People matter survey 2021 data, facts and visuals

Get data, facts and visuals from our annual public sector employee survey

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Survey response rate by industry: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021

This graph shows you the percentage of survey respondents across each industry from 2016 to 2021.

The distribution of survey respondents is similar to the distribution of the public sector workforce, excluding public schools.

We don’t show the data from 2020 as some organisations couldn’t take part in the 2020 survey as they were responding to the impacts of the coronavirus (COVID-19). Therefore, the 2020 data isn’t a true representation of the public sector.

We reserve the right to change or correct information at any time.

Number of survey responses and percentage of total responses by industry, 2021

In total, 92,008 Victorian public sector employees voluntarily responded to the People matter survey 2021.

Creative industries, finance, transport and other

5384 respondents
6% of total respondents

Police and emergency services

8174 respondents
9% of total respondents

Public health care

37,889 respondents
41% of total respondents

TAFE and other education

6261 respondents
7% of total respondents

Water and land management

4056 respondents
4% of total respondents

Victorian Public Service

30,243 respondents
33% of total respondents

About the People matter survey

The People matter survey is the Victorian public sector’s annual employee opinion survey.

We run the survey to support public sector organisations to build positive workplace cultures with integrity that live the public sector values.

The survey results tell organisations how employees see their workplaces, including views on:

employee engagement and job satisfaction
career opportunities, learning and development
employee wellbeing
diversity and inclusion climate
equal employment opportunity
job demands, resources and support

Organisations use the results to work out how to improve the workplace for their employees.

Changes to the survey in 2021

In 2021, you’ll see:

annual participation of all public sector organisations
public release of all organisations’ results
refinement to the survey, survey framework and reporting based on academic analysis and user feedback
up to date survey platform with an improved user experience, dashboard reporting and action planning tools
new questions developed in consultation with the Commissioner for Gender Equality in the Public Sector to support organisations to report on progress against the Gender Equality Act 2020

Resources for survey coordinators

For survey coordinator resources, go to People matter survey 2021 resources.