Our diverse and inclusive workforce

Our commitment 

We are committed to: 

• fostering inclusive and supportive work environments 
• increasing the diverse representation of employees within the department 
• building good working relationships to drive our portfolio initiatives. 

We strive to provide a workplace for all staff to thrive and succeed. We will do this by providing: 

• an inclusive culture that celebrates differences  
• visible leadership that drives cultural change 
• space for individuals to comfortably express their diverse experience. 

How we’re driving positive change 

We have many staff-led diversity committees and networks in our department. Our Diversity and Inclusion team works with these groups to drive positive change. The groups include: 

• National Indigenous Committee and Network 
• Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Committee and Network 
• Disability and Carers Committee and Network 
• DSS Pride Committee and Network 
• Gender Equality Network. 

We maintain membership with several diversity bodies and encourage our staff to access these resources.

We follow a range of strategies and action plans to help shape and support our workforce. 

Government-wide strategies and plans include:

• Commonwealth Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Workforce Strategy 2020–24(Opens external website) 
• APS Disability Employment Strategy 2020–25(Opens external website)
• Australia’s Disability Strategy 2021–31(Opens external website)
• Australian Public Service Gender Equality Strategy 2021–26(Opens external website)
• APS Mental Health Capability Framework(Opens external website)

Department-specific strategy and plans include:

• Reconciliation Action Plan 2021–24
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Workforce Action Plan 2023–25

How we support our staff

Learn more about how we support our diverse and inclusive workforce.

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff
• Culturally and linguistically diverse staff
• Disability inclusion
• Gender equality
• LGBTIQA+ staff