Section 4: Our Workforce

Public sector values and employment principles

The Public Administration Act 2004 established the Victorian Public Sector Commission (VPSC). The VPSC’s role is to strengthen public sector efficiency, effectiveness and capability, and advocate for public sector professionalism and integrity. Respect Victoria maintains policies and practices that are consistent with the VPSC’s employment standards and provide for fair treatment, career opportunities and the early resolution of workplace issues.  

Respect Victoria advised its employees on how to avoid conflicts of interest, how to respond to offers of gifts and how it deals with misconduct. All director appointments in Respect Victoria are only finalised once the appropriate Conflict of Interest and Declaration of Private Interests have been completed.  

Employment and conduct principles

Respect Victoria is an equal opportunities employer and is governed by the relevant legislation including the Equal Opportunities Act 2010, Human Rights legislation, the Gender Equality Act 2020, and Fair Work Act 2009. Respect Victoria is linked with the Gender Equality Action Plan and the Diversity and Inclusion framework developed by DFFH. Respect Victoria abides by the principles of merit and equity in selection and recruitment of staff. Employees have been correctly classified in workforce data collections.

Our people

In 2023-24 Respect Victoria focused on attracting and retaining a highly capable, diverse and specialist workforce, aligned to our organisation’s purpose, and led by performance-oriented leaders. Across the year, we recruited talented and dedicated people to 14 positions, including three new Board members. We also reviewed and improved our onboarding and induction processes and resources to ensure that new employees get the best start possible at Respect Victoria.  

During the year, we developed our inaugural People Plan, which outlines key activities under the priorities of talent management; culture and engagement; organisational capability; safety, health and wellbeing; and governance and reporting. We invested in our team’s development by procuring a provider to co-design and deliver a Leadership Development Program (underpinned by robust diagnostics to build self-awareness, leadership skills and support team effectiveness); delivering project management training for all employees; arranging attendance at key sector conferences; and running employee-organised “brown bag” sessions on a range of topics, including the Australian Childhood Maltreatment Survey, misogyny in Australian schools, and Man Box survey results.

Respect Victoria takes a comprehensive approach to safety, health and wellbeing. In 2023-24, we increased the number of Fire Wardens and First Aiders and provided refresher training; nominated and trained Health and Safety Representatives; established an on-site wellbeing room; implemented a process of providing proactive debriefs from a specialist provider to mitigate vicarious trauma from the content employees handle; and introduced ‘Wellness Wednesdays’, a rolling series of tips, resources, and reminders for colleagues to check in on one another and spend some time outside.

Respect Victoria is committed to creating a culturally safe environment where everyone can bring their authentic selves to work. Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion is embedded throughout our work. In 2023-24, all employees had the opportunity to participate in tailored Anti-Racism training and cultural competency and cultural safety training, and participate in activities for NAIDOC Week, RUOK Day, 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence, Midsumma Festival, International Women’s Day, and National Reconciliation Week.  

As part of our commitment to reconciliation, we developed an Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan (to be launched in 2024-25). In addition to training and attendance at external events, we became a Kinaway Chamber of Commerce member and focused on increasing social procurement. As a result, in 2023-24, 3.86% of our contestable spend was with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander-owned businesses.

Workforce data

The following table discloses the headcount and full-time staff equivalent (FTE) of all active public service employees of Respect Victoria, employed in the last full pay period in June of the current reporting period (2024) and in the last full pay period in June of the previous reporting period (2023).

Table 5: Details of employment levels in June 2024
Note 1: Payroll services are provided to Respect Victoria by DFFH.

The following table discloses the annualised total salary for Respect Victoria senior employees, employed in the last full pay period in June of the current reporting period (2024), categorised by classification. The salary amount is reported as the full-time annualised salary. 

Table 6: Annualised total salary, by $20,000 bands, for executives and other senior non-executive staff.

Occupational Health and Safety

We are committed to ensuring all staff and other individuals in the workplace remain safe and healthy at work in accordance with the obligations under the Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) Act 2004 and the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2007.

Incident management

During 2023-24 no incidents occurred; notifiable incidents are those which require the OH&S Officer to be informed. This is consistent with the previous two reporting periods (2022-23 and 2021-22), when there were 0 and 1 notifiable incidents recorded, respectively.

There were no recorded major incidents during the 2023-24 financial year. This is consistent with the previous two reporting periods (2022-23 and 2021-22), when there were also no major incidents recorded.