In August 2018, the ABS launched its first ABS Inclusion and Diversity Strategy 2018–21 which sets out our intention to continue to create workplaces that better reflect our community, are more inclusive and benefit from the diverse skills, perspectives and experiences of our employees. The strategy recognises that our people are key to fulfilling the ABS’ purpose and successfully transforming our organisation.

The Australian Statistician, David W. Kalisch, continued to drive inclusion and diversity initiatives in his role as a Male Champion of Change for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) by signing up to the Male Champions of Change Impact Report 2018. This is the first consolidated review of the strategy to accelerate the advancement of women in leadership and achieve gender equality.

Fostering inclusiveness

To support our commitment to be an inclusive and diverse organisation, some highlights from 2018–19 have included:

• launching the ABS Reconciliation Action Plan 2018–2021 (RAP) with our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employee network (Youmpla)
• creating a new role to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Employment and Development programs within the ABS
• implementing Disability Confident Managers, Disability Confident Workforce and SBS Cultural Competence Program (CCP) e-learning modules
• conducting training for SES staff in becoming ‘LGBTI+ Allies’
• implementing a Reasonable Workplace Adjustments (RWA) passport and RWA employee and manager guides to provide support for people with disability
• launching the first employee ‘My Story – Talking Disability and Mental Health’ which is available to all staff via an Inclusion and Diversity on-demand video library
• participating, partnering and utilising a range of diverse recruitment activities and strategies aimed at making our workforce more representative of the Australian population.

Multicultural access and equity

The ABS is committed to improving engagement and responding to the needs of Australians from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Strategies and policies are developed that are inclusive, and specific engagement strategies are developed as required. For example, the upcoming 2021 Census program has employed Inclusive Strategy Managers to ensure appropriate stakeholder engagement with Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) communities and accurate counting of communities during the forthcoming Census.

ABS workforce diversity profile

Table 7.7 provides a breakdown of the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people employed in the ABS. Table 7.8 indicates the number of staff identifying as having a disability.

Disability reporting mechanism

The National Disability Strategy 2010–2020 sets out a ten-year national policy framework to improve the lives of people with disability, promote participation and create a more inclusive society. The ABS contributes to the whole-of-government two-yearly report which tracks progress against each of the six outcome areas of the Strategy and presents a picture of how people with disability are faring. This report can be found at www.dss.gov.au.

Since 2007–08, the Australian Public Service Commission (APSC) has reported at a whole-of-government level in relation to disability via the State of the Service Report and the APS Statistical Bulletin. These reports are available at www.apsc.gov.au.