Chapter:

11 - Employment

Mover:

Tawanda Karasa

Seconder:

Madeline Northam

Source:

Union: CPSU

My Private Notes

Preamble

Australia is a proudly multicultural country where a majority of the population are migrants or the children of migrants. Despite this, our public institutions, including the Australian Public Service (APS), still do not reflect our cultural diversity, especially at senior leadership levels.

CALD APS employees face structural barriers in career progression. A recent study of two decades of APS employment data found that even those CALD employees who were born in Australia or migrated here at a very young age still face significant career penalties in the APS.

An APS that fully utilises the strengths and talents that our cultural diversity brings will deliver better outcomes for all Australians, regardless of their backgrounds.

General Resolution

Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Employment Strategy

Conference welcomes the APS Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Employment Strategy and Action Plan as an important first step to ensuring the APS workforce better reflects the Australian community.

The commitment to a 24% CALD target for the Senior Executive Service by 2030 in 20 lead agencies will help to drive change across the APS.

To achieve the strategy's desired outcomes, Conference recommends that the Commonwealth Government:

• Adequately funds initiatives to support agencies meet the target;

• Demonstrates transparency and accountability by regularly publishing disaggregated data on representation levels;

• Ensures relevant unions are genuinely involved in the development of agency-specific CALD action plans which should include:

o measures to tackle racism in the workplace; and

o an intersectional focus, particularly for women of colour, that was missing from the strategy.

General Resolution 0022G

Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Employment Strategy