Appendix 1 – Explanatory notes

Agencies

The organisations separately identified in this publication are based on the publication APS Agencies, which is available on the Commission’s web site at <http://www.apsc.gov.au/apsprofile/agencies.htm>. Some very small agencies are not separately identified. A list of those organisations not separately identified in the tables is shown at Appendix 6.

Calculation of yearly APS change

From time to time, the number of employees covered by the PS Act is affected by changes in administrative arrangements when agencies move into or out of coverage of the PS Act. It is necessary to adjust for changes in coverage when comparing the data with previous years’ data and calculating changes for the APS (refer to Appendix 4).

Classifications

The classifications used in this Bulletin are those classifications listed in the Public Service Classification Rules 2000 (the Classification Rules).

As some agencies use broadbanded classifications, APSED was designed with the capacity to store both the minimum and maximum classification levels for employees. Any data after or including 30 June 1999 refers to the maximum classification level and is, therefore, not directly comparable with data for earlier years. Appendix 2 provides details about the range of broadbanded classification levels and the impact of broadbanding on reporting of classification at June 2009.

Data in this Bulletin refers to the classification of employees except where the employee is performing duties temporarily at a different classification. In this case, the data reflects the classification level of the duties. Data before 30 June 1999 refers only to substantive classification.

• Senior Executive Service (SES) includes SES Bands 1, 2 and 3 and SES Specialist Bands 1, 2 and 3. It also includes employees grouped with the equivalent SES bands under the Classification Rules.
• EL classifications include Executive Levels 1 and 2 (formerly Senior Officer Grades C, B and A). It also includes employees grouped with the equivalent Executive Levels under the Classification Rules such as Medical Officers and Senior Customs Officers.
• APS classifications include staff at the APS 1 to 6 levels (formerly Administrative Service Officers, Research Officers and some other equivalents who were previously in the Information Technology and Professional classification streams).
• Trainee includes cadets, trainees and apprentices (but not Graduate APS, even though this is a training classification under the Classification Rules).
• Graduate APS refers to those employees in a specific graduate program only.
• Other is included in historical data up to 1999–00, and includes staff in classifications not mentioned in the above categories. Where possible, all classifications that were listed separately in previous publications have been reclassified to their equivalent level in APSED.

Engagement

An engagement refers to the engagement or re-engagement of staff under s. 22 of the PS Act. Employees of agencies moving into coverage of the PS Act are counted as engagements.

Full-time/part-time

The full-time and part-time employment status categories used in this publication refer to the number of hours worked. Full-time staff are defined as those who ordinarily work 35 hours or more per week. Staff working fewer than 35 hours per week are defined as working part-time. This definition is based on that used by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in their Australian Labour Market Statistics publication (catalogue no. 6105.0).

Highest Educational Qualification

As an employee may have more than one qualification, data reported in this Bulletin is the highest qualification that the employee has reported to their agency. The full list of qualification categories is shown in the APSED manual 2008, available on the Commission’s website at http://www.apsc.gov.au/apsed/apsedmanual.pdf.

Length of service

Length of service is based on an employee’s combined periods of service. Where possible, an individual’s separate periods of services have been linked by matching date of birth, gender, first name (first four letters) and surname. Data held by ComSuper has also been used to match employees whose names had changed. The length of these periods of service is combined. For example, an individual who had five years of service, left the APS for two years and then returned for seven years would have a total length of service of 12 years. Previously, this individual would have been recorded as having seven years of service if they had changed Australian Government Staff Number (AGSN). Using this method it is possible to determine an individual’s prior service in the APS (as shown in Table 27).

Non-ongoing service is included in this calculation only where the service is on APSED; the collection of data for non-ongoing employees on APSED commenced in July 1999. Also, service in an agency is only included in the period that the agency was covered under the PS Act or the Public Service Act 1922 (the PS Act 1922). When an agency moves out of coverage of either of these Acts, accumulation of service ceases until the individual rejoins the APS. See Appendix 4 for PS Act coverage changes.

NESB

In the absence of alternative measures, the concept ‘NESB’, representing people from a non-English speaking background, is used with APSED. This captures information about first language spoken, place of birth and parents’ language. NESB 1 refers to people born overseas who arrived in Australia when they were aged five or younger and whose first language was not English. NESB 2 refers to children of migrants including: those who were born overseas and arrived in Australia when they were aged five or younger but did not speak English as a first language; those who were Australian born but did not speak English as a first language and had at least one NESB 1 parent; and those people who were Australian born and had neither parent speaking English as a first language.

Ongoing/Non-ongoing

‘Ongoing employment’ refers to the employment of an APS employee as an ongoing employee as mentioned in s. 22(2)(a) of the PS Act. The employee is referred to as an ongoing employee. ‘Non-ongoing employment’ is a generic term which refers to the engagement of APS employees for either a specified term or for the duration of a specified task or for duties that are irregular or intermittent as mentioned in ss. 22(2)(b) and (c) of the PS Act. A person engaged on a non-ongoing basis is referred to as a non-ongoing employee.

Operative/Inoperative status

Employees who are inoperative are those on mandatory or discretionary leave without pay, or compensation leave. Maternity leave is not included. For further details see the APSED manual 2008, available on the Commission’s website at http://www.apsc.gov.au/apsed/apsedmanual.pdf.

Separation

A separation occurs when an employee ceases to be employed under the PS Act. It does not refer to employees moving from one APS agency to another. Data for separations under the PS Act 1922 have, where possible, been coded to categories recognised under the PS Act. The terms used in this Bulletin are:

• age retirement (s. 30 of the PS Act). For the purposes of this Bulletin, age retirement includes resignations at age 55 and above
• retrenchment (s. 29(3)(a))
• invalidity retirement (s. 29(3)(d))
• other terminations of employment (s. 29(3)(b), (c), (e), (f), (g) and (h))
• compulsory move to non-APS agency by determination made by the Public Service Commissioner under s. 72(1)(b)
• “mobility provisions”. These are separations under Part IV of the PS Act 1922 and are the only old separations not able to be mapped directly to the PS Act. This is due to the concept of ‘mobility’ being phased out as eligibility for APS employment was broadened
• resignation
• death.

Separation rate

Is calculated as the number of ongoing separations from the APS over a financial year, divided by the average number of ongoing employees over that period.

State

State refers to the physical location of staff. Prior to the 1999–00 Statistical Bulletin, State referred to the location of the pay area from which staff were paid. Some agencies are unable to provide postcodes for some employees. In the tables that include state data, these employees are shown as N/A.

Symbols and other usages

. zero value

(NC) Not Current—agency is not in coverage of the PS Act, or was part of another agency, at that date

.. data has been confidentialised

N/A not available

Transfers and promotions

The terminology of ‘transfers’ and ‘promotions’ has been used in this publication because they are commonly understood by most APS employees. The terminology generally used in the context of the PS Act is ‘movement at level’ for transfer between agencies and ‘assignment of duties’ for transfer within an agency. Promotion is defined in the Public Service Commissioner’s Directions as ‘the assignment to an ongoing employee (other than a trainee) of duties at a higher classification than the employee’s current classification (whether or not the employee moves to another agency)’. ‘Promotions’ includes advancements within a broadband. Temporary assignments within a broadband are excluded.

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