On 30 June 2017, 16 people worked with the agency at various grade levels, 13 covering full time ongoing and non-ongoing and three temporary employment arrangements, all based in Sydney. The agency did not have staff who identified as Indigenous during the year, but will seek opportunities to address the Australian Government Indigenous employment policy in the 2017–18 year and beyond if recruitment is required.
| Class | Female | Male | Permanent/Full time | Non-ongoing APS | Temp/Contract | Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CEO | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||
| EL2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 4 | |||
| EL1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | ||||
| APS6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||
| APS5 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 6 | |||
| APS4 | ||||||||
| Total | 8 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 16 |
Learning and development
The agency provided learning and development opportunities for staff to support the functions of the agency, with staff attending various conferences and training programs throughout the year to supplement already acquired skills and knowledge.
The goal of approved learning and development was to enhance the skills base of the existing staff to minimise the need for external assistance, ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and operate with maximum efficiency as an independent agency.
Collective determination
Formal separation of the agency from the Department of Employment came into effect on 17 November 2014 upon approval by the Minister for Employment of a collective determination under section 24(1) of the PS Act.
A Notice of Employee Representational Rights under the Fair Work Act 2009 was issued on 2 March 2016 to commence the process of developing an enterprise agreement to cover employees that are non-SES employees engaged under the PS Act in the agency. The agency anticipates the Asbestos Safety and Eradication Agency Enterprise Agreement will come into operation during the 2017–18 year.
Performance pay
Agency staff do not receive performance bonuses or performance pay. Non-SES staff were covered by the Department of Employment Enterprise Agreement 2012–14, which provided for pay increments as per the standard pay scale.
Work health and safety
The agency is committed to fostering a proactive and collaborative approach to the management of employee health, safety and wellbeing.
The agency has an elected health and safety representative who successfully completed the accredited training course , assuming the responsibilities of that position as set out in the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (WHS Act) .
The agency also has a trained first aid officer with access to a first aid facility and a trained floor warden for emergency evacuation procedures.
Employee assistance programme
During part of the year, the agency had access to the services provided by Optum through the Department of Employment, which included providing staff with confidential and personalized counselling for personal and vocational/professional matters. The agency was in the process of transitioning to a new provider towards the end of the reporting year.
Ethical standards
The agency maintained its commitment to high ethical standards by reinforcing the Australian Public Service (APS) values and APS code of conduct.
Induction programs highlighted the importance of APS values and the code of conduct as a vehicle for instilling a positive, collaborative and professional workplace culture with the aim of establishing the agency as a leading APS employer.
During the 2016–17 year, there were no formal cases involving alleged breaches of the APS values or the APS code of conduct.
