2014 Diversity Strategy

1 Statement of Commitment from the President

As the body with a statutory responsibility to ensure the observance of human rights in Australia, it is important that respect and acceptance of diversity is an integral part of our own workplace. Diversity in our staff is one of our greatest assets and assists us to meet our organisational objectives.

A diverse workforce with a range of different backgrounds and perspectives provides us with a broader range of ideas and insights to draw on in decision-making and policy development. Diversity makes good business sense. A workplace that reflects the Australian community will understand its clients better, which will lead to improved service and a more inclusive community for all.

Diversity principles are promoted across the Commission and awareness of diversity issues raised through staff training and through the celebration of significant events such as NAIDOC week, International Day of People with a Disability and International Women’s Day. Our integrated workforce strategies reinforce our commitment to diversity and we encourage flexible working conditions to enable our employees to balance their work and other responsibilities. We make a clear statement about diversity, flexibility and accessibility in the careers information on our website to ensure that from the first encounter with our organisation, potential candidates know that we see workplace diversity as a positive and important part of how we work together.

We have also given high priority to the inclusion of people with a disability and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in our internship program to improve employment prospects for these particularly disadvantaged groups.

We work proactively with others to ensure recognition for Australia’s first peoples.

We ensure that our advertised employment opportunities are open and accessible to all and are committed to providing reasonable adjustment to enable candidates to participate in our selection processes and where successful, to support them to work with us.

We monitor our workforce diversity and benchmark ourselves against the Australian Public Service State of the Service Report each year and consistently outperform the broader APS in this area. We seek new and innovative ways to improve our diversity performance and turn our commitment into practical outcomes.

We demonstrate respectful workplace behaviours and ensure that all staff have the opportunity to develop cultural competence as they gain experience and exposure to the myriad of community groups through their work and engagement activities.

This diversity strategy, for the first time incorporates all of our commitments and activities across 4 separate reporting areas and includes our Reconciliation Action Plan, our Disability Action Plan, our Agency Multicultural Plan as well as Workplace Diversity Program and has streamlined our processes and intensified our efforts.

Professor Gillian Triggs, President