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Chapter 2: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employee profile

Engagements and separations

The decline in total employment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees in the APS is affected by trends in engagements of new employees to the APS, and by separations of employees from the APS.

Engagements

As a proportion of total engagements, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander representation has generally fallen over the past 10 years, despite a rise in 2003–04 when Indigenous employees accounted for 3.0% of all engagements. During 2004–05, Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders accounted for only 2.3% of engagements. Both these percentages (for 2003–04 and 2004–05) are much lower than they were 10 years ago (4.3% in 1995–96). The number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees engaged in the APS during 2004–05 was 261. This was a decline of 6.8% from the number engaged during 2003–04. In contrast, total engagements in the APS overall rose by 22.6%.

During 2004–05, Aboriginal Hostels Limited (AHL) (110) accounted for 42.1% of all ongoing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander engagements. Centrelink (36), the Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST) (17), DIMIA (14) and DEWR (10) were the other main recruiting agencies.

Figure 2.10 reveals the proportion of engagements of ongoing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees by classification for the past 10 years. The long-term fall in engagements at the APS 1–2 levels has slowed, and indeed reversed strongly in the past two years. This group’s representation accounted for almost half of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander engagements during 2004–05—the first year since 1996–97 in which the number of APS 1–2 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander engagements outnumbered APS 3–4 engagements.

Engagements to graduate and trainee classifications have fallen, from 29.1% of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander engagements in 1995–96 to only 8.0% in 2004–05, and in absolute terms from 101 to 21 over the period. Engagements to higher classifications have generally remained steady.

Figure 2.10: Ongoing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander engagements by classification group, 1995–96 to 2004–05

Chart

Source: APSED

In percentage terms, trainee programmes have traditionally represented an important source of engagements for Indigenous employees, as shown in Figure 2.11. The use of traineeships and graduate trainee programmes to recruit Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians has varied over time, though Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees remain more highly represented in traineeships than in graduate trainee programmes (1.7% of graduate trainees at June 2005 were Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders compared to 10.3% of other trainees). Overall, the number of both graduate and other trainees rose substantially during 2004–05. While Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander graduate trainees maintained their representation in the increased intake, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander representation fell for other trainees (down from 16.2% in 2004).

Figure 2.11: Representation of ongoing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees in trainee classifications, 1996 to 2005

Chart

Source: APSED

Figure 2.12 shows ongoing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander engagements by age group from 1995–96 to 2004–05. Engagements in the under 25 age group have fallen steadily in proportional terms over the decade. Strongest growth has been in the 45 and over age group.

Figure 2.12: Ongoing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander engagements by age group, 1995–96 to 2004–05

Chart

Source: APSED

Separations

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander separations from the APS can be looked at in two ways—either as a proportion of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees, or as a proportion of total separations from the APS. Using the first method, 15.3% of all ongoing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees separated during 2004–05. During the year, 48 ongoing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees were transferred out of coverage of the Public Service Act 1999 (the Act). Excluding these employees, the separation rate was 13.6%. The comparable separation rate for the APS overall was 8.5%. Separations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees are considerably higher, both in proportional and absolute terms, than they were 10 years ago.

The absolute decline in the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees this year resulted from both the decline in engagements and the increase in separations.

Table 2.3 looks at Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander separations using the second method described above. As a proportion of all ongoing separations, while still over-represented, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander separations fell this year, from 4.9% to 4.2% of all separations. The number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander separations actually rose, from 356 to 437, but the increase was proportionally less than for the APS overall.

Table 2.3: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander representation in engagements and separations of ongoing employees, 1995–96 to 2004–05

	1995– 96	1996– 97	1997– 98	1998– 99	1999– 00	2000– 01	2001– 02	2002– 03	2003– 04	2004– 05
Engagements no.	347	256	255	260	276	382	394	405	280	261
(% of engagements)	4.3	4.5	4.1	3.3	2.3	2.8	3.2	2.7	3.0	2.3
Separations no.	309	454	417	434	395	262	270	291	356	437
(% of separations)	3.3	2.9	2.5	3.0	3.6	3.2	3.2	4.1	4.9	4.2

Source: APSED

Figure 2.13 indicates ongoing engagements and separations as a proportion of all ongoing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees for the past 10 years. The sharp increase in the separation rate, and the fall in the engagement rate, during the past two years reflects the continuing decline in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employment in the APS. In contrast, for the APS overall, the engagement rate has been higher than the separation rate for the past six years.

Figure 2.13: Ongoing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander engagements and separations as a proportion of ongoing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees, 1995–96 to 2004–05

Chart

Source: APSED

Resignations still accounted for the majority of separations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees (56.5%); however, there was an increase in retrenchments in the last two years (see Figure 2.14).

Figure 2.14: Ongoing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander separations, 1995–96 to 2004–05

Chart

Source: APSED

Women represented 57.9% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander separations during 2004–05, which is somewhat lower than their overall representation of 64.7%.

Figure 2.15 compares the age profile of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander engagements and separations during 2004–05 with the age profile of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander APS employees at June 2005. Overall, the age profile for engagements and separations is similar to that for ongoing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees, except for a peak in engagements in the 20 to 24 age group.

Figure 2.15: Age profile of ongoing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander engagements and separations, 2004–05

Chart

Source: APSED

Figure 2.16 compares the length of service in the APS by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander status, for those employees who separated during 2004–05. It shows the proportion of separations that occurred at different lengths of service for both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and other employees. Results have not changed substantially for the past three years—Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees are much more likely to have considerably shorter service before leaving the APS. During 2004–05, 44.4% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees who separated had less than five years of service, compared with 31.6% of other employees.

Figure 2.16: Ongoing separations by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander status and length of service, 2004–05

Chart

Source: APSED