Australia sets 15% CALD representation target for public service leadership

Government releases new strategy to boost diversity in Australia's leaders

BY Dexter Tilo 02 May 2024

The Australian government has unveiled a plan to hike to 15% the representation of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) Australians in public service's senior leadership ranks.

Public Service Minister Katy Gallagher said the target is part of the government's bigger goal to raise CALD representation in the Senior Executive Service to 24% over the next four years.

"Australia is a multicultural nation, and the APS (Australian Public Service) needs to reflect and look like the people it serves," she said in a statement.

The goal was unveiled at the release of the Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Employment Strategy and Action Plan, published by the Australian Public Service Commission. According to the plan, the APS broadly reflects the cultural and racial diversity in Australia, but this representation drops sharply at senior levels.

_{Source: Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Employment Strategy and Action Plan}

Australia's action plan for advancing CALD people

It also found that there are "significant limitations" with the career advancement for CALD people, as well as challenges that stop CALD employees from making a full contribution. They include:

Discrimination and racism
A preference for traditional norms and working styles that do not foster cognitive diversity or reflect our multicultural society
A lack of cultural literacy that blocks empathy and understanding and inhibits CALD employees from contributing their knowledge and perspectives

The plan sets out five headline actions to address these issues, including:

Whole of APS standards: Introduce an APS Statement of Leadership to Support Cultural Diversity to ensure that the standard for culturally respectful and safe workplaces is upheld.
Cultural understanding: Build an APS-wide Interagency CALD Champion Network and a curated collection of multi-media learning resources.
Leadership and management: Build APS leadership through embedding cultural capability training and sponsorship of CALD employees.
Recruitment and progression: Modernise the APS recruitment and promotion processes to apply a rigorous understanding of merit.
Representation: Introduce a reportable benchmark of 24% for CALD representation in the SES.

Multicultural Affairs Minister Andrew Giles said the strategy ensures that the APS is a "workplace for all Australians."

"Our multicultural diversity is our nation's greatest strength. Our public service is at its best when it reflects the diversity of our society at all levels," he said in a statement.