with work-life balance
• staff are willing to ‘go the extra mile’ and are highly collaborative (>90 per cent positive results), and
• overall agency engagement is one per cent higher than the APS average and job satisfaction and agency pride are five per cent higher than the APS average.

Following the release of the Census Highlights Report, staff from across DPS were invited to participate in focus groups to undertake a qualitative analysis of census results. The workshops were attended by 96 DPS staff. The focus groups identified that a strategy to improve staff engagement would be to create opportunities to increase staff collaboration and to continue to build capability. This led to an increase in the number of multidisciplinary teams being engaged to develop actions plans and assess major changes.

Feedback and results from the 2018 census helped inform the overall strategic settings for the DPS culture. A five point approach has been implemented to maintain and strengthen the DPS culture:

• a continual focus on the purpose of DPS and how all staff contribute to achieving organisational outcomes
• focusing on values as drivers of engagement and levers for change
• continuing to build capability—in 2018–19 DPS has targeted training at continual development of cultural competencies and building team leader effectiveness
• adopting a values based leadership mindset, and
• aligning purpose, values and capability to help build a performance culture.

DPS once again participated in the APS Employee Census in 2019. A total of 575 employees responded, with a response rate of 59.5 per cent. The 2019 census results were not available as at 30 June 2019.

Note: DPS’ census results are not included in the Australian Public Service Commission’s annual State of the Service Report or annual Agency Survey Report.

Work Health and Safety (WHS)

Improvements to Parliament House

Due to the extensive amount of project work occurring in and around Parliament House, the DPS WHS Unit has been actively involved in providing advice on matters, including:

• height safety upgrades
• accessible bathroom upgrades
• kitchen upgrades, and
• sliding fire doors.

Consultation on WHS issues

DPS maintains a high level of consultation on WHS issues. DPS staff are represented on health and safety committees that monitor and advise on WHS programs.

The DPS Peak WHS Committee focuses on reviewing WHS policies and procedures and taking a strategic approach to WHS management across DPS. Individual branches also hold their own WHS committee meetings.

The DPS Contractors’ WHS subcommittee met four times. This forum provides a valuable mechanism to address WHS issues related to the work performed by the large number of contractors at Parliament House.

A key component of DPS’ management of health and safety is its network of Health and Safety Representatives (HSRs), deputy HSRs and Harassment Contact Officers (HCOs). As at 30 June 2019, DPS had 28 HSRs and deputies and 14 HCOs.

WHS training

A range of WHS related training was provided to staff throughout the year, including generic induction and refresher sessions for staff and managers. Approximately 309 staff participated in generic WHS training programs.

Incident reporting and investigation

One hundred and thirty incident reports were submitted by DPS employees during 2018–19. Six incidents were notified to Comcare in accordance with section 35 of the WHS Act. Incidents were examined by DPS and remedial action was taken where necessary. Comcare conducted one investigation into incidents.

There were no Provisional Improvement Notices issued under section 90 of the WHS Act. One notice was issued under Part 10 of the WHS Act. No enforceable undertakings were issued under Part 11 of the WHS Act.

Nurses Centre

The Parliament House Nurses Centre continues to operate on sitting days. DPS employs a full-time Registered Nurse (RN) to ensure continuity of care for attendees.

During non-sitting periods, the RN is responsible for auditing and maintaining first aid kits and equipment throughout Parliament House, as well as the coordination of health promotion and health surveillance activities for DPS staff.