Diversity and Inclusion

Within the State Service it is important to
attract, celebrate and retain talented people to
achieve a diverse and inclusive workforce.

ABORIGINAL EMPLOYMENT STRATEGY

Following on from the launch of the Tasmanian State Service Aboriginal Employment Strategy to 2022¹¹ (the Strategy) in June 2019, work has continued to progress initiatives aimed at attracting and retaining Aboriginal people in the State Service, and supporting Aboriginal employees through building culturally respectful and inclusive workplaces.

Activities in 2019-20 included:

• developing an Aboriginal Employment webpage¹², featuring information about the Strategy and Action Plan;
• piloting an Aboriginal Cultural Respect Foundation Training module specific to the State Service context, which was both developed and delivered with support from members of the Aboriginal Employee Network;
• growing the membership of the Aboriginal Employee Network and facilitating regular state-wide workshops and an annual state-wide gathering;
• reviewing the whole-of-government Aboriginal Employment Register; and
• publishing a monthly Aboriginal Employment Network Newsletter¹³.

Four Aboriginal employee working groups have also been established to progress actions in the following priority areas identified by the Strategy:

• Aboriginal Cultural Respect training;
• building the Aboriginal Employee Network;
• developing a whole-of-service toolkit to support Aboriginal employment; and
• developing a whole-of-service Aboriginal Mentoring program.

The TSS Aboriginal Employee Network currently has 140 members across the State Service.

SCHOOL-BASED TRAINEESHIP PROGRAM

The School-Based Traineeship Program (the Program) provides opportunities for Tasmanian students to combine work, training and education. Through the Program, students are able to gain a nationally recognised qualification by working within the State Service while staying at school to complete their Tasmanian Certificate of Education in Years 11 and 12.

A series of videos¹⁴ was released in July 2019 that showcase five of the students in the Program. In these videos, trainees starting careers in Education Support, Kitchen Operations, Administration, and as a Wildlife Officer share their experience of the Program and what it means to them.

Following on from the success of the 2018 pilot Program, an additional nine school-based trainees commenced in February/March of 2020.  Students took up placements in the Departments of State Growth, Treasury and Finance, Health, and Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment, and the Port Arthur Historic Site Management Authority.

GRADUATE RECRUITMENT

The TSS Graduate Development Program (TasGraD) was created to provide both a link between high-quality graduates and the State Service through a centrally coordinated recruitment solution, and a program of development to support Graduates commencing their careers.

In 2019, TasGraD had the opportunity to streamline the recruitment process, contributing to an improved candidate experience and saving time required to assess candidates. Improvements also contributed to a more equitable process that accurately assessed graduate skills and behaviours.

TasGraD received over 250 applications from which a TasGraD Pool of successful applicants was created, enabling five agencies to select 11 candidates. The TasGraD Pool is managed by the State Service Management Office (SSMO), and remains available until the next Graduate recruitment process so that any agency can recruit for other Graduate vacancies as they arise. During the 2019-20 year, a further five Graduates were recruited from the TasGraD Pool.

TasGraD Candidate Experience

In 2019-20, several system enhancements were made to the PageUp eRecruitment system to further improve the Graduate candidate experience, the quality of data capture and enhance the shortlisting process. Additional fields were added to the application form that enabled better support to be provided to candidates, and the ability to stream Graduates by broad and narrow fields of study.

As an extension of the fields of study components, these enhancements provide SSMO with the ability to provide more customised applicants to agencies, where additional Graduate roles may arise.

In 2019-20 the State Service hosted a total of four interns as part of our ongoing
partnership  with the University of Tasmania. Interns worked on projects in the
Departments of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment, State Growth, and Premier and Cabinet.

GENDER DIVERSITY

Equity in Leadership

In August 2016, the goal was set to achieve gender equity in our leadership with a target of at least 40% of the Senior Executive Service (SES) to be women by 2020. This target was achieved well ahead of that timeframe, and women now make up 45.78%¹⁵ of the SES as at June 2020.

The Heads of Departments Commitment to Gender Diversity continues to provide impetus to identify the barriers to women working in the senior levels of the TSS, to combat unconscious bias, and to support flexible working options.

In addition, the Public Sector Union Wages Agreement outcome included a number of family friendly provisions aimed at improving gender diversity:

• employer superannuation contributions to be paid during unpaid parental leave;
• improved family friendly provisions (including an increase in paid maternity and adoption leave from 14 weeks to 16 weeks); and
• an increase in partner leave from one to three weeks.

International Women’s Day Awards for Excellence

In March 2020, the State Service partnered with TasCOSS, and the Local Government Authority of Tasmania to present the Tasplan International Women’s Day Awards for Excellence.  With a shared commitment to achieving gender equality across our organisations, these Awards provided the opportunity to recognise the exceptional women working in local and State Government and in the Community Sector in the roles they play as inspirational or aspiring leaders.

SUPPORTING CARERS IN THE STATE SERVICE

Carer’s Toolkit

The Supporting Carers in the State Service - Carer’s Toolkit¹⁶ (the Toolkit), was developed as part of the broader State Service Diversity and Inclusion Framework, in consultation with Carers Tasmania as the state’s peak body, as well as the Department of Communities Tasmania.

Launched in October 2019, the Toolkit illustrates the State Service’s commitment to supporting employees with caring responsibilities. It provides practical information and tools for employees who are carers, managers of carers or who work in teams with carers. It includes information on the tangible supports available to carers (e.g. flexible working arrangements, leave, the Employee Assistance Program), and content to help those working with carers understand ways to provide informal support and understanding.

In the 2020 State Service Employee Survey 11% of respondents said
they provided daily care for a person with a disability, or chronic illness.

AGENCY ACTIVITIES

Agencies continued to work to improve inclusion and diversity, remove barriers to employment and increase employment opportunities within the TSS for all members of the community. Agencies reported participating in and supporting whole-of-service initiatives such as the Aboriginal Employment Strategy, increasing the representation of Women on Boards, and providing feedback on whole-of-service working and reference groups.

Agency activities in 2019-20 also included:

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander

• recruiting into identified Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander positions, including graduate, cadet and trainee roles;
• providing professional development to improve competency and awareness of Aboriginal culture;
• adding an Acknowledgement of Country to meeting agendas;
• promoting awareness and encouraging participation in events as part of NAIDOC Week and National Reconciliation Week; and
• encouraging and supporting Aboriginal employees to participate in the Aboriginal Employee Network and attend workshops.

Gender Equity

• providing advice and support to employees experiencing family violence, and supporting and participating in activities and events that raise awareness of family violence;
• raising awareness and implementing broader gender identity options in systems and forms;
• promoting International Women’s Day, and Share the Dignity;
• improving gender equity information on internal websites;
• facilitating whole-of-agency discussions to inform diversity, equity and inclusion strategies and action plans; and
• promoting gender diversity in traditionally gendered roles.

Youth

• partnering with schools to provide work experience opportunities;
• providing opportunities as part of the Schools-based Trainee Program;
• mentoring of early career staff, and support to attend development opportunities;
• continuing to provide career pathways through cadetships; and
• participating in the TasGraD Program.

LGBTIQ

• promoting the LGBTIQ helpline provided through the State Service’s Employee Assistance Program;
• providing LGBTIQ Leadership Development;
• supporting participation in Pride Week activities, including participation in the TasPride Parade;
• developing an online training package to promote LGBTIQ inclusion and respectful language; and
• facilitating professional development on LGBTIQ awareness through Working it Out.

People with Disability

• building relationships with Disability Employment Service providers to increase the opportunity for work experience placements;
• targeting recruitment of a graduate with disability;
• providing online learning in disability awareness, disability confident workplaces, and creating accessible documents;
• supporting professional development activities for employees interacting with customers and clients with disability; and
• reviewing and refreshing induction material to ensure accessibility.

General Diversity and Inclusion Activities

• providing information sessions on financial management and superannuation;
• updating Statements of Duties to support commitment to diversity and inclusion in the workplace;
• launching an online induction program focussed on equity and diversity, and supporting a commitment to a workplace free from discrimination and harassment;
• supporting employees who are carers by promoting Carer’s Week and the Supporting Carers in the State Service – Carers Toolkit;
• updating workforce practices to support greater flexibility and promoting workplace flexibility arrangements; and continuing to provide training in unconscious bias to improve recruitment, decision-making and professional relationships.

In 2019-20 the Tasmanian Government jobs website¹⁷ advertised over 4,000 vacant positions
across the state, and attracted 4,822,019 page views from 966,887 visitors.

^{11. http://www.dpac.tas.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/463087/DPAC4456_Aboriginal_Employment_Strat_
210_x_210_WEB.pdf}

^{12. http://www.dpac.tas.gov.au/divisions/ssmo/aboriginal_employment_strategy}

^{13. http://www.dpac.tas.gov.au/divisions/ssmo/aboriginal_employment_strategy/aboriginal_employment_newsletter}

^{14. https://www.jobs.tas.gov.au/school_based_traineeships/meet_the_trainees}

^{15. Based on paid headcount.}

^{16. http://www.dpac.tas.gov.au/divisions/ssmo/workforce_diversity_and_inclusion/
supporting_carers_in_the_state_service}

^{17. www.jobs.tas.gov.au}