Just 11 per cent of staff at the National Mental Health Commission thought it was a good place to work when they filled out their annual staff surveys this year, giving it the lowest marks in the Australian Public Service. The commission was one of more than 100 APS agencies which were required to publish the results of the census for the first time this year, providing insight into attitudes to workplace conditions, culture and leadership across the bureaucracy. Previously agencies published results on a voluntary basis. Analysis of the 101 published results, undertaken by The Canberra Times, showed the commission performed the poorest by far on this measure, followed by the Australian Skills Quality Authority, which had a 32 per cent approval rating. Asked whether they would recommend their agency as a good place to work, 11 per cent of staff at the National Mental Health Commission gave a positive response, tumbling by 36 percentage points from the year prior. Classified as an extra-small agency, the commission received damning feedback from 39 staff members - a response rate of 78 per cent. The census took place shortly after Health Minister Mark Butler announced an investigation into the agency's culture in April, probing reports in The Saturday Paper which alleged bullying and internal dysfunction. The commission's results also fell well short of the APS overall result of 68 per cent. The scores account for the percentage of staff who gave positive responses (e.g., "strongly agree", "agree", "always", or "often"). While surveys canvass a broad range of issues relating to employee engagement, the figures on how many staff would recommend their agencies, provide clear insight into workplace culture. Overall results can be more nuanced though, with 57 per cent of staff at the commission still reporting that they believe strongly in the purpose and objectives of the agency. The Parliamentary Budget Office, a non-APS agency, also received a sharp drop in staff recommending the agency - its marks dropped by 35 percentage points to 61 per cent in 2023. On the other end of the spectrum the Office of the Special Investigator and the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare received top marks from staff, with 95 per cent of respondents calling the agencies a good place to work. Safe Work Australia reported that its results had significantly improved from 2022 on this measure - by 28 percentage points - while staff at the Australian Fisheries Management Authority were also feeling more positive about the agency, with an improvement of 17 percentage points. Read on to find out how each agency performed, compared to others its size. The mental health commission's low rating put it well behind other agencies with less than 100 staff. The closest score to it, of agencies the same size, was the Australian Institute of Family Studies, where 55 per cent of staff said it was a good place to work. Most agencies of this size matched or exceeded the APS overall score of 68 per cent, and several received top marks above 90 per cent . While the Office of the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security received a rating of 63 per cent, this had fallen by 19 percentage points from the 2022 results. On the other hand, the situation at the National Portrait Gallery of Australia had improved significantly, up by 17 percentage points on 2022. The Climate Change Authority was the only agency which published results that was excluded from this category, as it published them in a different format. Several agencies in the next size category - with 101 to 250 staff - received ratings below the 50 per cent mark. The Australian Skills Quality Authority was the bottom of the ranks, with 32 per cent of staff recommending it as a good place to work. This was about the same mark the authority received in 2022. The Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency, and the Australian National Maritime Museum also received marks of 43 per cent. The Office of the Special Investigator passed with flying colours, and staff gave it the same stamp of approval last year. Behind it was the Australian Fisheries Management Authority, which had climbed up by 17 percentage points to a positive rating of 85 per cent. Of medium sized agencies - those with 251 to 1000 employees - the National Disability Insurance Scheme Quality and Safeguards Scheme scored the lowest at 48 per cent. Comcare issued the commission with an improvement notice in April, calling on it to improve extremely high workloads which had become a "psychosocial hazard". Following the notice, it received a $142.6 million funding boost in the May federal budget, allocated for the next two financial years. The Australian War Memorial and National Emergency Management Agency also received marks on the lower end, at 54 per cent. The Australian Public Service Commission, which facilitated the census, fell below the APS overall result of 68 per cent, with a score of 65 from staff. The strongest performer was the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, which outshone the rest with a 95 per cent approval rating from staff. This had not changed from the year prior. Ratings began to improve in the large agencies category, with the lowest mark 62 per cent for the National Indigenous Australians Agency. This category, which includes agencies with 1001 to 10,000 employees, also encompasses most departments. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade was the only department in this category to fall behind the overall APS rating of 68 per cent - just - with 67 per cent of staff reporting it was a good place to work. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission meanwhile outperformed central agencies such as Prime Minister and Cabinet, with 88 per cent of staff giving it a positive score. IP Australia was also slightly ahead of PM&C's 83 per cent rating, cinching an 84 per cent mark from staff. READ MORE: Of those agencies with more than 10,000 employees, the Australian Taxation Office came out on top, with an approval rating of 79 per cent. Home Affairs had the lowest of all the departments, at 57 per cent, a mark which had actually climbed by 8 percentage points since 2022. Services Australia followed closely behind at 58 per cent, but its score had fallen by 7 percentage points since 2022. The agency faced added pressures this year, with Government Services Minister Bill Shorten announcing 3000 additional staff in November, hopeful the boost would reduce call wait times. This followed a drop of 1800 places in the May federal budget, which the government said largely comprised COVID surge staff. Three non-APS agencies also participated in the census. While the Parliamentary Budget Office received high marks from staff of 90 per cent, employees of the National Gallery of Australia gave it a rating of just 46 per cent.
