APS Employment database - APSED

Why is APS employment data collected and how is it used?

The Public Service Commissioner has been given certain functions under section 41 of the Public Service Act 1999. To perform these functions the Public Service Commissioner requires agencies to supply data to the APSED. This data is then used to compile reports and evaluate the state of the APS.

Each financial year the Public Service Commissioner reports to Parliament on the state of the APS. The overall purpose of the State of the Service (SOS) Report (including workplace diversity) and the APS employment data releases, is to maintain public confidence in the integrity and accountability of the APS. Employment data is an important input to the SOS Report. The SOS Report contains aggregated statistics and individuals are not identified.

Information on staffing, including trends in the size, structure and composition of the APS, contributes to research and evaluation work on the changing nature of the APS and the impact of people management policies on the structure of the APS. This, in turn, assists agencies to formulate their people management policies and practices.

The APS Employment Principles state that the APS is a career based public service that recognises the diversity of the Australian community and fosters diversity in the workplace. A new clause in the Australian Public Service Commissioner's Directions 2013 now provides that each agency head must ensure that measures are put in place in the agency to collect certain personal information from each employee of the agency and to provide that information to the Commissioner.

This new provision is aimed at improving the quality of data collected by agencies (particularly around disability and indigenous status, but also in relation to other matters such as educational qualifications) that is then stored in the APS Employment Database. Given the sensitive nature of this data, subclause 7.6(2) provides that in seeking the information, the agency measures must allow employees a "choose not to give this information" option (which can also be reported).

The collection notice for APSED can be found here.

Your privacy and APSED

Information outlining privacy provisions within APSED.

If you have any questions about the APS Employment Database, please contact the APSED project team.

Australian Public Service Employment Database internet interface (APSEDii)

The Australian Public Service Employment Database internet interface (APSEDii) is a dashboard presenting information on workforce characteristics of the Australian Public Service.

For information and access go to the APSEDii page.

APSED resources

APS Employment Database (APSED) specifications

The user manual and specifications are provided in MS Word and PDF formats.

Common Workforce Metrics in APS

The ‘Common Workforce Metrics in APS’ resource provides a guide to workforce metrics commonly used across agencies in the Australian Public Service. Definitions, formulas and purposes are provided for each metric. This resource updates ‘Appendix A: Common Workforce Metrics’ from the former Strategic Workforce Analysis and Reporting Guide.

Interface spreadsheet

We have developed a spreadsheet to assist agencies without an automated HR system that can interface with the APS Employment Database. The spreadsheet includes the facilities to produce both the snapshot and change data files in the required format. The spreadsheet also contains instructions on how to produce the snapshot and change files.

Equity and diversity questionnaire

A template questionnaire that can be used by agencies to collect the equity and diversity data required for APSED.

Guidelines for issuing AGS numbers to non-Comsuper contributors

This guideline provides information on the issuing of AGSNs to APS employees. It distinguishes between when an agency can reuse the same AGSN and when an agency must issue a new one.

Find out more about the guidelines for issuing AGS numbers.

How can I access data from APSED?

The data from APSED is made publicly available through the APS Data Release, which provides a current statistical snapshot of the APS workforce as well as trends over the past 20 years. A full set of tables, many of which are broken down by agency, can be found in Appendix 1 of the data release. These tables are available as individual HTML links or as a complete EXCEL workbook download at the bottom of Appendix 1.   

APSED data is also available via a series of interactive dashboards called the APS Employment Database Interactive Interface (APSEDii).

Both the APS Data Release and APSEDii are updated twice a year for the June and December reporting periods.

If the data you require cannot be obtained from the APS Data Release or APSEDii, you can send us a data request by filling out our data request form.