Chapter 4 Our people

The AIHW’s staffing profile and information about our workforce strategies can be found in this chapter.

The AIHW’s fifth strategic direction (SD5) recognises that skilled, engaged and versatile people are critical to the achievement of its corporate objectives. The AIHW aims to: 

• support and develop the capabilities of staff to meet its work requirements
• attract and retain skilled, adaptable and responsive people
• promote a culture in which people work within and across teams to maximise expertise and produce results that benefit the AIHW as a whole
• refine its organisational approaches to meet the requirements of a dynamic, mid-sized organisation that has the capacity to respond quickly and flexibly to emerging needs.

The AIHW’s People Unit plays an important role in achieving this strategic direction. It provides human resource services such as workforce management, recruitment, learning and development, information about conditions of service and advice to managers on performance management. It also provides facilities services including the management of office accommodation and supplies, and work health and safety.

Staff profile

Category of employment

AIHW staff numbers at 30 June 2012 were 357.1 full-time equivalent staff (386 total staff) (Table 10). This was a 0.9% decrease on the 360.5 full-time equivalent staff (393 total staff) employed at 30 June 2011. There was a 1.8% decrease in total staff numbers during 2011–12.

Total staff numbers at 30 June 2012 included 27 staff on long-term leave, compared with 20 staff at 30 June 2011.

Table 10: Category of staff employment, 30 June 2011 and 30 June 2012

	All staff 2011	All staff 2012	Male staff 2012	Female staff 2012
Number of staff
Ongoing
Full-time	243	245	92	153
Part-time	74	74	15	59
Long-term leave	20	27	7	20
Non-ongoing
Full-time	42	30	9	21
Part-time	14	10	2	8
Total	393	386	125	261
Number of full-time equivalent staff
Total	360.5	357.1	120.5	236.6

Notes
1. ‘Ongoing staff’ refers to staff employed on an ongoing basis by the AIHW.
2. ‘Non-ongoing staff’ refers to staff employed by the AIHW on contracts or temporary transfer for specified terms and specified tasks, including staff on transfer from other APS agencies.

About two-thirds (68%) of the AIHW’s staff are female (261). Nearly 90% of staff (346) are ongoing employees and this proportion increased over the year from 86% at 30 June 2011.

The AIHW has a high level of part-time employment, with 22% of staff—74 ongoing and 10 non-ongoing—employed part-time. This proportion remains similar to that at 30 June 2011. More women are employed part-time at the AIHW than men (67 women compared with 17 men, or 26% of female staff compared with 14% of male staff at 30 June 2012).

Classification level

The most common levels of staff employment at the AIHW are Executive Level (EL) 1 with 120 staff (31% of total staff numbers) and Australian Public Service (APS) level 6 with 93 staff (24% of total staff numbers) (Table 11). Over the year, non–Senior Executive Service (SES) staff numbers increased at the EL 2, APS 6 and APS 5 levels, with the largest percentage increase being for the EL 2 level—an increase of 19%, from 47 to 56 staff. At other non-SES levels staff numbers either remained steady (APS 2) or dropped (EL 1, APS 4, APS 3), with the largest decrease being at the EL 1 level—a decrease of 8%, from 130 to 120 staff. SES Band 1 staff numbers increased over the year from 8 to 11 at 30 June 2012, although 2 officers were acting at that level while 1 was on leave.

The relatively high proportion of females at the AIHW (68%) is most prominent at the APS 5 level and below. Three-quarters or more of staff at these levels are female. Of the 9 SES Band 1 positions, 5 are substantively held by women.

Table 11: Staff by classification level, 30 June 2011 and 30 June 2012

	All staff 2011	All staff 2012	Male staff 2012	Female staff 2012
Number of staff
Director (CEO)	1	1	1	0
SES Band 1	8	11(a)	6(a)	5
EL 2	47	56	19	37
EL 1	130	120	40	80
APS 6	92	93	34	59
APS 5	58	61	15	46
APS 4	40	28	6	22
APS 3	13	12	3	9
APS 2	4	4	1	3
Total	393	386	125	261

(a) 2 male officers jointly served in a short-term acting arrangement while a SES Band 1 officer was on leave.

Note: Staff on higher duties are included at the level at which they are acting.

Operating groups

Staff were employed across nine operating groups, with 299 (78%) employed in six statistical work-related groups and 87 (22%) in three corporate services-related groups (Table 12). The proportion of ongoing staff is lower in the corporate groups (83%) than across the AIHW as a whole (90%). The number of full-time equivalent staff in each group varied from 19.0 in the ICT and Business Transformation Program Group to 58.4 in the Social and Indigenous Group.

Table 12: Staff employed by operating groups, 30 June 2012

	Number of staff				Number of full-time equivalent staff
	Ongoing	Non-ongoing	Total		Ongoing	Non-ongoing	Total
Statistical groups
Continuing and Specialised Care	49	4	53		45.5	3.1	48.6
Health	51	3	54		46.0	3.0	49.0
Hospitals and Performance	34	3	37		31.5	2.6	34.1
Housing and Homelessness	44	5	49		40.9	5.0	45.9
Information and Statistics	38	5	43		35.0	4.4	39.4
Social and Indigenous	57	6	63		52.7	5.7	58.4
Subtotal	273	26	299		251.6	23.8	275.4
Corporate groups
Director (CEO)	0	1	1		0.0	1.0	1.0
Business	25	5	30		24.2	4.4	28.6
Governance and Communications	30	6	36		28.2	4.9	33.1
ICT and Business Transformation Program	18	2	20		17.0	2.0	19.0
Subtotal	73	14	87		69.4	12.3	81.7
Total	346	40	386		321.0	36.1	357.1

Staff qualifications

The AIHW participated in the first APS State of the Service employee census conducted by the Australian Public Service Commission in May and June 2012. Of the 247 AIHW staff responses to the question on qualifications, 209 (85%) reported holding tertiary-level (graduate) qualifications. Ninety (36%) reported their highest completed qualification as a bachelor degree (including with honours), 34 (14%) a postgraduate diploma (including graduate certificate), 50 (20%) a master’s degree and 35 (14%) a doctorate (Figure 7).

Among the 56 staff working at EL 2 level and above who are detailed in Appendix 4, there are 54 who hold tertiary-level (graduate) qualifications.

This level of tertiary qualifications compares favourably with the most recently published APS-wide level of 57.4% (Australian Public Service Commission 2011. State of the service report 2010–11. Canberra: Australian Public Service Commission, p. 98)

Figure 7: Highest level of staff qualifications, May and June 2012

Source: APS State of the Service employee census

Workforce management

Staff turnover

The AIHW’s turnover of ongoing staff, that is, its separation rate excluding staff transferring to other APS agencies, has increased over the past 12 months from 4.4% to 8.1%. This is higher than the 2010–11 separation rate for the wider APS (6.8%). 2

The overall exit rate of ongoing staff (which includes ongoing staff permanently transferring to other APS agencies) was 15.6% for 2011–12, compared with 13.8% for 2010–11.

Managing for performance

The AIHW places a strong emphasis on two-way communication between managers and staff, and conducts formal staff performance feedback and communication sessions twice a year. The practice aims to improve communication between managers and staff on work priorities, workload, performance, learning and development, and other matters. Staff also receive feedback on their performance against the 5 APS Integrated Leadership System capabilities and against relevant technical and professional skills. In August 2011, 80% of all staff participated in formal performance discussions, and 79% participated in February 2012.

To support staff in managing teams, a number of performance management workshops were offered to managers during the year. The program included workshops on giving and receiving feedback, managing for performance and difficult conversations.

Workplace behaviour

The AIHW recognises that a positive work environment encourages workplace diversity, innovation and creativity, and helps to reduce absenteeism and employee turnover. All new employees are provided with training and information on the APS Values and Code of Conduct and the AIHW Values that together frame expectations of behaviour in the workplace. Existing staff have been given the opportunity to attend courses on workplace practices with the objective of ensuring that the AIHW will be free of bullying and harassment.

The AIHW has 6 fully trained harassment contact officers. They represent varying classification levels and AIHW locations, and include male and female contact officers. They are available to all managers and staff for confidential information and support on bullying and harassment issues.

Employee survey

In October 2011, AIHW employees were surveyed as part of the Hewitt Best Employer Accreditation Process. The survey measured a range of staff attitudes and considered drivers of staff engagement, including intention to stay, motivation to strive and perception of benefits. Over 80% of staff participated, of whom 56% were classified by Hewitt as ‘engaged’. This compares well to an average of 53% for all employers participating in Hewitt’s 2011 survey.

The survey results and employee comments identified the potential for the AIHW to focus improvements on change management, work processes, career opportunities and communication to increase the level of staff engagement. Staff were subsequently invited to participate in facilitated focus groups conducted in May 2012 to identify activities to improve consultation and communication with staff about change.

Recruitment

The AIHW continues to attract and retain talented staff by offering challenging and fulfilling work, competitive salaries, excellent learning and development and career opportunities, good work–life balance, and a friendly and inclusive work environment. In 2011–12, 49 recruitment processes were externally advertised (gazetted) and orders of merit created to fill numerous vacancies across the AIHW, with 36 AIHW staff receiving a promotion (Table 13).

Table 13: Outcome of external recruitment processes completed in 2011–12

	Ongoing	Non-ongoing	Total
Promotion of AIHW staff (from inside the AIHW)	36	n/a	36
Promotion of APS staff (from outside the AIHW)	2	n/a	2
Transfer at level of APS staff (from outside the AIHW)	12	8	20
External appointments to AIHW	64	28	92
Total external recruitment processes completed	47	2	49

Video clips on the AIHW’s website promote the attractions of working at the AIHW. They feature staff and graduates discussing the benefits of the annual graduate intake, the range of career opportunities offered by the AIHW and the general advantages of AIHW employment. The videos are frequently the subject of positive feedback from AIHW job applicants.

AIHW graduates

The AIHW continues to offer excellent employment opportunities for graduates seeking to apply their qualifications in the field of health and welfare information. Of the 12 new graduates employed by the AIHW in the 2011–12 intake, 5 had relocated from interstate. New graduates were given the opportunity to participate in training organised by the Australian Public Service Commission and in strategic project work in many areas of the AIHW. They were also offered a variety of learning and development opportunities specifically tailored for APS graduates.

Of the 14 graduates in the 2010–11 intake, 6 remain at the AIHW, with 3 now promoted to the APS 5 level and 3 to the APS 6 level (Table 14).

Table 14: Graduate recruitment intake and outcomes, 2008–09 to 2011–12

	2008–09	2009–10	2010–11	2011–12
Graduate intake (all at APS 4 level)	12	21	14	12
Graduates remaining at the AIHW at 30 June 2012	5	13	6	12
• as an APS 4	0	1	0	11
• promoted to APS 5	3	6	3	0
• promoted to APS 6	2	6	3	1

Encouraging workplace health and safety

The AIHW is committed to maintaining an environment where all levels of management and staff cooperate to ensure a safe and healthy workplace. The Health and Safety Management Arrangements, developed in consultation with staff, are the primary vehicle for developing and implementing strategies to achieve this aim. The AIHW Director is assisted in work health and safety matters by the Health and Safety Committee, consisting of representatives of management and staff.

Health and Safety Management Arrangements

The AIHW’s Health and Safety Management Arrangements were being revised, at 30 June 2012, to align with the new Workplace Health and Safety Act 2011 (WHS Act), following consultation with staff. The arrangements provide the framework within which the AIHW meets its legislative health and safety requirements and integrates work health and safety systems into its business activities.

The revised arrangements will specify workers’ responsibilities and the functions of the Health and Safety Committee and health and safety representatives. The committee, which meets at least 4 times a year, monitors incidents in the workplace, ensuring that any issues are dealt with effectively and efficiently, and reviews policies and procedures related to work health and safety.

Workplace health and safety actions

Staff communication and training

Since the WHS Act came into force on 1 January 2012 the AIHW has undertaken a number of communication and training initiatives to build staff awareness of the new responsibilities and obligations of workers under the Act. These initiatives have included holding Comcare training programs on work health and safety responsibilities for all managers and staff, and distributing copies of Comcare’s Worker’s pocket guide to all staff. The AIHW intranet has been updated with guides for staff and links to more information. New staff receive information on the AIHW’s work health and safety practices and procedures in their ‘new starter’ packs and at corporate induction sessions.

Management systems

During 2011–12, the AIHW continued to provide workstation assessments for all new staff. These assessments aim to ensure employee comfort and identify any individual needs to maintain the low incidence of body-stressing injuries at the AIHW. The AIHW has also purchased several lecterns to meet the needs of staff who work in a standing position.

Workplace safety inspections

The People Unit undertook 4 workplace safety inspections during 2011–12, covering all AIHW office buildings.

Health and wellbeing

The AIHW continued to use Davidson Trahaire Corpsych to provide short-term counselling services under its Employee Assistance Program. The purpose of the program is to provide information and advice to managers, staff and their immediate families who are experiencing difficult situations and problems related to their personal and/or professional lives.

As in previous years, the AIHW offered free influenza vaccinations to all staff leading into the influenza season.

In 2011–12, the AIHW continued to support a corporate gym membership and the Global Corporate Challenge. The corporate gym membership provides staff with access to a range of gyms across Canberra at a substantially reduced rate. The membership is paid for by staff and administered by the AIHW Social Club.

The Global Corporate Challenge is a worldwide corporate health initiative that encourages participants to increase their daily physical activity over a 3-month period. Participants are also encouraged to review their eating habits and adopt a healthier diet through access to daily information and weekly eating plans provided by a nutrition coach. Ninety-eight staff are currently participating in the 2012 challenge.

Workplace health and safety performance outcomes

There were no incidents requiring notice to be given under s. 68 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 1991. The AIHW was not subject to any health and safety investigations during the year, and no directions were given under s. 45 or notices provided under ss. 29, 46 or 47 of this Act. Additionally, there have been no notices to report under the new Workplace Health and Safety Act 2011.

Encouraging workplace diversity

The opportunities provided by AIHW for flexible working arrangements encourage and support workplace diversity. The AIHW continues to recognise and celebrate the diverse talents and experiences brought to the workplace by its staff.

Indigenous employees

Five AIHW staff identified as Indigenous at 30 June 2012, which represents 1.3% of the total AIHW workforce (386) at 30 June 2012.

APS Indigenous Cadetship Program

The AIHW participates in the APS Indigenous Cadetship Program. During the year, the AIHW sponsored 2 cadets who gained valuable experience through working on projects such as the Closing the Gap Clearinghouse and Healthy for Life. The program, subsidised by the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, provides financial assistance for cadets while they are completing their tertiary studies and offers them a 12-week work placement each year with the AIHW. At the end of their studies (in December 2013), the cadets will be offered ongoing employment with the AIHW.

Reconciliation Action Plan and working group

The AIHW’s Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) was revised and relaunched in February 2012.

Macquarie University Indigenous students

Each year, Indigenous students from Macquarie University are invited to visit the AIHW. These annual visitors are second-year, mature-age students undertaking a Bachelor in Community Management degree course through the Warawara Department of Indigenous Studies. They work in various government and community-based organisations in New South Wales, Queensland and the Northern Territory. The students gain an understanding of how Indigenous programs are coordinated at the national level and an awareness of AIHW publications that can help them with their community work. The annual visits raise the profile of the AIHW and enhance Indigenous community access to health and welfare information.

Employees with disability

Eight AIHW staff have reported, through the AIHW’s human resources information system, that they have an ongoing disability. These staff represent 2.1% of the total AIHW workforce at 30 June 2012. However, of the AIHW staff that responded to the APS State of the Service employee census in May–June 2012, 13 reported that they had an ongoing disability. This discrepancy could indicate a level of under-reporting through the AIHW’s human resources information system. Some of the reasons could be that people choose to maintain their privacy or do not update their status, and the disability status of people from other APS agencies was not provided when they transferred to the AIHW.

The AIHW has presented a number of staff programs and seminars to raise awareness of mental health issues in the workplace. Recent initiatives by the Australian Public Service Commission to strengthen the APS as a disability-confident employer, such as the launch in May 2012 of As One—Australian Public Service Disability Employment Strategy, are monitored to ensure that agency-level recommendations are implemented.

Encouraging and retaining expertise

Long service awards

During 2011–12, the AIHW recognised 7 staff for their long service with the AIHW (Table 15). This brings to 20 the number of existing staff members who, at 30 June 2012, have celebrated 10 years or more service with the AIHW—just over 5% of the AIHW’s total workforce.

Table 15: Staff long service awards, 2011–12

20 years' service	10 years' service
Debbie Vandedonk	Brendan Brady
Rosemary Karmel	Katrina Burgess
	Barbara Levings
	Felicity Murdoch
	Elena Ougrinovski

Australia Day awards

Australia Day awards were presented to 24 staff members in 2011–12 in recognition of their outstanding contribution to the AIHW (Table 16).

Table 16: Australia Day awards, January 2012

Name	For
Dan Sjoberg and Brett Henderson	Contributing to the development of Validata™ for use with hospitals data
Tracey Oliver, Karen Ovington and Tim Adair	Investigating the impact of COAG initiatives in closing the life expectancy gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians
Phil Anderson, Tenniel Guiver, Ian Macintosh and Warren Richter	Enabling the AIHW to play a more prominent role in data linkage activities through the establishment of the Data Integration Services Centre
Gary Hanson, Trevor O'Donnell and Miriam Lum On	Developing online mental health services reporting and related improvements
Gary Kent, Susan Eggers and Shane Svoboda	Providing expert and sound professional advice to shape our agreements and contracts
Anthony McLean, Cid Riley, James Thompson, Michael Metz and Valdis Thomann	Developing and implementing systems for the Specialist Homelessness Services Collection
Mel Taylor, Robyn Kingham-Edwards, Jane Stark and Tanya Wordsworth	Enhancing METeOR to allow jurisdictions and other metadata developers to become their own Registration Authorities

Learning and development

The AIHW’s Learning and Development Advisory Committee meets 3 times each year to consider the learning and development needs of AIHW staff. The committee uses information gathered from the 6-monthly performance communication feedback discussions between staff and their managers to help plan the corporate learning calendar. Programs focus on building staff capabilities in:

• statistics, analysis and data management
• communications (with a focus on writing capability)
• project management and teamwork
• leadership and management.

In 2011–12, the AIHW continued to focus on the development of leadership skills among middle managers and supervisors by providing access to several of the in-house courses linked to the Australian Public Service Commission’s Integrated Leadership System.

In-house courses

The AIHW offered 86 in-house courses to staff during the year in the broad capability areas of communication, management and leadership, and computing and other technical skills. In addition, a formal induction program was offered to new staff (Table 17).

Individual courses offered within these broad subject areas included strategic thinking, stakeholder engagement, contract management, essentials for new team leaders, assessing leadership capability, medical terminology and coding, giving and receiving feedback, media and presentations, minute taking, project management, risk management, negotiation skills, selection criteria and interview skills, career directions, occupational health and safety, bullying and harassment awareness, and Indigenous cultural appreciation. Statistical and IT training—in SAS EG, SAS additional topics and advanced programming, METeOR and Microsoft Excel—and statistical writing, writing for the web and AIHW-specific writing workshops continued.

Table 17: In-house learning and development courses, 2010–11 and 2011–12

Course type	Occasions courses offered			Staff attendance numbers(a)
	2010–11	2011–12		2010–11	2011–12
Corporate induction (for new staff)	3	3		55	64
Communication	34	24		475	284
Management and leadership	24	23		268	321
Computing and other technical skills	34	36		320	372

(a) Some staff attended more than one course.

Induction courses for new staff were held 3 times during the year, each comprising 3 half-day programs. As well as information about the AIHW itself, the courses now incorporate greater detail than previously on broader APS practices, such as APS ethical standards focussing on the APS Values and Code of Conduct.

External study

Through its Studybank Program, the AIHW provides assistance for staff members who wish to undertake external study to further develop their knowledge and skills. A total of 26 staff applications were approved for assistance for study undertaken during 2011 (Semester 2) and 2012 (Semester 1). Areas of study included epidemiology, biostatistics, psychology, public health and management.

Staff seminars

Expert AIHW staff deliver informal lunchtime seminars every 6–8 weeks on statistical and research methods, and health and wellbeing.

Statistical consultancy panel

AIHW staff rely on the expertise of the statistical consultancy panel that was established to provide them with advice and support in statistical methodology, working as part of a multidisciplinary team and participating in the development of research projects. The AIHW also employs a part-time statistician to advise staff on their statistical work. The AIHW statistical manual provides a ready source of information to staff on the AIHW’s statistical practices. The manual is updated on an as-needed basis by the AIHW’s Statistical and Analytical Methods Advisory Committee.

Negotiating our new enterprise agreement

The AIHW’s Collective Agreement 2008–2012 had a nominal expiry date of 30 June 2012. Bargaining started on 1 March 2012 for a new enterprise agreement, in accordance with the provisions of the Government’s Australian Public Service Bargaining Framework and the Fair Work Act 2009. A draft enterprise agreement was rejected by a majority of employees in a vote that concluded on 26 June 2012. Consequently, the Collective Agreement remained in place as at 30 June 2012, with bargaining resuming in July 2012.

Accommodation and energy efficiency

Current accommodation

The AIHW operated from 4 separate office buildings in Canberra in 2011–12:

• 26 Thynne Street, Fern Hill Park, Bruce (main building)
• 28 Thynne Street, Fern Hill Park, Bruce (Trevor Pearcey House, Block A)
• 28 Thynne Street, Fern Hill Park, Bruce (Trevor Pearcey House, Block D)
• 22 Thynne Street, Fern Hill Park, Bruce (Southlake).

The lease for 28 Thynne Street (Trevor Pearcey House, Block D) expired in February 2012 and was not renewed. The leases for the 3 remaining buildings are due to expire in 2014. During 2011–12, the AIHW sought proposals from building owners and their agents to provide office space in Canberra from 2014. A large number of proposals were received and these were still under evaluation at 30 June 2012. The Executive is consulting regularly with staff, through the Consultative Committee, about future accommodation.

Ecologically sustainable development

The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 identifies the following principles of ecologically sustainable development:

• Decision-making processes should effectively integrate both long-term and short-term economic, environmental, social and equitable considerations.
• If there are threats of serious or irreversible environmental damage, lack of full scientific certainty should not be used as a reason for postponing measures to prevent environmental degradation.
• The principle of inter-generational equity: the present generation should ensure that the health, diversity and productivity of the environment is maintained or enhanced for the benefit of future generations.
• The conservation of biological diversity and ecological integrity should be a fundamental consideration in decision making.
• Improved valuation, pricing and incentive mechanisms should be promoted.

Section 516A of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 requires the AIHW to report on ecologically sustainable development.

The matters on which the AIHW is required to report under this Act are detailed in Table 18.

Table 18: Ecologically sustainable development reporting

Legislation administered during 2011–12 accords with the principles of ecologically sustainable development	The AIHW does not administer legislation.
Outcome contribution to ecologically sustainable development	The functions of the AIHW are such that none of its activities contributing to its single outcome under the Portfolio Budget Statements (see Chapter 1 Our performance) address the principles of, or had direct relevance to, ecologically sustainable development as described above.
The effect of the AIHW's activities on the environment	The AIHW's key environmental impacts relate to the consumption of energy and goods, and waste generated by staff in the course of business activities.
Measures taken to minimise the impact of activities on the environment	In accordance with the AIHW's commitment to protecting the environment, the AIHW has adopted a number of practices aimed at reducing the environmental impact of its day-to-day operations: a Green Group meets on a quarterly basis to examine and advise on options to further reduce the AIHW's environmental impact environmentally friendly tips and information on the AIHW intranet provision of amenities for staff who ride bicycles to work use of energy-efficient lighting movement-activated lighting that turns off after 20 minutes when no movement is detected solar tinting on the windows to increase the efficiency of heating and cooling installation of modern, efficient air-conditioning boiler and chiller by building owner, as well as a new building management system to better monitor fuel usage provision of designated car parks for staff who car-pool participation in Earth Hour 2012 water-saving devices in all showers (4) and toilets (37) recycling of toner cartridges, paper, ring binders and other relevant waste recycling bins in all AIHW kitchens for collection of organic waste, with 2.4 tonnes of organic waste collected in 2011–12. A total of 7.5 tonnes has been collected since collection began in 2008.
Mechanisms for reviewing and improving measures to minimise the impact of the AIHW on the environment	The AIHW strives to continually improve its environmental performance through the activities of its Green Group.