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Chapter 3: Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders working in the APS

Chapter 2 looked at data available from the Australian Public Service Employment Database (APSED) on the employment profile of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees. This chapter supplements the information available on APSED. It uses data from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employee survey to examine the type of positions occupied by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees in the APS and the extent to which Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees perform work related to the Indigenous community. It looks in particular at the extent to which Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees occupy identified positions, where some of the selection criteria for the position are related to an understanding of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander culture. It also looks at Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders’ views about working in the APS, including their pride in their work and their identification with their agency and with the APS as a whole.

Where are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees working?

The survey asked employees to identify the type of work that they perform (see Table 3.1). Just over half of employees indicated that they were involved in work related solely to service delivery. An additional third of respondents indicated that they worked in a combination of policy development, programme implementation and/or service delivery roles. Only small proportions of respondents indicated that they worked solely in the areas of programme implementation or policy development.

Table 3.1: Type of work performed by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees

Work Type	% of respondents in these roles
Service delivery	57
Combination of policy development, programme implementation and/or service delivery	33
Programme implementation	7
Policy development	3

Source: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander APS Employees Census Survey

A number of factors were associated with the type of work respondents were engaged in, namely:

Respondents more likely to have a sole focus on service delivery were women, those in medium or large agencies, those at the APS 3–4 levels, respondents outside the ACT, those in metropolitan and rural localities, and those with lower-level educational qualifications.
Also more likely to have a sole focus on service delivery were respondents not in identified positions or those whose work did not specifically relate to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community (61% and 69% respectively—compared to 50% and 45% respectively of respondents in these types of roles).
Respondents more likely to be working solely in policy development were those with less than one year of service, those with tertiary qualifications, those located in the ACT, and EL employees.¹⁵
Respondents more likely to be working solely in programme implementation were those at the EL and APS 5–6 classifications, those with tertiary qualifications, and those working in the ACT.
Respondents more likely to be working in a combined role of policy development, programme implementation, and/or service delivery were men, those working in small agencies, and those working in the ACT, remote localities and capital cities. Respondents at the EL 1 and EL 2 classifications, with tertiary qualifications, in identified positions, working with the Indigenous community and respondents with more than 20 years of service were also more likely to be working in a combined role.

In addition to the type of work they performed, respondents were asked if the work they undertake in their job is specifically related to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community. Half of the respondents agreed. Respondents more likely to be undertaking work specifically related to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community were:

older respondents (those aged 45 to 54 and 55 and over)—58% and 78% respectively, compared to between 45% and 46% for other age groups
employees from small (71%) and medium (83%) agencies, compared to 43% from large agencies
employees from remote areas (72%), compared to 45% of employees from capital cities and 33% from metropolitan areas.

Employees at the APS 3–4 levels were less likely to undertake work specifically related to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community than employees at other classifications (39% compared to almost 60% for employees at other classifications).

Service delivery to the public

In addition to questions about what best described the type of work they do, whether policy development, programme implementation or service delivery, respondents were asked specifically about whether their work directly involves delivering services to the general public or managing employees delivering such services; 78% of respondents indicated that this was the case.¹⁶ This is substantially higher than the result for APS employees who are directly involved in delivering services to the general public or who manage employees delivering such services (55%).¹⁷

Of respondents in the census survey who reported that their work directly involved delivering services to the public or managing employees delivering such services, 46% reported that they or their staff delivered services solely to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community.

Of those delivering services solely to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community, respondents were more likely to come from medium agencies (68%), be aged 45 and over (55%), and be at the APS 1–2 (57%), APS 5–6 (55%) and EL (59%) classifications. They were also more likely to work in remote localities (59%).
While, as reported above, respondents working in identified positions or on work related to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community were less likely to describe their role as focused solely on service delivery, where they were directly involved in delivering services to the general public, they were more likely to deliver services solely to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community (63% and 75% respectively).

Even where respondents worked in general service delivery positions, they had a high level of contact with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community. Of all respondents who had delivered services to the general public (both solely to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community and more broadly), 79% had dealt directly with Indigenous people in the last 12 months, 66% had dealt directly with Indigenous organisations, 65% had dealt with groups and/or individuals working with Indigenous communities and over half had dealt with Indigenous communities (see Figure 3.1).

Figure 3.1: Proportion of respondents who had direct dealings with different groups in the last 12 months

Chart

Source: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander APS Employees Census Survey

The survey also asked all respondents whether they spoke an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander language (or languages) in the course of their work to assist with the business of their agency and whether they received an allowance for using this language (or these languages).

Only a small proportion (7%) of respondents indicated that they spoke an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander language in the course of their work. Of these, a quarter received an allowance for the use of this language.

Contribution of work to the Indigenous community

All employees reporting that they were involved in the delivery of services to the general public or managed employees delivering such services, were asked whether, as part of their work, they feel that they have been able to contribute positively to the improvement of outcomes for Indigenous Australians.

Responses to this question were generally positive. Overall, 65% of relevant respondents reported that as part of their work they feel they have been able to contribute positively to the improvement of outcomes for Indigenous Australians. Only 19% disagreed, with a further 16% unsure.

Relevant respondents in identified positions or in work related to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community were more likely to report that they feel they have been able to contribute positively to the improvement of outcomes for Indigenous Australians. Relevant respondents in small agencies were also more likely to report that they feel like they have been able to contribute positively to the improvement of outcomes for Indigenous Australians (86% compared to 80% in medium agencies and 61% in large agencies).

Identified positions

Identified positions have specific selection criteria that require applicants to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander societies and cultures, and an ability to communicate sensitively and effectively with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. These positions are open to all Australians and have to be won on merit. When introduced in 1973 identified positions were seen as a mechanism that would assist Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders to gain employment in the APS. In 1979, 630 positions had been identified; however, only 10% to 20% of these positions were filled by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees.¹⁸ By 1986, the number of positions had increased to 1420 with about 30% of them filled by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees, and 30% vacant.¹⁹ The total number of current identified positions is unknown.

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Census Survey found that a substantial proportion (43%) of respondents indicated that they were employed in an identified position.

The profile of those in identified positions was somewhat different from that of other employees. While their classification level on entry was only slightly different to that of other employees, they were more likely to be at the APS 1–2 levels and less likely to be in APS 3–4 positions than respondents not in identified positions. They also had lower levels of tertiary qualifications than employees in non-identified positions (16% compared to 26%).

Respondents in identified positions had a slightly older age profile than those in non-identified positions. They were more likely to be in older age groups (45 to 54, 27% compared to 18%, and over 54, 8% compared to 3%). Conversely, they were less likely to be in age groups under 45 (under 25, 6% compared to 9%; 25 to 34, 28% compared to 34%; and 35 to 44, 31% compared to 37%). However, there were only small differences in length of service.

The majority of respondents in identified positions were located outside the ACT (86% compared to 76% of those not in identified positions) and, while 50% were located in capital cities, they were more likely to be located outside capital cities than other employees (19% were located in remote localities compared to 7% of employees not in identified positions).

While they were less likely to be solely in service delivery roles than other employees, half still described their role in this way, with a higher proportion than other employees (41%) indicating that their role was a combination of policy development, programme implementation and/or service delivery. Seventy-nine per cent undertook work specifically related to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community (compared to 25% of those not in identified positions).

Respondents in identified positions were more likely than other employees to have been working with Indigenous people and/or communities and/or Indigenous business before joining the APS (53% compared to 36% for those not in identified positions). Respondents in identified positions were also more likely to consider themselves APS, rather than agency, employees (54% compared to 46%) and more likely to have left the APS and then rejoined within the last five years (22% compared to 17%). Of those who had left and rejoined the APS in the last five years, employees in identified positions were more likely to indicate that the reason they rejoined was to make a difference for Indigenous Australians (41% compared to 22% of relevant employees not in identified positions). There were only small differences in intentions to leave the APS between those in and those not in identified positions.

The following are a sample of comments made by respondents relating to their views on the delivery of service to the Indigenous community.

The ability to contribute positively to improved outcomes for Indigenous Australians is a primary motivator for me in my career.

All program areas should include Indigenous staff to ensure effective service delivery to Indigenous customers regardless of the program as all programs delivered by or on behalf of government is accessible by all Australians and including Indigenous Australians.

I feel that the knowledge and experience of the staff I work with are not being utilised or recognised as credible, when it comes to considering improved outcomes for Indigenous Australians.

Indigenous Staff values and experience are not utilised by management. We are employed for having the knowledge but need to leave it at the door when we come to work.

I believe we will get to a point where we will have a positive impact in improving how my Department and others do business with all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups/associations/organisations/individuals.

In the current environment and changes to my role, I find it more difficult to see that my work is contributing positively to the improvement of outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Employee pride and identity

The survey sought respondents’ views about their levels of pride in working for both their current agency and the APS more broadly.

Responses to these questions were generally positive. Almost two-thirds of respondents stated that they were proud to work in their current agency. Twenty-four per cent of respondents neither agreed nor disagreed, and only 10% disagreed.

An even larger proportion (74%) of respondents indicated that they were proud to work in the APS. Twenty-one per cent of respondents neither agreed nor disagreed with this statement and only 4% disagreed that they were proud to work in the APS.

Results to these questions from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employee survey are very similar to results for APS employees overall from the 2005 State of the Service employee survey. This survey found that 66% of APS employees were proud to work in their current agency and 71% were proud to work in the APS.²⁰

However, the results are lower than those reported in the State of the Service Report 2004–05 from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander respondents to the State of the Service 2005 employee survey, which found that 81% of this group were proud to work in their current agency and 84% were proud to work in the APS. Results from the census survey are generally more reliable, as the State of the Service employee survey results are based on sample statistics and subject to sampling error.

A number of factors were related to respondents’ level of pride in their work in their current agency and in the APS more broadly:

Classification has an impact on levels of pride both in the agency and the APS, although pride is common at both higher and lower classifications. Figure 3.2 shows that pride in the respondents’ work in their current agency is most common at the APS 1–2 and EL classifications. In contrast, pride in the APS is highest at the APS 1–2 and 3–4 levels.
Respondents from medium agencies were more likely to express pride in their agency than other respondents (82% compared to 61% in large agencies), but there was little variation in levels of pride in the APS by agency size.
Respondents from remote areas were more likely to express pride in their agency (73%) and pride in the APS (81%) than respondents from other localities. Respondents from metropolitan areas had the lowest results for pride in their agency (59%) and respondents from capital cities had the lowest results for pride in the APS (71%).
Length of service of respondents also shows some interesting variations. Those with less than one year of service are very proud to work in both their agency (83%) and the APS (82%). Conversely, those with more than 20 years of service are less positive in both pride in agency (61%) and pride in the APS (68%). The group of respondents with 11 to 15 years of service had the lowest results for pride in their current agency (59%), but comparatively much more positive results for pride in the APS (72%).
Respondents who indicated that they were proud to work in their current agency and/or the APS also reported being more satisfied with the overall effectiveness of their supervisor at managing people and more satisfied with their input into decision-making, and were more likely to indicate that they did not intend to leave the APS in the next three years.

Figure 3.2: Levels of pride in both agency and APS by classification group

Chart

Source: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander APS Employees Census Survey

The survey also asked respondents if they primarily consider themselves to be APS employees or employees of their agency.

Results were evenly split among respondents. Fifty per cent of respondents considered themselves primarily to be an APS employee. The other half of respondents considered themselves to be primarily an employee of their agency.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees were more likely to consider themselves to be primarily APS employees than were APS employees overall (40% of APS employees primarily consider themselves to be an APS employee and 60% consider themselves to be an employee of their agency).²¹ However, identification with the APS in the census survey was not as high as the results for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employee respondents to the 2005 State of the Service employee survey, where 70% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander respondents reported that they primarily considered themselves to be an APS employee. As noted above, results from the census survey are likely to be more reliable.

Women, respondents working in identified positions, those working with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community, and respondents in medium and large agencies were all more likely to consider themselves to be primarily APS employees than were other respondents.

The following are a sample of comments made by respondents relating to their views about their work in the APS.

I have enjoyed a varied and rewarding career in the APS.

I love my job—I get extreme satisfaction from it and would recommend it as an employer of choice.

The work conditions that I currently have are the best that I have ever had throughout my entire life.

Working for the APS is about as good a deal as any Indigenous person could hope for. Good money and good working conditions.

I feel that the APS is very important work for the advancement of Indigenous people in government careers.

I used to take great pride in working within the APS. I now feel undervalued and as though I am being driven from my employment.

I am not proud to announce my employer as it bring(s) so much aggression from the public.

APS undervalues the hard workers, no recognition, it’s always the staff [that] don’t do the work that get the recognition.

I have regretted my decision to work for the APS. I have not progressed to a higher level, the reasons given is that I do not have enough experience as such I have deskilled since joining the APS.

Working in the APS is quite robotic and uniform. There’s no room for creativity or self development of any artistic form.

APS has allowed me to work and raise my family in the appropriate manner at the same time.

The APS supports staff in gaining further skill, and is considerate of family, with flexible work conditions. We, as staff, are also encouraged to grow within the organisation.

Key findings

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employee survey provides a picture for the first time of the type of work in which Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders are engaged in the APS.

The survey confirms the concentration of Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders in particular types of work within the APS, with results showing that almost half undertake work specifically related to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community and that, even where they work in general service delivery roles, they have high levels of contact with Indigenous communities and representatives. These results are reinforced by the significant proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees working in identified positions.

In many cases the employment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees in these areas will reflect a sensible business decision to utilise the comparative advantage that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees bring to dealing with Indigenous communities. The results may also suggest, however, that the skills and capabilities of this group are not yet being used effectively in other areas of the APS. The fact that younger employees were slightly less likely to be undertaking work specifically related to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community and less likely to be employed in identified positions may suggest that some change has already occurred in this regard.

The results also suggest that Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders were more likely to be employed in areas of service delivery than were other APS employees. While a third of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees are employed in mixed roles, there seems to be much more potential to extend their involvement to programme implementation and policy development work. The association between level of educational qualification and likelihood of working in a service delivery role suggests that encouraging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees to gain higher qualifications will improve their chances of working in a broader range of areas.

The generally positive views of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees about their work are encouraging and could help to shape programmes that encourage greater numbers of Indigenous Australians to consider the APS as a career. In particular, the findings that 65% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees believe that they have been able to contribute positively to improving outcomes for Indigenous Australians, and three-quarters are proud to work in the APS, are very positive results. It may be that existing employees need to be encouraged to promote the benefits they experience from APS employment more widely to their communities.

¹⁵ In analysing survey results by classification, results for the Senior Executive Service (SES) have been excluded because of the small number of respondents in this category.

¹⁶ Differences in the responses to these questions may reflect the fact that respondents involved in delivering services to the public can be involved in a combination of service delivery and other roles

.¹⁷ APS employee results come from the 2005 employee survey and were reported in the State of the Service Report 2004–05 and/or the State of the Service Employee Survey Results 2004–05.

¹⁸ Radford, Gail 1985, ‘Employment of Aboriginals in the Australian Public Service’ (Speech delivered at RAIPA luncheon, Darwin, 14 May).

¹⁹ Public Service Board 1986, Statistical Bulletin—Employment of Aboriginals in the Australian Public Service, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra.

²⁰ APS employee results come from the 2005 State of the Service employee survey and were reported in the State of the Service Report 2004–05 and/or the State of the Service Employee Survey Results 2004–05.

²¹ APS employee results come from the 2005 State of the Service employee survey and were reported in the State of the Service Report 2004–05 and/or the State of the Service Employee Survey Results 2004–05.