Diversity advocates want to see the federal government focus efforts on attracting and retaining people from diverse backgrounds but believe accurate data collection is the obvious first step.

It comes as Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi pushes for a new strategy to improve cultural and linguistic diversity outcomes within the Australian Public Service, labelling the current settings as "abysmal".

Data from the Australian Public Service Commission shows less than 1 per cent of bureaucrats who identify as being from a culturally and linguistically diverse background hold senior level roles within agencies, in contrast to 2.5 per cent of those from English-speaking backgrounds.

Culturally diverse bureaucrats also rated 5.7 per cent lower than those from English-speaking backgrounds at the executive level.

The figures show this trend exists despite 78.7 per cent of public servants from culturally diverse backgrounds holding a bachelor's degree or higher compared to 62.3 per cent from English-speaking backgrounds.

But advocates warn the data doesn't reveal the full picture with inconsistent questions being asked across the public service.

The commission's data is split into those from English or non-English speaking backgrounds, which ANU Centre for Asian-Australian Leadership director Jieh-Yung Lo said did not offer enough nuance.

The data also only represents a handful of agencies, with others failing to ask the question of their staff.

Mr Lo said it was tough to measure what the APS was doing well without reliable information.

A consistent definition for cultural and linguistic diversity across the APS was first needed with the right questions needing to be asked of workers.

"[The APSC] needs to start having a standardised way of collecting ethnic and cultural diversity data," he said.

"Without the data, you can't actually set targets to advance culturally diverse representation in leadership."

A spokesperson for the Australian Public Service Commission said it was looking at improving its data collection but work remained in the "early stages".

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Finance and Public Service Minister Katy Gallagher has said she's committed to improving cultural diversity but has yet to announce what those plans would look like.

Mr Lo was hopeful there would be improvements to cultural diversity as seen in other areas, such as gender, disability and First Nations participation, but wanted to see a stronger push from the top.

He said he had not seen that yet.

APS Commissioner Peter Woolcott admitted in a recent senate estimates appearance cultural diversity was not a top priority when compared to First Nations participation and the gender pay gap.

He added it was "a question of resources".

"At this point, we don't have a formal strategy around this, but we may need to move to that position at some stage," he said.

The data the agency collected on cultural and ethnic diversity was also not "particularly accurate", he said.

"[There's a sense] that people don't actually say that they're from a culturally and linguistically diverse background in the APSED data, the human resources data or their census reporting," Mr Woolcott said.

Mr Lo said the federal government could make good on its promise to make the APS a model employer by prioritising cultural diversity as much as other diversity indicators.

But senior leadership needed to first put it "front and centre".

"Our society is getting more ethnically and culturally diverse. We are also becoming a more globally connected world," he said.

"We need to tap into our culturally diverse talent in order for the APS to be ahead of the game, fit for purpose to serve and support Australians from all backgrounds".

"Cultural diversity can't just be an entrée or a dessert, it has to be the main course."

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