The Australian Public Service Commission (APSC) has published its latest State of the Service report revealing that the Australian Public Service (APS) is changing and faces continuing pressure to keep changing.
The State of the Service Report 2017–18 has been structured around the themes of culture, capability and leadership.
It covers data obtained from the annual APS Agency Survey and APS employee census, as well as the APS employment database.
The report highlights a need for the APS to adapt to ensure fitness-for-purpose into the future.
It echoes the thoughts of the Chair of the Independent Review of the APS, David Thodey that the service is not broken, but it does need to be ready to respond quickly to Government, changing community needs and to take advantage of emerging technologies.
The report found that the total APS employment strength in June was 150,594, a decline of almost one per cent on a year ago.
Of these, 136,175 were permanent employees and 14,419 non-ongoing workers on fixed contracts.
It found the typical APS employee to be a 43-year-old woman with a bachelor’s degree who worked in a service delivery role at the APS 6 level in the ACT. She has been employed in the APS for 11 years.
The report reveals that APS employees work in Australia and overseas through 18 Departments and more than 100 Agencies and Authorities, delivering a wide range of services.
The most populous grade was APS 6 with 32,981 employees, with women forming the majority in all grades from Trainee to EL1. This fell away to 46 per cent at EL2 and SES grades.
Age-wise, a total of 13 per cent of APS employees were under 30 and 19 per cent over 55. The largest cohort was in the 45-to-49 age range with 15 per cent of the total workforce.
Three per cent of APS workers identified as Indigenous and four per cent as having a disability.
The report contains an expanded set of workforce data that complements its findings. The APSC will present key report findings and updates on APS reform to APS staff in all States and Territories in early 2019.
The 184-page State of the Service Report 2017-18 can be accessed at this PS News link.
