Reporting period

The CEFC reports its obligations under the Equal Employment Opportunity (Commonwealth Authorities) Act 1987 (EEO Act) annually. This EEO report covers the period 1 July 2018 to 30 June 2019 inclusive.

EEO policy

The CEFC seeks to reflect the diverse nature of the Australian community and is committed to developing and supporting positive working relationships and a healthy and safe workplace. The CEFC Equal Employment Opportunity Policy sets out guidelines to help ensure individuals are employed, trained and promoted fairly, on merit, without discrimination and harassment.

EEO implementation

CEFC policies and procedures are underpinned by EEO principles and embedded into operational practices. These policies, procedures and practices are communicated to existing and new employees and are accessible at all times via the employee intranet. Coverage of these matters includes:

• CEFC Code of Conduct and Ethics.
• Internal corporate policies and procedures, including EEO principles, anti-discrimination and workplace bullying and harassment.
• Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013.
• Induction training for all new employees and annual refresher training for all employees.
• CEFC paid parental leave scheme, which provides a more generous parental leave payment than the legislated scheme.

EEO monitoring and evaluation

The effectiveness of the EEO Policy is reviewed on a regular basis, and employee feedback is sought in relation to ongoing improvements. Since implementation, the CEFC has not identified any policies or practices that discriminate against, or any patterns of lack of equality of opportunity, in respect of women and designated groups.

Paid parental leave

The CEFC paid parental leave scheme includes enhanced payments to employees taking parental leave. During the reporting period, no employees used the CEFC’s paid parental leave scheme and one employee used the CEFC’s paid ‘dad and partner’ leave scheme. At 30 June 2019, four employees had applied for either future paid parental leave or future paid ‘dad and partner’ leave.

Flexible work arrangements

The CEFC offers flexible work arrangements (FWAs) based on the National Employment Standards for employees with caring commitments. The CEFC’s emphasis has been to ensure its work practices and resources actively support flexibility for all employees, including regular flexible working hours, working from home, or working from any of the CEFC’s offices.

Of the CEFC’s 101 employees, 21 (21.8 per cent) use formal, approved FWAs, including part-time hours, flexible work hours, compressed working week and/or working from home. This is a slight decrease from 24 employees in the previous reporting period. Of the employees with approved FWAs, five (25 per cent) are male.

In addition to formally-approved FWAs, employees are encouraged to use FWAs on an ad-hoc basis (e.g. flexible start and finish times) to help them more effectively balance personal and work commitments. The CEFC’s information and communications technology system supports enhanced flexibility for employees.

Employee engagement survey

Employee feedback in relation to the CEFC’s culture and practices was sought via the CEFC’s staff engagement survey, held in May 2019. The engagement survey recorded a strong overall engagement score of 83 per cent, up from 73 per cent in 2018.

Employee promotions

During the reporting period, the CEFC promoted five employees.

Employee training and policies

New employees to the CEFC complete mandatory induction training. All employees complete annual training including EEO, workplace bullying, harassment and discrimination, the CEFC Code of Conduct and Ethics, the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013, and workplace health and safety. This training is refreshed regularly to ensure it reflects current legislation.

Particulars of directions by responsible Ministers under S12

The CEFC has not received any directions made by responsible Ministers under section 12 of the Equal Employment Opportunity (Commonwealth Authorities) Act 1987.

Diversity profile: CEFC employee statistics

At 30 June 2019, the CEFC had 101 employees, including 99.59 full-time equivalents and the CEO, who is a full-time statutory officer under the CEFC Act (excluding Board members).

The CEFC has 47 per cent female employees and 54 per cent male employees. This is a four per cent increase in female representation from the previous reporting period. The Executive team includes three women, representing 38 per cent the Executive team, which represents a 13 per cent increase compared to the previous reporting period.

Of the 14 new hires since the previous reporting period, nine were female (64 per cent) and five were male (36 per cent).

The proportion of employees born overseas has remained stable at 44 per cent. The CEFC’s workforce is culturally diverse, with 44 employees from 20 countries, in addition to those born in Australia. The CEFC has 16 employees (16 per cent) who report that English is their second language.

During the reporting period, the average age of the workforce remained stable at 41.5 years.

To date, no employees have disclosed to the CEFC that they identify as being Indigenous, or have a disability, which is unchanged since the previous reporting period.

Figure 37: CEFC employee diversity profile 30 June 2019

Figure 38: CEFC EEO reporting comparison