Australian National Audit Office

The ANAO is committed to promoting and supporting social inclusion, equity and diversity in the ANAO and achieves this by actively building a working environment that supports and encourages staff with a range of skills and life experiences and different cultural and social backgrounds. The ANAO's policy 'Respect and Diversity in the ANAO' provides guidelines for managing harassment, bullying and discrimination in the workplace. The ANAO's Workplace Diversity Program was revised and updated during 2011-12. Key priority areas for the next three years are: supporting cultural diversity through awareness-raising workshops and celebrations of the ANAO's diversity recognising and appreciating staff at different stages of their working lives in formal ways (accommodating staff References through flexible working arrangements) and informal ways (appreciating the range of experiences and backgrounds individuals bring to the workplace) increasing our efforts to recruit staff from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds through our graduate and non-graduate recruitment strategies. The ANAO has targets in place to increase the representation of Indigenous people and people with a disability in our workforce. Currently, only 0.6 per cent of our staff have identified as Indigenous and we have set a target of 2.7 per cent by 2015, in line with the APS target. Staff with disabilities represent 0.3 per cent of our workforce and we aim to increase that to 3.0 per cent by 2015. The ANAO participates in the Australian Public Service Commission's Indigenous graduate recruitment drive and has one identified graduate position. We have been successful in attracting an Indigenous graduate and will continue to participate in Australian Public Service Commission initiatives (including through the implementation of an Indigenous Employment Strategy) to increase the number of Indigenous employees in the ANAO. Our workforce is characterised by the strong representation of employees from linguistically and culturally diverse backgrounds, with 22.0 per cent of our workforce having identified as such compared to 5.1 per cent in the APS generally. The ANAO workforce is also on average younger than the broader APS workforce, though we also have a cohort of mature staff with significant tenure at the ANAO. The ANAO will continue to support its diverse workforce through a range of initiatives that will form part of the ANAO's Workplace Diversity Strategy 2012-14. A network of diversity contact officers champions diversity across the ANAO, with a focus on building a positive workplace culture, and provides informal and confidential support to staff members who are seeking assistance and guidance on harassment and bullying issues. The diversity contact officers met regularly in 2011-12, to share information and discuss recent developments. Awareness of workplace diversity is an important part of our induction training. Graduates are provided with more in-depth training on workplace diversity and, in particular, working in a harassment-free environment. Courses on ethics and conduct are also provided to staff and managers. In 2011-12 we developed an e-learning module 'Respect and Diversity', which will be available to all staff.