Katy Gallagher keen on uniform APS grad training in light of 'hotties list'

But the opposition's spokesperson for infrastructure Bridget McKenzie, who raised the purported existence of such a list during Senate estimates, has responded by insisting any reform to graduate training must happen at the start of the next graduate program as a "top priority".

The list by male grads assessing junior female public servants "by their so-called hotness", and a subsequent investigation, emerged last week during estimates grillings of the Infrastructure Secretary Jim Betts.

The list, described by Australian Public Service commissioner Gordon de Brouwer as "despicable", was not found during an independent investigation, but Mr Betts said that it did not mean it did not exist.

Senator McKenzie had called for a compulsory, minimum standard of training across the APS for all graduate intakes, and had last week sought commitment from the minister and commissioner.

Senator Gallagher is concerned about the gender mix of some of the graduate cohorts, and on Wednesday, she said she was happy to look at induction training.

"I'm certainly interested in having a look at it," Senator Gallagher, who is also Minister for Women, told reporters in Canberra.

"The story that was raised at estimates was concerning and I don't want that type of experience, as it was explained at estimates, to be the first experience of graduates.

"Our big challenge is workforce. We've got to ensure that people want to work for the APS. That we keep them in the APS. And the graduates are our highest trained level of entry into the APS."

Senator McKenzie welcomes the shift from the Minister, but she said she wants top bureaucrats to get moving on this reform to be ready for the start of next year's graduate program.

"Public service chiefs, who are on next to a million dollars a piece per annum, this should be their top priority," she told The Canberra Times.

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"My great concern was that the group of graduates who have been subjected to the alleged hotties list would finish their graduate year without the government having taken seriously the issues that that incident raised.

"It doesn't take 18 months to get the training that already exists in some departments and make it mandatory for the first four weeks of next year's graduate programs. Otherwise, we potentially have two years of graduate programs that could find themselves in the same mess."

Estimates heard that the department was verbally notified about rumours of the list in late March and the first formal complaint about the list was made to the department in May.

Senior officials within the Australian Public Service Commission were first told about it a few weeks ago.

No one had been fired, but it was explained by the secretary that officials had spoken to the graduates about expectations and requirements.

Mr Betts explained that he spoke with the women within the program to ensure they received support and sought advice from a former sex discrimination commissioner.

"The way they're treated matters," Senator Gallagher said on Wednesday.

"From what I learned at estimates, and it isn't always great to learn things at estimates, but from what I picked up, there isn't standardisation necessarily across the graduate program.

"And I think that's probably something that we should have a look at to make sure everybody is getting, at the general level, the induction and talk about culture and workplace behaviour is a standardised module of their training program and that it should be done early."