Human resource management

Staffing

The ALRC has one office in Sydney and all staff are located at this office. On 30 June 2015, the ALRC’s full-time equivalent staffing level was 11.1 FTE. This figure does not include Commissioners (1 FTE).

Table 8: Staffing profile as at 30 June 2015

Indigenous employment

As of 30 June 2015, for the current and preceding year, there were no employees who identified as Indigenous.

Staff retention and turnover

During 2014–15 one ongoing employee resigned from the ALRC.

Table 9: ALRC staff 2014–15

Employment conditions

All employees are covered by the ALRC Enterprise Agreement 2011–14. The current ALRC Enterprise Agreement is due to be re-negotiated during 2015–16.

Performance rewards and bonuses

The ALRC Enterprise Agreement 2011–14 makes provision for performance appraisal and allows for performance to be rewarded through a mixture of movement up the salary scale and one-off bonuses, as summarised below.

Table 10: Performance rewards and bonuses

An employee who is at the maximum salary point for a classification will be eligible for a bonus of up to 2% of his or her annual salary, based on a performance appraisal. If rated as meeting all performance expectations, the bonus will be 1%. If rated as exceeding performance expectations, the bonus will be 2%. If rated as meeting most, or not meeting performance expectations, there will be no bonus awarded.

During 2014–15, seven employees were awarded a performance bonus, amounting to a total bonus payment for the year of $12,018.35.

• EL1: 2 employees—$3,326.22
• EL2: 2 employees—$3,429.65
• APS 5–6: 2 employees—$4,597.62
• APS 4: 1 employee—$664.86

Further details of total remuneration expenditure in 2014–15 are provided in the financial statements.

Staff development

The performance appraisal process is the main mechanism for determining professional development needs of employees, but the ALRC also considers requests for education and training as they arise. The ALRC budgets for professional development at a whole-of-organisation level as well as for individual employees. In addition, the ALRC considers attendance at relevant conferences and professional seminars to contribute to the professional development of staff.

The following professional development opportunities were taken up by staff during 2014–15:

• Finance Manager attended training on Advanced Excel, GST, FBT and TRIM.
• Finance Assistant attended EOFY Meridian and TRIM training.
• Executive Assistant/Project Coordinator attended First Aid and TRIM training.
• Office Services Coordinator attended workshops on Digital Records Keeping, ISO16175 and Checkup Digital and also attended TRIM training.
• Communications Manager attended FutureGov Summit.
• Legal Officers attended supervision training.
• Legal Officers attended the Native Title Conference.
• Legal Officers attended Constitutional Law Conference.

Study leave

Study leave is available for all ongoing employees (full-time and part-time). Study assistance provided by the ALRC is in the form of granting up to five days unpaid leave per academic year (part-time staff will be granted a pro rata amount) to facilitate an employee’s study. No employees applied for study leave during 2014–15.

Work health and safety

The ALRC is committed to providing and maintaining the highest degree of work health and safety for all employees and other persons who engage with the ALRC’s work by aiming to prevent all injury and illness potentially caused by working conditions. The ALRC recognises its responsibility to provide a healthy and safe workplace for employees and to provide them with workplace-based, easily accessible information on work health and safety matters.

The ALRC’s Health and Safety Management Arrangements (HSMAs) and Work Health and Safety Policy (WH&S Policy) provide the framework for ensuring the health, safety and welfare of all its employees. The ALRC has a commitment to consult with employees and their representatives on work health and safety issues and to work together to ensure a safe work environment. As part of this, the ALRC shares relevant information about health, safety and welfare with employees and ensures that they are given the opportunity to express their views and to contribute in a timely fashion to the resolution of work health, safety and welfare issues.

The ALRC supports the use of a risk management approach to work health and safety. The ALRC identifies any potential risks to the health and safety of ALRC employees and puts in place strategies to minimise any potential hazards or risks. WH&S policies are accessible to employees on the ALRC file server and new employees are provided with information on work health and safety as part of the induction process.

The ALRC has a Work Health and Safety Committee (WHASC) that meets at least once per year, or as needed. The WHASC met on 12 May 2015. ALRC employees have a responsibility to report to the WHASC any situation that could constitute a hazard to the health, safety or welfare of any ALRC employee. Any accident or injury that occurs while an employee is undertaking ALRC work—regardless of where it is being undertaken—must be reported immediately to the WHASC.

There were no accidents or any dangerous occurrences during 2014–15 that required giving of notice under the WH&S Act.

Workstation assessments were carried out in June 2015 for all staff to identify any specific needs in terms of office equipment.

All employees undertake emergency procedures training at least once per year. Fire Warden training is also undertaken on a regular basis as part of tenancy requirements.

The ALRC conducts an annual health and safety audit and this was completed in May 2014. During 2014–15, there were no WH&S issues reported.

As a workplace health initiative under its Enterprise Agreement, the ALRC provides free and voluntary influenza vaccinations to staff each year. In 2014–15, eight employees took advantage of a free vaccination.

The ALRC also offers a reimbursement of up to $150 per annum for activities that contribute to employees’ health and well-being. In addition, all employees have access to a free and confidential counselling service that provides up to three free sessions of counselling per year.

ALRC internship program

The ALRC offers internships to students in their penultimate or final year of an undergraduate or graduate law degree, from any university including overseas institutions. An internship at the ALRC provides a skills development opportunity for students to increase their awareness of law reform processes and improve their research and writing skills. Interns join a team for a current ALRC inquiry and are supervised by the Commissioner in charge and/or Legal Officers.

Internships with the ALRC are highly sought after and there is a competitive selection process that includes a formal application and interview. The number of interns accepted at any one time depends on the current work program of the Commission. In 2014–15, 16 internships were offered to local students and the ALRC was pleased to include students of an exceptionally high standard from around Australia. In January 2015, the ALRC also welcomed Harvard Law School student, Kali Schellenberg, for a three-week internship.

All our interns were involved in a range of ALRC activities, including attending consultation meetings with inquiry stakeholders, Advisory Committee meetings and inquiry team meetings.

The ALRC captures the intern experience through interviews with students at the completion of their internship. They discuss the work they have been undertaking and describe the experience of interning at the ALRC. These podcasts are available on the ALRC website.

Policies in relation to the student internship program are available on the ALRC website.

Interns July 2014 to June 2015

Table 11: Interns 2014–15