Introduction

1. There is a considerable gap in employment rates between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (Indigenous) and non‑Indigenous Australians. Addressing this gap has been a policy focus for successive Australian governments, and various initiatives have been developed involving both the public and the private sectors. As the Australian Government public sector is one of the largest employers nationally, and offers a diverse range of employment in locations around Australia, it is well placed to directly contribute to improving Indigenous employment outcomes through its own operations.

2. The Council of Australian Governments’ (COAG) National Indigenous Reform Agreement provides a framework for governments to work together with Indigenous Australians and the broader community to achieve the target of ‘Closing the Gap’ in Indigenous disadvantage. One of the six ‘Closing the Gap’ targets is to halve the gap in employment outcomes between Indigenous and non‑Indigenous Australians within a decade.¹ In addition to implementing a range of existing employment programs aimed at increasing Indigenous employment, governments also acknowledged the need to make direct contributions to improving Indigenous employment opportunities in their own operations. Accordingly, COAG endorsed the National Partnership Agreement on Indigenous Economic Participation (NPA‑IEP) in 2009. An element of this agreement was to develop strategies to increase public sector employment to reflect national Indigenous working age population share by 2015, to at least 2.6 per cent. Jurisdictions were given additional flexibility to set their own targets and the Australian Government adopted a target of 2.7 per cent, across all employment classifications for the Australian Government public sector workforce.

Australian Government public sector employment

3. Within the Australian Government public sector there are essentially two different employment frameworks. Employees are either engaged under the Public Service Act 1999 (Public Service Act), or under entity‑specific legislation. In general, employees engaged under the Public Service Act work in an agency governed by the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 (FMA Act), while those working in entities governed by the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997 (CAC Act), are employed under the entity’s legislation. Some entities established under the CAC Act, however, engage employees under the Public Service Act, while some FMA Act bodies (for example, the Australian Federal Police) engage employees under their own legislation.

4. The Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (PGPA Act), which comes into effect on 1 July 2014, will replace the FMA and the CAC Acts, with all entities to be known as Commonwealth entities. Within this arrangement entities will still employ staff under the Public Service Act or entity‑specific legislation.

5. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reports that, as at June 2013, there were approximately 248 500 Australian Government employees located in metropolitan and regional locations nationally.² Of these, 167 257³ were employed under the Public Service Act.The remaining employees were employed by Australian Government entities under entity‑specific legislation. Entities employing staff under the Public Service Act are known as Australian Public Service (APS) agencies. Those employing under other legislation are known as non‑APS bodies.⁴ As at February 2014, there were 122 APS agencies⁵, and 86 non‑APS bodies including 66 Commonwealth authorities and 20 companies.⁶

6. The Australian Government target of 2.7 per cent Indigenous representation was to apply to both APS and non‑APS bodies; however, as discussed in the following two sections, employment reporting requirements differ between APS and non‑APS bodies. This has implications for reporting across the whole Australian Government public sector. Reporting against the target will also vary relative to the total number of non‑Indigneous employees. For example, any substantial reduction in APS employee numbers will result in an overall percentage increase in Indigenous employee numbers if there is no similar change in Indigenous employee numbers.

Indigenous APS employment reporting

7. An ongoing commitment to employ Indigenous Australians in the APS is embedded in the Public Service Act. Agency heads are required to establish workplace diversity programs that support inclusive strategies for key diversity groups, including Indigenous Australians, and to review these programs every four years.⁷ APS agencies are also required by legislation to provide human resource (HR) information to the Australian Public Service Commissioner as requested. The Australian Public Service Commission (APSC) maintains this information in a central database, the Australian Public Service Employment Database (APSED). APSED contains a range of APS employment data, including Indigenous employment data.

8. Under the National Indigenous Reform Agreement⁸, departments and agencies are asked to give consideration to the use of Indigenous service delivery arrangements, where appropriate, to increase Indigenous employment. However, Indigenous people employed on contract in Australian Government funded Indigenous service delivery are not included in the overall calculation of APS employees, as these individuals are not employed under the Public Service Act.

Indigenous non‑APS employment reporting

9. The non‑APS bodies account for approximately 30 per cent of Australian Government employment with each body having its own employment arrangements. Similar to APS agencies, non‑APS bodies may provide a range of employment opportunities nationally, and have inclusive strategies to employ key diversity groups. However, as these bodies do not employ staff under the Public Service Act they are not required to provide the APSC with employment data. Under the Equal Employment Opportunity (Commonwealth Authorities) Act 1987, non‑APS bodies with over 40 staff are required to implement equity and diversity programs for designated groups, including Indigenous Australians. Reports, including statistical data, are to be tabled annually in Parliament. Additionally, many non‑APS bodies provide employment information in their annual reports, including diversity data in some cases. However there is no central collection point for this data.

Indigenous representation in APS agencies

10. As a result of the different reporting requirements discussed above, there is no comprehensive data set for Indigenous employment in the Australian Government public sector—collated data is available for APS agencies only.

11. Since 2010–11 the percentage representation of Indigenous APS employees has remained largely stable at 2.3 per cent, as shown in Table S1. As at June 2013, 3846 APS employees were identified as Indigenous in APSED, of whom 3365 were employed on an ongoing basis. Disclosure of Indigenous status by employees is voluntary and in the years 2008–13, Indigenous status was not available for over 20 per cent of all APS employees.

Table S.1: Indigenous representation in the APS (ongoing and non‑ongoing) June 2008 to June 2013

Source: APSC: State of the Service Report 2012–13, p. 99.

12. Key features in the makeup of the APS which can influence Indigenous employment patterns include the proportion of APS positions located outside the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). As at June 2013, some 40 per cent of positions were located in the ACT, an increase from 33.3 per cent in 1998.⁹ Concurrently, there has been a general decrease in the number of entry‑level roles. For example, the number of APS 1–3 roles, has almost halved nationally¹⁰ from 1998. Thirty three per cent of Indigenous APS employees identified in APSED, are employed at the APS 1 to APS 3 classifications.

13. Over time, the APS has also moved towards a workforce with higher educational qualifications. In 2012–13, 71.6 per cent of those engaged had a graduate qualification. This was considerably higher than in 1998–99 (64.7 per cent).¹¹ The shift to a graduate qualified APS workforce and the generally lower levels of educational qualifications held by Indigenous Australians provide some structural barriers to increasing Indigenous APS representation. In this respect an important workforce planning factor to consider is the level of participation of Indigenous people in the higher education sector. While the number of Indigenous students enrolled at Australian universities has grown by over 40 per cent since 2006¹², Indigenous students are currently estimated to make up 1.4 per cent¹³ of the tertiary student population. Data provided by the Department of Innovation to the ANAO, indicated that in 2012, 985 Indigenous students graduated with a bachelor level degree.¹⁴

Initiatives to support the recruitment of Indigenous employees to Australian Government entities

14. The Public Service Act provides flexibility to recruit and engage employees to meet the legislated requirements of each agency. In relation to Indigenous employment, in addition to open recruitment processes, APS agencies can identify positions as either a Special Measures provision or an Identified Position. The Special Measures provision enables APS agencies to identify particular employment opportunities as being available to Indigenous applicants only. A number of Indigenous‑specific recruitment programs operate using the Special Measures provision.

15. Identified Positions are those with specific selection criteria which signify that the role has a strong involvement in issues relating to Indigenous people. Identified Positions are not restricted to Indigenous applicants, but remain open to all eligible applicants. The strategy nevertheless has the potential to increase the competitiveness of Indigenous applicants in the selection process.

16. Australian Government entities can, and do, develop their own tailored Indigenous recruitment programs using these provisions. For example, the Department of Human Services’ (DHS) Indigenous Apprenticeship Program, recruits entry‑level Indigenous candidates to DHS Service Centres, often located in areas of high unemployment, nationally. Similarly, non‑APS bodies implement strategies to increase Indigenous employment. For example, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) has implemented the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Directions Program, which includes Cadetship, Traineeship, School Based Apprentice Traineeship, and Secondee initiatives.

17. Australian Government entities can also collaborate with either the APSC in the whole‑of‑government, Indigenous Pathways to Employment Program (Pathways Program); and/or, the Department of Employment and the Department of Education in the Indigenous Australian Government Development Program (IAGDP), to make entry‑level¹⁵ Indigenous engagements. Both programs operate under the Special Measures provision. The Pathways Program is funded by the Australian Government and through levies on APS agencies with more than 200 employees. In 2012–13, 44 entities partnered with the APSC to recruit candidates. The IAGDP was an initiative of the former Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR), the precursor agency to the Department of Education and the Department of Employment which currently fund and manage the IAGDP. In 2013, 11 Australian Government entities sought to engage candidates through the IAGDP.

18. In October 2013 the Australian Government announced interim recruitment arrangements with the APS to help meet the Government’s election commitment to reduce the public service by 12 000 employees through natural attrition.¹⁶ Agencies were required to reduce their recruitment activities to avoid new engagements where possible, with priority placed on the redeployment of existing staff. At the time of announcing the interim arrangements, the APS continued to support targeted recruitment programs for entry‑level graduates and Indigenous employees.¹⁷

Audit objective, scope and criteria

19. The audit objective was to determine whether Australian Government entities were implementing effective strategies to support increased Indigenous employment.

20. In addition to considering trends across the Australian Government public sector, the ANAO gave specific attention to the following entities:

• Former Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations;
• Department of Human Services;
• Department of Agriculture;
• Australian Public Service Commission; and
• Australian Federal Police.

The Administrative Arrangements Order of September 2013, transferred responsibility for Indigenous matters to the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C). This included reporting against the public sector employment target of the NPA‑IEP. In its general role of supporting the Australian Government’s engagement with COAG, and more particularly in relation to reporting on the NPA‑IEP, PM&C has been consulted during the audit.

21. To form a conclusion against this objective, the ANAO adopted the following high level criteria:

• strategies are in place that encourage Indigenous applicants, support their career development and contribute to the Australian Government target of 2.7 per cent Indigenous representation by 2015;
• human resource systems operate to collect meaningful, accurate and relevant Indigenous employment data which is used to inform practices and refine strategies; and
• progress toward the target of 2.7 per cent representation is periodically reviewed and reported.

Overall conclusion

22. To promote increased Indigenous employment, Australian Government entities currently implement a range of strategies to support the recruitment and retention of Indigenous employees. These include: APS Special Measures and Identified Positions, and similar recruitment arrangements in non‑APS bodies, to attract and recruit Indigenous employees; Indigenous employee representative bodies, mentoring arrangements, and specialised training programs to enhance career development and increase retention; and cultural awareness training for non‑Indigenous employees to support an inclusive work environment. The development and implementation of these strategies reflects a commitment to increase Indigenous employment and retention. However, achieving the Australian Government’s overall target of 2.7 per cent Indigenous representation in the Australian Government public sector by 2015 is unlikely, based on current data and trends.

23. The target of 2.7 per cent included both APS agencies and other Australian Government bodies. In June 2013, Indigenous representation in the APS was reported by the APSC to be at 2.3 per cent, a decline from 2.9 per cent in 2001, to 2.7 per cent in 2004, and 2.5 per cent in 2010. While there are significant differences in the level of representation achieved by entities in the public sector, in general, most APS agencies¹⁸ (79 per cent) recorded less than 2 per cent Indigenous representation in their workforces. Overall, based on a total APS population of 167 257, Indigenous employees would need to number 4515, nearly 700 (669) more than are currently employed in the APS, to achieve 2.7 per cent representation in the APS.

24. The overall performance of non‑APS bodies is more difficult to assess as a coordinated reporting approach does not exist for these bodies as it does for APS agencies. However some individual entity reporting does exist, which shows, similar to APS agencies, there is considerable variability amongst individual non‑APS bodies. The ANAO reviewed a sample of reports from non‑APS bodies for the financial year 2012 –13 which indicated that Indigenous representation in these organisations varied from 0.11 per cent to 68 per cent. In particular, non‑APS bodies with an Indigenous‑specific service focus recorded higher representation. Based on available data for individual non‑APS bodies, it is likely that non‑APS bodies, in general, face similar challenges in recruiting Indigenous employees and contributing to the Australian Government target of 2.7 percent.

25. Achieving and sustaining employment targets rests on effective recruitment and retention approaches. There have been 1521 engagements of ongoing Indigenous employees since 2009–10. Against this trend however, a larger number of ongoing Indigenous employees (1592) have left the APS over the same period (2009–2013). As a result, despite the resources put into recruitment and retention initiatives, for the four years 2009–10 to 2012–13, there was a net loss of 71 ongoing Indigenous APS employees. A portion of the employees departing each year may be doing so for career development reasons, however, the high number of separations indicates that the selection of suitable candidates and their retention remain an issue for the APS and that, collectively, agencies are not gaining employment outcomes commensurate with their efforts.

26. Entities examined in detail by the ANAO, with some exception, had in place current, Indigenous‑specific plans which provided a variety of strategies and initiatives for the recruitment and retention of employees. The ability to monitor and report against these plans was however, limited. This was due, again with some exceptions, to the development of plans in isolation of broader workforce planning or business imperatives and resources required; initiatives implemented with few qualitative or quantitative performance measures linked to the intent of the initiative; and a lack of relevant coding in human resource (HR) systems to generate reports. At the broadest level however, there remains no comprehensive and coordinated reporting mechanism for the Australian Government public sector, nor current avenue, for collecting data from non‑APS bodies, to provide reports against the target.

27. The ANAO has made two recommendations. These are for the APSC, in consultation with other relevant bodies, to review the current broad based approach taken to achieving the Government’s policy of 2.7 per cent Indigenous representation; and also to modify the operation of the Pathways Program to provide a recruitment service that is more tailored to potential Indigenous applicants and agency demand.

Key findings by chapter

Measuring and reporting Indigenous employment (Chapter 2)

28. Measuring the performance of Australian Government entities in relation to Indigenous employment has a number of challenges. As non‑APS bodies are not subject to the Public Service Act, they are not required to provide employment information to the APSC, and as a result there is no aggregation of Indigenous employment data across the whole Australian Government public sector. However, Indigenous employment statistics are captured in the mandatory equity and diversity reporting requirements that apply to relevant bodies under the Equal Employment Opportunity (Commonwealth Authorities) Act 1987, and this information, from individual entities, is tabled in the Parliament annually. Additionally, many non‑APS bodies include Indigenous employment information in their annual reports. Both of these reporting avenues provide additional data sets to complement APS reporting.

29. APS reporting is based on data from the Australian Public Service Employment Database (APSED) which in turn uses data drawn from the Human Resource Management Information Systems (HRMIS) of APS agencies. Accordingly, the quality of APSED data is heavily reliant on the data integrity of APS agencies. In some cases, agency management information systems have not been configured to support the efficient reporting and analysis of Indigenous employment trends. A broader issue in relation to reporting is that the provision of relevant diversity information by an employee is voluntary. While agencies have sought to encourage Indigenous employees to identify their status, across the APS alone, Indigenous status is not available for over 20 per cent of all employees.¹⁹

30. ANAO analysis of 104 APS agencies which had provided employment data to APSED by June 2013, indicated that 79 per cent, or 82 agencies, reported Indigenous representation within the agency of between zero to two per cent. Further, limited data available on the non‑APS bodies suggests that performance of non‑APS bodies is likely to be similar to APS agencies overall, and accordingly, performance of the Australian Government sector overall is likely to be below the level required to meet the target.

Collaborative recruitment programs (Chapter 3)

31. Collaborative approaches to Indigenous recruitment have been beneficial in enabling agencies to take a joined up approach to the Indigenous employment market. In 2011–12, the Pathways Program and the IAGDP jointly contributed over 54 per cent (208 employees) of all Indigenous engagements to the APS, with the remainder being achieved through the efforts of individual entities. The relative contribution of the two programs declined in 2012–13, with 38 per cent (or 145 employees) of Indigenous engagements to the APS being made through the two programs. At a broader level, data shows that since 2010 there has been a gradual decline in interest, expressed by the number of applications received, from Indigenous candidates, for the IAGDP and the Pathways Program. Further analysis by each department of the causes of the decline and implications it may have for the operation of the programs would be beneficial.

32. While the IAGDP is jointly funded by the Department of Employment and the Department of Education, and operates primarily to meet departmental requirements for Indigenous recruits, it also supports partnerships with other interested entities to recruit candidates, at a minimal cost. In contrast, the Pathways Program has been funded to provide a comprehensive APS Indigenous recruitment service since 2005. Analysis of Pathways Program data indicates that the operation of the program has, since 2010, had variable outcomes for client entities and applicants. In the period 2009–13, less than half the number of candidates sought by partnering agencies were employed. Further, between 60 and 70 per cent of applicants whose details were referred to their preferred agency, accepted or were offered employment.

Indigenous recruitment and retention initiatives (Chapter 4)

33. Entities examined in detail by the ANAO had developed strategies and initiatives to increase the recruitment and retention of Indigenous employees. Where entities had taken a more comprehensive approach to their recruitment and retention activities the following elements were generally present. Entities:

• developed Indigenous‑specific plans clearly aligned with business and workforce planning processes;
• implemented strategies and initiatives with clearly defined performance measures or Key Performance Indicators (KPIs); and
• linked KPIs to regular business reports or annual survey data.

34. However, the application of these approaches varied and in general, Indigenous recruitment and retention activities operated alongside entity workforce planning arrangements, rather than being fully integrated. Indigenous recruitment targets, in some cases, were developed with limited reflection of entities’ overall workforce planning requirements. Performance measures were often not linked to the intent of the overall strategy, and initiatives implemented to increase the career development of Indigenous candidates such as scholarships, mentoring and specialist training were often assessed through a take‑up or utilisation measure, rather than employee promotion and/or retention rates. Some initiatives were introduced with no performance measures other than the schedule for implementation. Monitoring and reporting on the effectiveness of entity Indigenous workforce strategies was also generally limited.

Summary of agencies' responses

35. Summary responses to the proposed audit report are provided below. Full responses are at Appendix 1.

Australian Public Service Commission

The Australian Public Service Commission (APSC) acknowledges that it has proved difficult to both monitor and increase Indigenous participation in Australian Government entities.

APS agencies continue to implement a number of strategies to achieve improved employment outcomes for Indigenous Australians. The APSC supports agency efforts through the APS Indigenous Employment Strategy 2012–16. Included in the Strategy is the Indigenous Pathways to Employment Program (Pathways).

The APSC agrees that the current strategies in place for meeting the 2.7 per cent target for Indigenous representation in the APS would benefit from review to ensure that they more effectively meet the needs of both Indigenous Australians and individual agencies—including through a more flexible approach. This includes a re‑examination of Pathways.

The APSC’s implementation of Recommendations 1 and 2 will also be informed by the Government’s response to the Review of Indigenous Training and Employment Programmes (the Forrest Review). At the time of writing, the report of the review had yet to be presented to the Prime Minister.

Department of Agriculture

The Department of Agriculture has developed a comprehensive Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Employment Strategy which provides a focused approach to supporting and improving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employment opportunities and workforce participation.

The strategy has seen increased employment rates and the department will continue its focus to ensure it remains an attractive, diverse and supporting workplace for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Department of Human Services

The Department of Human Services welcomes this report from the ANAO which acknowledges the innovative work that the department undertakes to grow and retain its Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workforce. The department currently exceeds its 2015 milestone target of 3.6 per cent Indigenous representation and significantly contributes to the COAG target of 2.7 per cent Indigenous employment across the APS by 2015.

Department of Employment

The Department of Employment acknowledges the report’s positive evaluation of initiatives to increase Indigenous employment and the contribution made through the Indigenous Australian Government Development Program. We remain supportive of the Program and recognise its success.

The Department of Employment will strive to be an employer of choice for Indigenous Australians by integrating an Indigenous focus into our business and governance arrangements as well as continuing our approaches that support the recruitment and career development of Indigenous staff.

Department of Education

The Department of Education acknowledges the report’s positive assessment of work undertaken to increase Indigenous employment and the contribution made through the Indigenous Australian Government Development Program (IAGDP). The Department of Education will continue to support the IAGDP in partnership with the Department of Employment and assist other agencies to participate.

In addition, the Department of Education is committed to being an employer of choice for Indigenous Australians and will continue the good practices recognised in the report. These include incorporating an Indigenous focus into our business and governance arrangements as well as continuing strategies and initiatives that support the recruitment and career development of Indigenous staff.

Australian Federal Police

As highlighted in the report the AFP has made substantive progress in increasing the representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (Indigenous) employees with Indigenous staffing having grown by approximately 17 per cent to 1.2 per cent of total employees since 2010. Despite this modest success, the AFP recognises that achieving the Council of Australian Governments’ (COAG) target of 2.7 per cent will be challenging. This will be particularly so across law enforcement with employment suitability arrangements and the reality of the vocation serving as potential disincentives for Indigenous employees. On that basis the AFP is currently reviewing its Indigenous strategies with a view to developing a renewed Workforce Diversity Strategy drawing upon achievements to date and lessons learnt within the AFP and across the Commonwealth.

The AFP therefore welcomes the opportunity to contribute to the ANAO audit report on Indigenous Employment in Australian Government Entities and notes there are no specific recommendations for the AFP. The AFP acknowledges the commentary and general recommendations contained within the report and looks forward to the release of the final report.

Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

A copy of the report was also provided to the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C) as it assumed responsibility for reporting on the NPA-IEP, and the COAG Indigenous employment target for the Australian public sector, as part of the responsibilities for Indigenous matters transferred under the Administrative Arrangements Order of September 2013. The department provided the following comment:

The Australian public sector is one of the largest employers in Australia with a diverse range of employment in a wide range of locations nationally and is therefore well placed to contribute to closing the gap in employment outcomes between Indigenous and non‑Indigenous Australians.

A public sector workforce that reflects the Australian community is able to respond more appropriately to its citizens’ needs and better develop creative and innovative solutions to complex problems.

The Diversity Council provides strategic leadership across the Australian Public Service (APS) in relation to Indigenous employment and through that forum there is a focus on stronger agency head accountability for improving Indigenous recruitment, career development and retention outcomes within the APS.

We look forward to the ANAO report on Indigenous employment in Australian Government Entities informing our development of the Government’s response to the Review of Indigenous Training and Employment Programmes (the Forrest Review).

Recommendations

Footnotes

[1] Council of Australian Governments, Closing the Gap in Indigenous Disadvantage, [Internet] available from ,< https://www.coag.gov.au/closing_the_gap_in_indigenous_disadvantage> [accessed 8 May 2014].

[2] ABS, Employment and Earnings, Public Sector, Australia, 2012–13, available from <http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/6248.0.55.002/> [accessed 16 April 2014].

[3] APSC, State of the Service Report 2012–13, Canberra, p. 229.

[4] For the purpose of this audit report the term Australian Government entities is used to refer to all Australian Government public sector organisations: APS agencies is used to refer to those organisations which are governed by the FMA Act or the CAC Act and engage employees under the Public Service Act 1999: and non‑APS bodies is used to refer to those organisations which are governed by the FMA Act or the CAC Act and engage employees under their own arrangements.

[5] APSC, Australian Public Service agencies, <http://www.apsc.gov.au/publications‑and‑media/current‑publications/australian‑public‑service‑agencies> [accessed 21 February 2014].

[6] Department of Finance website <http://www.finance.gov.au/sites/default/files/cac_body_list_0.pdf > [accessed 19 February 2014].

[7]Australian Public Service Commissioner’s Directions 2013, consolidated version, November 2013 (s.18 of the Public Service Act 1999).

[8] The National Indigenous Reform Agreement includes a set of Service Delivery Principles for government agencies to include in the design and delivery of programs and services. See Section D: Service delivery principles for programs and services: Page A‑21.

[9] APSC, State of the Service Report 2011–12, Canberra, p. 254.

[10] ibid., p. 238.

[11] APSC, State of the Service Report 2012–13, Canberra, p. 250.

[12] Australian Council for Educational Research, Media Release, “Growth in number of Indigenous university students, but still underrepresented”, 4 September 2012, [Internet] available from < http://www.acer.edu.au/media/growth‑in‑number‑of‑indigenous‑university‑students‑but‑still‑underrepresent/> (accessed 7 May 2014).

[13] Universities Australia, Indigenous Higher Education, 14 January 2014, [Internet] available from <https://www.universitiesaustralia.edu.au/uni‑participation‑quality/Indigenous‑Higher‑Education> [accessed 7 May 2014].

[14] Selected Higher Education Statistics. Data provided by the Department of Innovation to the ANAO on 13 September 2013.

[15] Entry‑level is generally used to describe positions at the APS 1–3 levels, and can include cadetships, traineeships and graduate positions. Some graduate positions however are at the APS 4 level.

[16]Interim arrangements for APS recruitment, Media Release, Minister for Employment [Internet] available from <http://ministers.employment.gov.au/abetz/interim‑arrangements‑aps‑recruitment> [accessed 12 March 2014].

[17] APSC, Interim arrangements for APS recruitment [Internet]<http://www.apsc.gov.au/home/current‑priorities/interim‑arrangements1> [accessed 5 March 2014].

[18] As at June 2013, 104 agencies had provided employment data to APSED, including some with less than 20 employees. Following Machinery‑of‑Government changes in September 2013, some agencies have been reconstituted and/or renamed, or abolished.

[19] APSC, Statistical Bulletin 2012–13, Canberra, p. 100.