The Parliamentary Leadership Taskforce overseeing the implementation of Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins’ Set the Standard: Report on the Independent Review into Commonwealth Parliamentary Workplaces (the Jenkins Report), held its third meeting on Thursday, 24 March.
The meeting noted the progress of work on a new induction package for incoming Parliamentarians and their staff, which will be ready to implement post-election. The Taskforce acknowledged the importance of establishing induction processes as part of the broader learning and development context. The Taskforce supported a phased implementation of a four-stage induction process. There will be consultation on the induction program with the WHS Committee and Employee Consultation Group for Members of Parliament Staff as well as continued consultation with the Taskforce members.
The Taskforce noted the work completed to date on identifying the appropriate scope of the proposed Office of Parliamentary Staffing and Culture, (OPSC). The Jenkins report recommended the establishment of the OPSC to support parliamentarians and their staff by providing human resources support with a focus on policy development, training, advice and support and education. The Taskforce agreed that work on the OPSC should progress as a priority.
Continuing the focus on appropriately engaging with stakeholders, the Taskforce noted the development of a draft Stakeholder Engagement and Communication Strategy. The Strategy will inform stakeholder engagement activities throughout the implementation of recommendations and will evolve over time.
The progress report on recommendations can be found at Implementation Tracker – 24 March 2022