Clarification: The initial version of this story reported that Services Australia had a total CALD staff proportion of just 11%, based on figures published by the Australian Public Service Commission (APSC). The Mandarin checked this figure with the APSC and was advised it was correct. Following publication, the APSC revised and amended the figure for the total CALD staff proportion of Services Australia to 26%.
When it comes to league tables, the Australian Public Service Commission’s list of major government agencies ranked by their percentages of culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) employees was never going to be uncontroversial.
But few would have anticipated the stark polarity laid bare this week.
In an eye-popper of a results sheet, the Australian Taxation Office has easily taken out the top spot, with 36% of all staff self-identifying as CALD. That’s easily ahead of the Department of Home Affairs (which includes the former Department of Immigration), on 30% of staff from a CALD background.
You could call it the (Eddie) Woo factor, but that would be reinforcing the racial stereotype that some communities value stuff more than sport — clearly untrue.
A big shock for many in the bureaucracy, ministry and workforce planning was that that Services Australia, erroneously, was somehow placed stone-cold last out of the list of 20 bigger agencies selected, after the APSC attributed total CALD staff proportion of just 11% to the agency — a figure that conspicuously jars with quite a lot of recent official communications and reporting.
“The agency recognises the value and importance of having cultural and linguistic diversity (CALD) in the workforce. At 30 June 2023, 25.5% of our APS workforce identified as CALD,” Services Australia said in its latest annual report.
That’s a net difference of 14.5%, with an APSC CALD number of 11%. Proportionally, this works out to a variation of 131% between the APSC’s CALD estimate and Services Australia’s.
The Mandarin initially observed and speculated the disparity was so big it may have been caused by definitional difference, unless there was somehow a mass multicultural walkout, a highly unlikely scenario. It is still unclear how the erroneous figure was arrived at.
The rogue APSC number also conflicted with previous and current reporting by Services Australia.
Services Australia’s March 2023 press release, titled “Services Australia tops diversity and harmony” says that “Almost 1 in every 4 employees at Services Australia comes from a culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) background, putting the agency in the top 30 most inclusive employers in the country.”
The press release focuses on the delivery of government services to multicultural communities rather than the make-up of the agency workforce.
“The agency also has close to 70 Multicultural Service Officers working with multicultural community groups, staff and other government departments to improve outcomes for CALD Aussies by understanding their needs,” Services Australia general manager Hank Jongen said in 2023, celebrating Harmony Week.
The APSC’s CALD definition is as follows:
“To allow for comparisons to the broader community, this Plan will use an APS employee’s first language spoken to compare to the ABS Census measure of language spoken at home.
To contribute to a broader understanding of cultural and linguistic diversity within the APS, employee perception data will supplement the data in the APSED. The APS Employee Census will include questions that provide employees with the opportunity to identify as CALD and to indicate their cultural background.
Drawing on HR data and employee perception data provides the best possible approach in using existing sources. We will monitor and review what data is collected and used in the context of supporting the Plan.”
The the now revised official chart looks like this: 
READ MORE:
