APS employee census results

2025

In 2025, all Australian Digital Health Agency APS employees, common law employees and labour hire contractors were invited to participate in the annual APS Employee Census. We achieved a strong response rate of 85%, providing valuable insights into employee sentiment.

The Agency improved in all six key indices, over both the 12-month and five-year periods, with each index scoring above the APS average. These results reflect our continued focus on building a positive, inclusive and high-performing workplace culture.

Supportive leadership remains a key strength, with 90% of respondents agreeing that their immediate supervisor cares about their health and wellbeing. This reinforces the Agency’s focus on wellbeing and the importance of compassionate, people-centred leadership. Supporting this are the free text comments that have a strong theme around positive culture and values with this being the second highest theme behind wellbeing in response to the question “What is one thing your Agency is doing really well?”

Similarly, with 95% of respondents indicating confidence that a request for flexible work would be given reasonable consideration, the Agency is upholding its continuing commitment to respecting the importance of work-life balance.

When asked, “What is one thing your Agency is doing really well?”, the most common themes identified by staff were Wellbeing and Work Practices (29%), Culture and Values (21%), Human Resources (19%), Teamwork and Relationships (16%), and My Organisation (14%).

In response to the question, “If you could change one thing to improve the effectiveness of your workplace, what would it be?”, the most common theme was focussed on improving our administration processes.

2024

In 2024, we saw strong participation in the APS Employee Census with an 81% response rate providing valuable insights into employee sentiment. The Australian Digital Health Agency staff are made up of APS employees, common law employees and labour hire contractors.

Overall, our results remained consistent and continue to build on our positive results from 2023. 

The Census results include 6 key indices, with the trend on 3 indicators (Employee Engagement, Immediate Supervisor and SES Manager) consistently improving since 2021. 

High levels of commitment and engagement were reflected in our results. The Agency’s most positive results continue to relate to staff impressions of their current role with 91% agreeing they are happy to go the ‘extra mile’ at work when required, understanding how their role contributes to achieving outcomes for the Australian public. There was an uplift in our workforce feeling a strong personal attachment to both the Agency and the broader APS. 

The Agency’s flexible work arrangements continue to be a differentiator for the Agency in comparison to the broader APS, with our results tracking 8% above the APS overall.

Our results show our commitment to providing an inclusive, respectful and safe work environment with 81% agreeing their supervisor supports an inclusive workplace and actively ensures everyone can be included in workplace activities.

Census Action Plan

The Agency’s Census Working Group has developed an action plan based on our results. The action plan recognises our priority areas and commitment to continuous improvement. 

2023

The Australian Digital Health Agency staff took part in the annual Australian Public Service (APS) Employee Census. The Highlights Report below compares Australian Digital Health Agency results in 2023, with 2022, as well as several other APS benchmarks.

The Australian Digital Health Agency staff are made up of APS employees, common law employees and labour hire contractors.

The Agency’s 2023 Census Action Plan can be found here (PDF, 570.45 KB).

2022

In 2022, Australian Digital Health Agency staff took part in the annual Australian Public Service (APS) Employee Census. The Highlights Report below compares Australian Digital Health Agency results in 2022, with 2021, as well as several other APS benchmarks.

The Australian Digital Health Agency staff are made up of APS employees, common law employees and a large proportion of labour hire contractors. Staff in all three categories participated in the 2021 APS Employee Census, so results are best compared to those agencies with a similar cohort.

The Agency is focused on culture and continuous improvement, and we are implementing a range of activities, including a Workforce Strategy.