Sustainability: Taking care of people

The Museum is committed to creating a supportive, productive, and collaborative work environment that attracts and retains talented employees who are capable of contributing to the Museum’s success. The Museum values performance, innovation, creativity and diversity and, in 2012–13, it continued to review, develop and implement workplace practices and programs that support staff to achieve their best.

Museum staff are employed under the Public Service Act 1999, and employment conditions are established under legislation applying to the Australian Public Service and, in particular, the National Museum of Australia Enterprise Agreement 2012–14.

A number of individual Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs) made under the Workplace Relations Act 1996 continue to be in effect within the Museum. These AWAs will operate until they are terminated, as provided under the Fair Work Act 2009, or the relevant employment ceases. Further AWAs will not be made.

The National Museum of Australia Enterprise Agreement 2012–14 provides for individual employees to negotiate pay and conditions enhancements through Individual Flexibility Agreements (IFAs). These are designed to supplement the terms of the enterprise agreement with payments, benefits and/or conditions to recognise particular skills, capabilities or additional responsibilities, or to meet special workplace circumstances, operational requirements or to provide individual flexibility. A number of IFAs have been negotiated and approved across the Museum.

At 30 June 2013, the Museum employed 262 staff consisting of 219 ongoing and 43 non-ongoing employees, which represented a full-time equivalent number of 231.87.

Total staff numbers as at 30 June each year

The Museum continues to promote diversity and strives to establish a staffing profile that is representative of the Australian community. The Museum employs a range of technical, professional and administrative staff and successfully competes for and attracts quality applicants for positions; only a limited number of specialist roles were difficult to fill in 2012–13.

Staffing by division as at 30 June 2013

Staffing by employment status as at 30 June 2013

Staffing by Australian Public Service (APS) level as at 30 June 2013

The Museum’s performance management framework, Workplace Conversations, was developed in 2003 and reviewed in 2006. The Museum started a second review of the framework in 2013, as required under the National Museum of Australia Enterprise Agreement 2012–14. The revised framework aims to promote discussion of broader workplace issues, clarify staff responsibilities, rights and obligations, and improve staff understanding of Museum budget information and issues.

Workplace Conversations is a formal process that requires staff members to have regular performance discussions with their manager. These formal discussions, linked to overall strategic and business objectives, cover the scope and deliverables of a staff member’s position, the support required to deliver them, and a documented agreement on relevant learning and development opportunities.

The Museum is proud of its consultative culture and has successfully embedded a consultation framework that provides all employees with the opportunity to be an integral part of the decision-making process. The Museum Consultative Forum, consisting of the Director, representatives appointed by the Director and staff representatives, oversees and engages on strategic issues impacting on the Museum. This forum is supplemented by a Workplace Consultative Committee that monitors and consults on operational matters affecting Museum staff.

The Museum also works closely with the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) on all relevant matters affecting staff. A CPSU representative sits on the Museum Consultative Forum and the Workplace Consultative Committee.

Museum staff diversity

Staff recognition at the Museum is usually expressed formally between those involved in individual performance management via the Workplace Conversations framework. This is a critical level of recognition, stressing the importance of having constructive conversations throughout the year that are aligned with strategic and business priorities.

To provide wider recognition of significant contributions and achievements by its staff, the Director presented Australia Day Achievement medallions to four employees who had made noteworthy contributions to the work of the Museum during the past year, or over a number of years. The recipients were Sara Kelly, Keryn De Majnik, Greer Gehrt and Vicki Humphrey.

This financial year 69 volunteers contributed 3671 hours to areas including curatorial and administration, and events, such as festival days.

The Museum’s largest volunteer program supports the 134-year-old paddle steamer, PS Enterprise – the crew being drawn entirely from volunteers. Depending on qualifications and experience, the 34 volunteers perform various roles aboard the vessel: master, mate, engineer, leading deckhand, deckhand and galley hand. The crew brought the PS Enterprise to life each weekend from September to December 2012. In 2012–13 the volunteer crew contributed 1173 hours.

Volunteers also contributed to:

• Education: Thirty volunteers contributed 2183 hours assisting in the delivery of the Museum’s Education programs, enhancing the students’ and teachers’ experience of Australian history
• Public Programs: Six volunteers contributed 148.75 hours assisting in delivering school holiday programs to families and providing assistance with festival days
• Library: One volunteer spent 59 hours assisting Library staff
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Program: Two volunteers contributed 24.50 hours providing office assistance
• Records Management: One volunteer contributed 83 hours scanning and organising files.

Category and number of reported incidents, 2007–13

The Museum continues to prioritise the safety and security of visitors, staff, contractors and collections, including the National Historical Collection. This is achieved with a combination of controls and the use of education and awareness programs.

In November 2012 the Museum upgraded the role of the security coordinator to an agency security advisor. This new role brings together responsibility for security, ICT security, risk management and internal audit coordination.

The agency security advisor is also tasked with increasing the Museum’s focus on security compliance based on security best practice, which is detailed in the Australian Government Protective Security Policy Framework (PSPF).

The partnership between the Museum’s security officers and its contracted security service providers continues to be supportive and vital in enabling the Museum to achieve its business objectives. A range of significant projects were completed in 2012–13, including:

• defining security controls for the new administration extension and cafe spaces
• establishing interim security controls for temporary work spaces
• introducing email archiving for compliance
• introducing an online incident reporting system, shared by the Museum and contractors
• enhancing visitor management processes, including incident response
• presenting staff information sessions on security matters, including the implications of the new PSPF.

The security infrastructure contract was approved with a three-year tenure period and options to extend for a further one-year period.

In accordance with Section 19 of the Commonwealth Authorities (Annual Reporting) Orders 2011, which requires reporting on indemnities and insurance premiums for officers, the Museum confirms that it has:

• director’s and officers’ liability insurance cover through Comcover, the Commonwealth self-managed fund
• not entered into any deeds of indemnity in relation to the director’s and officers’ liability.

The Museum reviewed its insurance coverage during the year to ensure that it remained appropriate for its operations.