Diversity

While the rate of commencement of people with disability has increased to be similar to the broader public sector, the rate of separation remains higher than for the public sector.

Figure 5.4 shows the gap has closed between the commencement rate of people with disability and the public sector over the past 3 years.  In 2023, the rate of people with disability commencing in public sector agencies was 0.04pp higher than the broader public sector. 

The separation rate of people with disability remains higher than that of the broader public sector (2.0pp gap in 2023). This is impacted by the age profile of people with disability as a higher proportion of people with disability are aged 55 and over (+13.1pp compared to people without disability, see Figure 5.5). 

This trend is also reflected in salary bands. From 2014 to 2023, the estimated proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees increased by 0.8pp or more in all salary bands below the level of Senior Executive (see Figure 5.7). 

The Public Service Commission refreshed the NSW Public Sector Aboriginal Employment Strategy (AES) in 2022, maintaining Aboriginal employment targets including the aim to achieve 3% Aboriginal representation at all non-executive salary levels by 2025. The AES is closely aligned with the NSW Closing the Gap Implementation Plan.  

Progress towards the target continues, with increased representation in 2023 in the three salary bands that have not yet reached the target. The largest improvement in these occurred in the Grade 5/6 band, which had an increase of 0.3pp compared to 2022.

Figure 5.9 shows the representation of LOTE and non-LOTE employees across salary bands, with the largest difference in the proportion of LOTE employees in Grade 5/6 (+4.3pp) and Grade 7/8 (−3.5pp). 

Figure 5.10 shows the gap between minority and non-minority group employees in these middle salary bands is much narrower (both 1 pp), however, the gap in the upper and lower salary ranges are much wider, with a relatively large proportional difference in General Scale (−6.7pp) and Grade 11/12 (2.3pp).

Noting these are not distinct groups as nearly half of LOTE employees also identify as being from a minority group, LOTE employees generally have higher representation in the lower salary ranges than employees from a minority group. Conversely, employees from a minority group generally have higher representation in the upper salary ranges. This suggests that language may be a greater barrier to employment in higher-paid roles than identifying as belonging to a minority group.