People strategies: planning and delivery
Organisational reviews
The department conducts organisational reviews as required to ensure that workloads in all areas are matched with the number of staff required to perform the work, and that the classification levels or work value requirements of individual jobs are appropriate to the work being conducted.
Recruitment of staff
The department advertised to fill seven ongoing vacancies during 2014–15 (six in 2013–14), of which five were filled by external applicants.
Retention of staff
A total of 11 ongoing and 17 non-ongoing staff left the department in 2014–15—a turnover rate of 8.8 per cent of ongoing staff (9.7 per cent in 2013–14). Appendix 2 includes details of separations.
Exit interviews with staff leaving the department continued to be conducted by Senior Executive Service managers. Two interviews were conducted during the year.
Graduate placement program
The parliamentary graduate placement program continued in 2014–15. The program involves three-month placements of staff from the graduate recruitment programs of Australian government agencies. An objective of the program is to promote the work of the parliament to agencies and the staff of those agencies.
The Department of the Senate and the Parliamentary Budget Office continued their involvement, and the Department of Parliamentary Services became involved in the 2015 program. The program continued to draw a high level of interest from individual graduates and from a range of agencies. Six graduates undertook three-month placements in the department in 2014–15.
Feedback from graduates has confirmed that the program is highly successful and that the objectives of the placements have been met.
Alumni
The department formed an alumni association of former staff in 2008. On 30 June 2015 there were 200 members. The association issued one newsletter during the year.
On 8 October 2014, the annual general meeting of the association was held and was attended by 11 association members. At the meeting, two co-chairs were elected and the membership of the alumni board was increased by self-nomination of attendees. The board met once in 2014–15.
A reception for members of the association and staff was held on 21 November 2014.
Training and development
Table 10 shows the department’s training and development expenditure as a percentage of expenditure on salaries in 2013–14 and 2014–15. It also shows the average number of person-days spent on training, and the average staffing level in both years. The average number of training days for staff decreased from 4.3 to 3.1 days of off-the-job training per person per year. The fluctuation in staff training days generally reflects the stages of the parliamentary cycle.
Table 10 Expenditure on training and development programs, 2013–14 and 2014–15
| |
2013-14 |
2014-15 |
| Expenditure as percentage of annual payroll |
1.14% |
1.14% |
| Average training days per person |
4.3 |
3.1 |
| Average staffing level |
155 |
155.6 |
Table 11 compares the average attendance of staff at training courses in 2013–14 and 2014–15. It also shows the average staffing level and total number of training days attended in 2014–15 for each classification.
Table 11 Average staff attendance at training courses, 2013–14 and 2014–15
| Classification |
Average staffing level |
Total number of training days attended |
Average number of training days attended |
| |
2014-15 |
2014-15 |
2013-14 |
2014-15 |
| Senior Executive Service |
5.5 |
21.4 |
3.0 |
3.9 |
| Executive Band 2 |
21.8 |
40.0 |
3.1 |
1.8 |
| Executive Band 1 |
38.6 |
82.9 |
3.2 |
2.1 |
| Parliamentary Service Level 6 |
26.5 |
70.9 |
4.6 |
2.7 |
| Parliamentary Service Level 5 |
6.1 |
20.5 |
2.8 |
3.4 |
| Parliamentary Service Level 4 |
27.5 |
119.7 |
5.0 |
4.3 |
| Parliamentary Service Level 3 |
9.2 |
20.2 |
6.0 |
2.2 |
| Parliamentary Service Level 2 |
20.3 |
16.6 |
4.0 |
0.8 |
| Not specified |
– |
95.2 |
– |
– |
| Totals |
155.6 |
487.4 |
4.3 |
3.1 |
Leadership development
The department has invested in leadership development with a range of external providers for over a decade and has trend data from staff surveys on leadership for the entire period. Staff participated in leadership programs designed for each level. A new program for Parliamentary Service Level 4 and 5 staff commenced during the year.
Workplace diversity
The workplace diversity program aligns the department’s workplace diversity strategies and actions with the Parliamentary Service Values.
New staff continued to receive training in the prevention of discrimination, bullying and harassment as soon as practicable after their commencement. All staff were offered refresher information sessions, and harassment contact officers received further training.
Knowledge management
The Knowledge Management Steering Committee met three times during 2014–15. The committee comprised staff from all areas of the department and was chaired by the Clerk Assistant (Table). During the year there were some changes to membership and secretariat support, mostly as a result of staffing changes.
The committee continued to support the department’s commitment to knowledge management processes. It monitored the department’s ICT activities including the records management program, development and use of apps, use of social media, and the Table Offices Production System. In addition, the committee maintained a watching brief on emerging technologies relevant to the department and progress on parliament-wide ICT developments.
Studybank
Twelve staff participated in the department’s Studybank program during the year (compared with 17 staff in 2013–14). Collectively, they received financial assistance of $13,969 (compared with $18,236 in 2014), along with 50.1 days of study leave on full pay.
Performance assessment
All eligible staff participated in the annual work performance assessment cycle, completed on 31 October 2014. The cycle consists of setting individual work objectives, conducting performance assessments, preparing individual development plans and providing feedback to supervisors. The individual development plans are compiled and the development requirements of staff are reviewed. These then form the basis for the training program for the next calendar year.
Employment framework
The Department of the House of Representatives Enterprise Agreement 2012–15 covers all staff except Senior Executive Service staff. The department’s Senior Executive Service staff are covered by determinations made under section 24(1) of the Parliamentary Service Act.
Staff salary scales under the agreement are summarised in Table 12.
Table 12 Salary scales of staff covered by the 2012–15 enterprise agreement, at 1 December 2014
| Classification |
Salary scale ($) |
| Executive Band 2 |
132,608–140,509 |
| Executive Band 1 |
102,457–114,286 |
| Parliamentary Service Level 6 |
82,570–93,709 |
| Parliamentary Service Level 5 |
76,320–80,758 |
| Parliamentary Service Level 4 |
67,474–73,001 |
| Parliamentary Service Level 3 |
61,044–65,576 |
| Parliamentary Service Level 2 |
54,250–59,235 |
| Parliamentary Service Level 1 |
47,955–52,473 |
Salaries expenditure
In 2014–15, departmental salaries and allowances totalled $18.04 million ($18.10 million in 2013–14).
Work health and safety
The department’s aim under the health and safety management arrangements is to create and maintain a safe and healthy working environment.
Workstation assessments are conducted for staff on request. Included in the workstation assessment is education on the correct set-up of workstations including the correct height of the desk at both sitting and standing positions. This information is also included in orientation sessions for new staff.
The department’s Comcare premium rate for 2014–15 was 0.60 per cent of payroll, a decrease from the 2013–14 rate of 0.67 per cent.
During the year, no dangerous occurrences required notification under section 37 of the Work Health Safety Act 2011. No investigations were carried out and no directions or notices were received by the department under section 191 of the Act.
No compensation claims were received from staff in 2014–15.