Employee engagement

Employee engagement is vital to the working of government. The Australian Public Service Commission’s model of employee engagement measures the emotional connection and commitment employees have to working for their organisation. In this model, an engaged employee will ‘say’, ‘stay’ and ‘strive’:

• Say ꟷ the employee is a positive advocate of the organisation.
• Stay ꟷ the employee is committed to the organisation and wants to stay as an employee.
• Strive ꟷ the employee is willing to put in discretionary effort to excel in their job and help their organisation succeed.

The Australian Public Service Employee Census questions that contribute to the Employee Engagement Index are:

Say 

• I am proud to work in my agency.
• I would recommend my agency as a good place to work.
• Overall, I am satisfied with my job.
• I believe strongly in the purpose and objectives of my agency.

Stay 

• I feel a strong personal attachment to my agency.
• I feel committed to my agency’s goals.

Strive 

• I suggest ideas to improve our way of doing things.
• I am happy to go the ‘extra mile’ at work when required.
• I work beyond what is required in my job to help my agency achieve its objectives.
• My agency really inspires me to do my best work every day.

Figures AB 10 to AB 15 and tables AB 10 to AB 15 report on the index scores for agencies, by agency size, for APS respondents.

Figure AB 10: Employee Engagement Index, by agency size

Source: APS Employee Census

Table AB 10: Employee Engagement Index, by agency size

Source: APS Employee Census

Figure AB 11: Employee Engagement Index, for extra-large agencies (10,000+ employees)

Source: APS Employee Census
Note: The National Disability Insurance Agency was a large agency in 2024.

Table AB 11: Employee Engagement Index, for extra-large agencies (10,000+ employees)

Source: APS Employee Census
Note: The National Disability Insurance Agency was a large agency in 2024.

Figure AB 12: Employee Engagement Index, for large agencies (1,001 to 10,000 employees)

Source: APS Employee Census
Note: Health and Aged Care is now Health, Disability and Ageing. The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission was a medium agency in 2024. Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts is now Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts.

Table AB 12: Employee Engagement Index, for large agencies (1,001 to 10,000 employees)

Source: APS Employee Census
Note: Health and Aged Care is now Health, Disability and Ageing. The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission was a medium agency in 2024. Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts is now Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts.

Figure AB 13: Employee Engagement Index, for medium agencies (251 to 1,000 employees)

Source: APS Employee Census
Note: The National Museum of Australia, the National Health and Medical Research Council, and the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia were small agencies in 2024. The Administrative Review Tribunal was called the Administrative Appeals Tribunal in 2024.

Table AB 13: Employee Engagement Index, for medium agencies (251 to 1,000 employees)

Source: APS Employee Census
Note: The National Museum of Australia, the National Health and Medical Research Council, and the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia were small agencies in 2024. The Administrative Review Tribunal was called the Administrative Appeals Tribunal in 2024.

Figure AB 14: Employee Engagement Index, for small agencies (101 to 250 employees)

Source: APS Employee Census
Note: The Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House and the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care were extra-small agencies in 2024. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority was a medium agency in 2024. The Net Zero Economy Authority was not an APS agency in 2024.

Table AB 14: Employee Engagement Index, for small agencies (101 to 250 employees)

Source: APS Employee Census
Note: The Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House and the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care were extra-small agencies in 2024. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority was a medium agency in 2024. The Net Zero Economy Authority was not an APS agency in 2024.

Figure AB 15: Employee Engagement Index, for extra-small agencies (20 to 100 employees)

Source: APS Employee Census
Note: The Office of the Special Investigator was a small agency in 2024. The Australian Law Reform Commission and Screen Australia did not have reportable results in 2024. The High Speed Rail Authority did not participate in the APS Employee Census in 2024.

Table AB 15: Employee Engagement Index, for extra-small agencies (20 to 100 employees)

Source: APS Employee Census
Note: The Office of the Special Investigator was a small agency in 2024. The Australian Law Reform Commission and Screen Australia did not have reportable results in 2024. The High Speed Rail Authority did not participate in the APS Employee Census in 2024.