Queensland’s sector report gives mixed marks

Two years after the Coaldrake Review recommended that the Queensland government “let the sunshine in”, the state’s public services commission has published its first annual report on the state of the public sector.

The Queensland sector has seen a significant increase in the number of people employed by the government, but little increase in employee attitudes in government service.

The inaugural report shows that government employment is growing, but cultural change is proving more challenging.

Queensland Public Sector Commissioner David Mackie said the details of the report would be crucial to guiding the service into the future.

“Employing more than 308,000 people, these dedicated public servants go to work every day committed to making a difference in the lives of Queenslanders,” he said.

“From the midwife delivering our newest Queenslander to the behind-the-scenes hospital support staff who provide fresh bedding, manage IT systems, pay our staff and deliver important health messages.

“These are our educators, our policymakers, our police and our child safety workers. These are just some of the roles and services that make such a difference to Queenslanders’ lives.”

As of March 2024, there were 159,550.51 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees in frontline essential positions, 74,382.77 in frontline and support positions, and 24,078.85 in corporate positions.

The number of emergency, health care and other workers who are proving difficult to recruit across the country has increased by 5% to 7% over the past year.

Particularly welcome news is that the number of ambulance workers is likely to increase by 5.64% over four years, as the number of paramedic workers in Queensland quickly approaches the number in New South Wales in 2021.

Over the past four years, the number of new police officers has roughly kept pace with the reduction, but the numbers in the report do not include the number of people currently in training. The number of pending applications has doubled in 12 months – 2,079 in April 2024 compared to 960 in April 2023.

The report’s qualitative workforce data is based on responses to the Working for Queensland 2023 survey. Sixty-eight Queensland public sector agencies had 69,090 respondents, representing a 33% response rate.

It showed that people trust and respect their direct colleagues and managers, but are more skeptical of senior management.

Although 81% felt their manager or supervisor demonstrated honesty and integrity, only 58% said the same for senior management and 49% for the executive group.

Although perceptions of fairness in the recruitment and promotion process increased, more than half of respondents disagreed that these decisions were based on clear criteria.

Mackie said the release of this information is an important step towards greater transparency.

“The release of the 2024 State of the Sector Report is a key action within the Even Better Public Sector for Queensland strategy,” he said.

“The report analyzes workforce statistics, employee opinion survey results, and conduct and performance data, connecting our operating environment with insights about our people, diversity, work environment, performance and future.

“Each year we will learn from the previous ones by listening to feedback, which will help us continue to deliver an even better public sector in Queensland.”