APS to set targets for diverse leadership

The Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) strategy, released on Tuesday, is focused on improving cultural and racial diversity in the Australian Public Service, as well as making it an inclusive workplace, free from racism, discrimination, bullying and harassment.

The strategy, which plots out progress to 2030 and beyond, calls on major agencies to set targets for the employment of culturally and linguistically diverse staff at the most senior levels - where representation has lagged behind the rest of the service.

Agencies will be required to lift representation to 17 per cent of senior positions by the end of 2030, and then work towards a target of 24 per cent beyond that. Progress towards these targets at an APS-wide level will also be reported.

"We want to harness the skills and experience of CALD employees and remove the barriers they face for career progression," Public Service Minister Katy Gallagher said.

"Australia is a multicultural nation, and the APS needs to reflect and look like the people it serves."

The Public Service Commission, which will oversee the strategy, measures the representation of culturally and linguistically diverse staff by looking at the number of employees whose first language is not exclusively English.

According to its workforce data from June 2023, representation across the APS ranks is similar to that of the broader Australian population, at 25 per cent.

But this drops sharply at the senior levels - within the Senior Executive Service - where only 11 per cent of employees are culturally and linguistically diverse people.

The new targets will be introduced in the 16 departments, as well as the Tax Office, Services Australia, the Australian Bureau of Statistics and the Public Service Commission.

The Public Service Commission will also report on service-wide representation.

The targets involve reaching representation of 13 per cent in the SES by the end of 2026, 15 per cent by the end of 2028, and 17 per cent by the end of 2030.

The APS is then expected to plan towards the 24 per cent benchmark. Agency heads will be held accountable for progress.

Other steps outlined by the strategy focus on improving psychosocial safety for all staff, building representative networks across the APS, improving opportunities for culturally and linguistically diverse staff and modernising recruitment processes.

Assistant Public Service Minister Patrick Gorman said this was "a call to action for all APS employees - to be inclusive leaders who embrace the cultural diversity of the service".

"Being a model employer means ensuring an environment that enables and empowers all employees to serve the Australian public."