WELCOME TO IAPSEN

The Australian Public Service (APS) is at the forefront of efforts to close the gap in the employment of Indigenous people in Australia.

We have a proud record of promoting workplaces that reflect the cultural diversity of the Australian community. This includes the development and implementation of strategies with a specific emphasis on improving the way we recruit and develop Indigenous Australians. We’ll continue that work in coming years and, importantly, work closely with agencies to strengthen our performance in retaining the valued Indigenous employees who already work in the APS.

Indigenous APS Employee Networks are run by Indigenous employees for Indigenous employees, and membership spans a wide range of classification levels and employment. They are an important forum for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees to share information and experiences, provide support and encouragement to each other and promote cultural awareness and respect in the wider APS. They aim to support Indigenous employees across APS agencies and to link effectively with agencies that have their own Indigenous networks.

IAPSENs are an integral part of the Government’s strategy to improve its own Indigenous employment outcomes. I’d like to encourage all Indigenous APS employees to play as active a role in their IAPSEN as possible, and to express my gratitude to employers and managers who are playing their own part by supporting attendance of their employees at meetings.

Lynelle Briggs
Australian Public Service Commissioner