Key performance indicators (KPIs) for the public sector in 2024

About the KPIs

In consultation with department secretaries, we have created these KPIs to monitor public sector performance, progress and improvement areas for the coming years.

Why they’re important

The public sector has a critical role in:

delivering services to the Victorian community
contributing positively to the economy as one of Victoria’s major employers.

Our workforce can deliver the best outcomes for Victorians when we:

are engaged
act with integrity
reflect the diversity of the community
have high levels of wellbeing.

Monitoring progress over time is one way to look for opportunities to grow and evolve.

How we developed them

To track these KPIs, we compare the 2024 results with:

2023 and 2021 People matter survey data — the data we collect through the annual employee opinion survey

2023 and 2021 workforce data — the data we collect from public sector payroll and HR systems.

We don’t compare with the People matter survey 2022 data because the list of participating organisations was smaller and not comparable.

We break down the KPIs in 2 ways:

Victorian Public Service (VPS) — the 10 departments, Victoria Police and 42 authorities and offices defined to be public service employers under the Public Administration Act 2004

Whole public sector — the VPS combined with all other public sector bodies outside of the VPS that have a public function.

Participation in the People matter survey

Insights from the People matter survey benefit all Victorian government organisations.

Higher participation rates give us better insights into what we’re doing right and where we need to improve.

Employees who did the survey (Victorian Public Service)64%+2% from 62% in 2023+14% from 50% in 2021

Employees who did the survey (whole public sector)44%+2% from 42% in 2023+5% from 39% in 2021

Response rate base

Response rates are based on the number of employees at organisations who took part in the People matter survey 2024.

Note: Victorian government schools don’t participate in the People matter survey.

Diversity and inclusion

The Victorian community is one of the most diverse societies in the world.

Our public sector should reflect the community it serves.

Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander employees

Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander employees bring unique knowledge, skills, insights and expertise on the needs and aspirations of their community.

The Victorian public sector launched the 5-year Aboriginal Employment Strategy Barring Djinang in 2017.

In 2025, the new Barring Djinang: First Peoples Workforce Development Framework was launched as a 4-year strategy to enhance Aboriginal employment outcomes across the Victorian public sector.

We estimate the number of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander employees using workforce data and the People matter survey 2024 results for the public sector.

In 2024, we refined how we estimate the percentage of employees who identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander. As a result, we don’t directly compare 2024 data to 2023.

Note: The whole public sector results do not include government schools.

Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander employee estimates (Victorian Public Service)760 (1.33%)from 1.2% in 2023from 1.2% in 2021

Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander employee estimates (whole public sector)3,256 (1.15%)from 1.08% in 2023from 1.07% in 2021

Employees with disability

Getting to work is Victoria’s long-term employment plan for people with disability in the public sector.

The plan supports a target of 12% representation of people with disability in the Victorian Public Service by 2025.

We estimate the number of employees with disability using workforce data and the People matter survey 2024 results.

The whole public sector results for 2024 don’t include government schools.

Employees with disability estimates (Victorian Public Service)5,382 (9.4%)+496 from 4,886 (8.5%) in 2023+1,740 from 3,642 (5.0%) in 2021

Employees with disability estimates (whole public sector)19,885 (7.0%)+3,193 from 16,692 (6.1%) in 2023+7,022 from 12,863 (5.0%) in 2021

Gender equality

Victoria’s Gender Equality Strategy and Action Plan 2023 to 2027 is designed to create a gender-equal state.

We use the overall pay gap between women and men as a way to measure workplace gender equality.

Median gender pay gap (Victorian Public Service)0.0%- 1.8% from 1.8% in 2023- 2.0% from 2.0% in 2021

Median gender pay gap (whole public sector)10.1%+ 0.1% from 10.0% in 2023+ 0.8% from 9.3% in 2021

Integrity

A public sector that operates with integrity is critical to building trust and delivering services for the Victorian community.

We measure integrity as:

being fair, honest and transparent
providing frank and impartial advice
creating an environment where employees feel safe to raise issues or challenge inappropriate behaviour.

Organisational integrity

Organisations demonstrate integrity by:

having fair recruitment and promotion processes
addressing negative behaviours and improper conduct
acting in the best interests of Victorians.

This includes:

Organisations being committed to earning a high level of public trust.
Organisations refusing to tolerate improper conduct.
Organisations taking steps to eliminate bullying, harassment and discrimination.
Organisations encouraging respectful workplace behaviours.
Organisations ensuring recruitment and promotion is fair.
Organisations ensuring everyone has a fair chance at promotion.
Organisations encouraging behaviours consistent with human rights.

Employees who agree their organisation is committed to integrity (Victorian Public Service)67%Unchanged from 67% in 2023

Employees who agree their organisation is committed to integrity (whole public sector)67%Unchanged from 67% in 2023

Providing frank and impartial advice to managers, leaders and ministers

Public sector employees demonstrate integrity by providing frank, impartial and timely advice to their managers, senior leaders and the Victorian Government.

Employees who agree their workgroup gives frank and impartial advice to managers and leaders (Victorian Public Service)74%Not asked before 2024

Employees who agree their workgroup gives frank and impartial advice to their ministers (Victorian Public Service) *65%Not asked before 2024.

*These numbers exclude respondents who don’t directly work with ministers or their office.

In 2024, employees were asked separately whether they agree:

their workgroup gives frank and impartial advice to managers and leaders
their workgroup gives frank and impartial advice to their Minister (where applicable).

Responses to 'My workgroup gives frank and impartial advice to their managers and leaders' were:

74% agreed or strongly agreed
14% neither agreed or disagreed
9% disagreed or strongly disagreed
3% didn't know.

Responses to 'My workgroup gives frank and impartial advice to their ministers' were:

65% agreed or strongly agreed
28% neither agreed or disagreed
7% disagreed or strongly disagreed.

The results above exclude the respondents who didn't directly work with ministers or their offices.

In 2023, the People Matter survey asked whether employees agreed their workgroup gives frank and fearless advice to managers, leaders (including the Minister, where applicable). The difference in wording means this question is not directly comparable to the 2024 results.

For reference, in 2023, the responses from all VPS respondents to ‘My workgroup gives frank and fearless advice to managers, leaders (including the Minister, where applicable)’ were:

58% agreed or strongly agreed
8% didn't know
21% neither agreed or disagreed
7% disagreed or strongly disagreed.

Creating a culture where it’s safe to speak up

Employees feel safe to speak up in an environment where they can raise issues and challenge inappropriate behaviours without fear of retribution.

Employees who feel safe to speak up (Victorian Public Service)73%Unchanged from 73% in 2023+3% from 70% in 2021

Employees who feel safe to speak up (whole public sector)70%-1% from 71% in 2023+3% from 67% in 2021

To come up with the safe to speak up KPI, we have combined employee responses to these 2 statements:

I feel safe to challenge inappropriate behaviour at work

People in my workgroup are able to bring up problems and tough issues.

Victorian Public Service responses

73% agreed or strongly agreed.
14% neither agreed or disagreed.
13% disagreed or strongly disagreed.

Victorian public sector responses

70% agreed or strongly agreed.
15% neither agreed nor disagreed.
14% disagreed or strongly disagreed.

Due to rounding, numbers may not add up to 100.

Employee engagement

A high employee engagement score shows employees are committed to and enthusiastic about their work. It leads to improved wellbeing, higher productivity and job satisfaction.

The employee engagement index is a score out of 100.

Engagement index (Victorian Public Service)67-1 from 68 in 2023-3 from 70 in 2021

Engagement index (whole public sector)69+1 from 68 in 2023-1 from 70 in 2021

The engagement statements are:

My organisation motivates me to help achieve its objectives
My organisation inspires me to do the best in my job
I would recommend my organisation as a good place to work
I feel a strong personal attachment to my organisation
I am proud to tell others I work for my organisation.

The weightings for each engagement response are:

strongly agree is 100 points
agree is 75 points
neither agree nor disagree is 50 points
disagree is 25 points
strongly disagree is 0 points.

The index is the average of these scores.

Health, safety and wellbeing in the workplace

Safe and healthy work environments benefit employees, employers and the Victorian community.

A safe workplace is a key outcome of the Victorian public sector mental health and wellbeing charter.

Employee wellbeing

This measures the degree to which public sector employees are:

enthusiastic and happy at work
rarely worried and miserable.

Positive wellbeing leads to higher levels of engagement and productivity. This then contributes to improved motivation and retention.

Wellbeing (Victorian Public Service)46%Unchanged from 46% in 2023+1% from 45% in 2021

Wellbeing (whole public sector)48%+1% from 47% in 2023+4% from 44% in 2021

To come up with the employee wellbeing KPI, we have combined employee responses in the People matter survey about positive and negative emotions.

Victorian Public Service responses

Employees who feel enthusiastic or happy at work:

48% often, very often or always.
38% sometimes.
14% rarely, very rarely or never.

Employees who feel worried or miserable at work:

23% often, very often or always.
33% sometimes.
43% rarely, very rarely or never.

Victorian public sector responses

Employees who feel enthusiastic at work:

52% often, very often or always.
35% sometimes.
13% rarely, very rarely or never.

Employees who feel worried or miserable at work:

23% often, very often or always.
33% sometimes.
43% rarely, very rarely or never.

Due to rounding, not all numbers will add up to 100.

Experiencing negative behaviours in the workplace

Negative behaviours like bullying, discrimination, sexual harassment and aggression or violence have an impact on the health, wellbeing, behaviour and performance of employees. This can contribute to high-to-severe stress.

Employees who experienced one or more negative behaviour (Victorian Public Service)21%+1% from 20% in 2023Unchanged from 21% in 2021

Employees who experienced one or more negative behaviour (whole public sector)29%-1% from 30% in 2023-2% from 31% in 2021