Discrimination by cultural background
Dear Australian Public Service Commission,
I am making a request for information under the Freedom of Information Act.
I am seeking APS Census results on experiences of discrimination, basis of discrimination and whether it occurred in their current agency broken down by cultural background from 2023 to 2025.
Yours faithfully
OFFICIAL
Dear Applicant,
I am writing to acknowledge receipt of your request under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 received on 18 October 2025 for access to documents
held by the Australian Public Service Commission.
The timeframe for responding to your request is 30 days from the date of
receipt. Therefore, the due date for this request is 17 November 2025.
This timeframe may be extended in certain circumstances. You will be
notified if these circumstances arise and the timeframe is extended.
Kind regards,
FOI Officer
Legal Services
[1]Title: "" - Description: ""Australian Public Service Commission
[2][IMG][3][IMG][4][IMG]w: [5]www.apsc.gov.au
______________________________________________________________________
IMPORTANT: This message, and any attachments to it, contains information
that is confidential and may also be the subject of legal professional or
other privilege. If you are not the intended recipient of this message,
you
must not review, copy, disseminate or disclose its contents to any other
party or take action in reliance of any material contained within it. If
you
have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately
by
return email informing them of the mistake and delete all copies of the
message from your computer system.
______________________________________________________________________
References
Visible links
2. https://www.linkedin.com/company/austral...
3. https://www.instagram.com/auspublicservi...
4. https://www.linkedin.com/company/apsc/
5. http://www.apsc.gov.au/
OFFICIAL
Dear Applicant,
Thank you for your FOI request.
Following consultation with the relevant areas within the Commission, we
have been informed, the Commission likely holds documents containing the
requested information. However, the documents comprise of datasets
containing individual personal information (responses to surveys),
requiring extensive redactions for personal privacy under s47F of the FOI
Act. As the Commission is currently experiencing a high volume of work,
processing the required redactions would involve an unreasonable diversion
of resources.
Instead, to satisfy your request in the most efficient manner, the
Commission proposes providing you the information via an administrative
release, in the following terms:
· Results will be prepared separately for the 2023, 2024 and 2025
APS Employee Census.
· Aggregated results will be provided in tables for the total group
of APS respondents.
· For groups of respondents comprising each cultural background
asked about in the Employee Census, results for the following questions
will be provided:
o Whether the respondent had experienced discrimination during the last
12 months in connection with their work;
o Whether the perceived discrimination occurred in their agency;
o The basis of the discrimination experienced.
· To preserve privacy and in accordance with the Commission
commitments to respondents, we will not provide results for groups
comprising fewer than 10 respondents. In practice, this will mean that if
fewer than 10 respondents with a specific cultural background have
experiences of discrimination, we will not provide results for the
remaining questions (i.e. whether the discrimination occurred within the
agency and the basis of the discrimination)”.
· Following your agreement to an administrative release, the
Commission would require up to 3 weeks to prepare the information to be
released.
Please advise by Friday, 24 October 2025 if you agree to withdraw your
request and receive the information outlined above via administrative
release.
Kind regards,
FOI Officer
Legal Services
[1]Title: "" - Description: ""Australian Public Service Commission
[2][IMG][3][IMG][4][IMG]w: [5]www.apsc.gov.au
From: FOI <[email address]>
Sent: Monday, 20 October 2025 10:06 AM
To: O <[FOI #13883 email]>
Cc: FOI <[email address]>
Subject: RE: Acknowledgement - FOI | LEX 1668 [SEC=OFFICIAL]
OFFICIAL
Dear Applicant,
I am writing to acknowledge receipt of your request under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 received on 18 October 2025 for access to documents
held by the Australian Public Service Commission.
The timeframe for responding to your request is 30 days from the date of
receipt. Therefore, the due date for this request is 17 November 2025.
This timeframe may be extended in certain circumstances. You will be
notified if these circumstances arise and the timeframe is extended.
Kind regards,
FOI Officer
Legal Services
[6]Title: "" - Description: ""Australian Public Service Commission
[7][IMG][8][IMG][9][IMG]w: [10]www.apsc.gov.au
______________________________________________________________________
IMPORTANT: This message, and any attachments to it, contains information
that is confidential and may also be the subject of legal professional or
other privilege. If you are not the intended recipient of this message,
you
must not review, copy, disseminate or disclose its contents to any other
party or take action in reliance of any material contained within it. If
you
have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately
by
return email informing them of the mistake and delete all copies of the
message from your computer system.
______________________________________________________________________
References
Visible links
2. https://www.linkedin.com/company/austral...
3. https://www.instagram.com/auspublicservi...
4. https://www.linkedin.com/company/apsc/
5. http://www.apsc.gov.au/
7. https://www.linkedin.com/company/austral...
8. https://www.instagram.com/auspublicservi...
9. https://www.linkedin.com/company/apsc/
10. http://www.apsc.gov.au/
I agree to withdrawing my request and being provided that information via an administrative release in the terms outlined
OFFICIAL
Dear Applicant,
Thank you for confirming. The Commission will prepare and provide you the information in due course.
Kind regards,
FOI Officer
Legal Services
Australian Public Service Commission
w: www.apsc.gov.au
-----Original Message-----
From: O <[FOI #13883 email]>
Sent: Tuesday, 21 October 2025 11:31 AM
To: FOI <[email address]>
Subject: RE: Request for administrative release - FOI | LEX 1668 [SEC=OFFICIAL]
I agree to withdrawing my request and being provided that information via an administrative release in the terms outlined
-----Original Message-----
OFFICIAL
Dear Applicant,
Thank you for your FOI request.
Following consultation with the relevant areas within the Commission, we
have been informed, the Commission likely holds documents containing the
requested information. However, the documents comprise of datasets
containing individual personal information (responses to surveys),
requiring extensive redactions for personal privacy under s47F of the FOI
Act. As the Commission is currently experiencing a high volume of work,
processing the required redactions would involve an unreasonable diversion
of resources.
Instead, to satisfy your request in the most efficient manner, the
Commission proposes providing you the information via an administrative
release, in the following terms:
· Results will be prepared separately for the 2023, 2024 and 2025
APS Employee Census.
· Aggregated results will be provided in tables for the total group
of APS respondents.
· For groups of respondents comprising each cultural background
asked about in the Employee Census, results for the following questions
will be provided:
o Whether the respondent had experienced discrimination during the last
12 months in connection with their work;
o Whether the perceived discrimination occurred in their agency;
o The basis of the discrimination experienced.
· To preserve privacy and in accordance with the Commission
commitments to respondents, we will not provide results for groups
comprising fewer than 10 respondents. In practice, this will mean that if
fewer than 10 respondents with a specific cultural background have
experiences of discrimination, we will not provide results for the
remaining questions (i.e. whether the discrimination occurred within the
agency and the basis of the discrimination)”.
· Following your agreement to an administrative release, the
Commission would require up to 3 weeks to prepare the information to be
released.
Please advise by Friday, 24 October 2025 if you agree to withdraw your
request and receive the information outlined above via administrative
release.
Kind regards,
FOI Officer
Legal Services
[1]Title: "" - Description: ""Australian Public Service Commission
[2][IMG][3][IMG][4][IMG]w: [5]www.apsc.gov.au
From: FOI <[email address]>
Sent: Monday, 20 October 2025 10:06 AM
To: O <[FOI #13883 email]>
Cc: FOI <[email address]>
Subject: RE: Acknowledgement - FOI | LEX 1668 [SEC=OFFICIAL]
OFFICIAL
Dear Applicant,
I am writing to acknowledge receipt of your request under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 received on 18 October 2025 for access to documents
held by the Australian Public Service Commission.
The timeframe for responding to your request is 30 days from the date of
receipt. Therefore, the due date for this request is 17 November 2025.
This timeframe may be extended in certain circumstances. You will be
notified if these circumstances arise and the timeframe is extended.
Kind regards,
FOI Officer
Legal Services
[6]Title: "" - Description: ""Australian Public Service Commission
[7][IMG][8][IMG][9][IMG]w: [10]www.apsc.gov.au
______________________________________________________________________
IMPORTANT: This message, and any attachments to it, contains information
that is confidential and may also be the subject of legal professional or
other privilege. If you are not the intended recipient of this message,
you
must not review, copy, disseminate or disclose its contents to any other
party or take action in reliance of any material contained within it. If
you
have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately
by
return email informing them of the mistake and delete all copies of the
message from your computer system.
______________________________________________________________________
References
Visible links
2. https://www.linkedin.com/company/austral...
3. https://www.instagram.com/auspublicservi...
4. https://www.linkedin.com/company/apsc/
7. https://www.linkedin.com/company/austral...
8. https://www.instagram.com/auspublicservi...
9. https://www.linkedin.com/company/apsc/
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #13883 email]
This request has been made by an individual using Right to Know. This message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet. More information on how Right to Know works can be found at:
https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...
Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will be delayed.
If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
______________________________________________________________________
IMPORTANT: This message, and any attachments to it, contains information
that is confidential and may also be the subject of legal professional or
other privilege. If you are not the intended recipient of this message, you
must not review, copy, disseminate or disclose its contents to any other
party or take action in reliance of any material contained within it. If you
have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately by
return email informing them of the mistake and delete all copies of the
message from your computer system.
______________________________________________________________________
OFFICIAL
Dear Applicant,
Please see attached document provided by way of administrative release.
Kind regards,
FOI Officer
Legal Services
Australian Public Service Commission
w: www.apsc.gov.au
-----Original Message-----
From: FOI <[email address]>
Sent: Wednesday, 22 October 2025 8:08 AM
To: O <[FOI #13883 email]>
Cc: FOI <[email address]>
Subject: RE: Request for administrative release - FOI | LEX 1668 [SEC=OFFICIAL]
OFFICIAL
Dear Applicant,
Thank you for confirming. The Commission will prepare and provide you the information in due course.
Kind regards,
FOI Officer
Legal Services
Australian Public Service Commission
w: www.apsc.gov.au
-----Original Message-----
From: O <[FOI #13883 email]>
Sent: Tuesday, 21 October 2025 11:31 AM
To: FOI <[email address]>
Subject: RE: Request for administrative release - FOI | LEX 1668 [SEC=OFFICIAL]
I agree to withdrawing my request and being provided that information via an administrative release in the terms outlined
-----Original Message-----
OFFICIAL
Dear Applicant,
Thank you for your FOI request.
Following consultation with the relevant areas within the Commission, we
have been informed, the Commission likely holds documents containing the
requested information. However, the documents comprise of datasets
containing individual personal information (responses to surveys),
requiring extensive redactions for personal privacy under s47F of the FOI
Act. As the Commission is currently experiencing a high volume of work,
processing the required redactions would involve an unreasonable diversion
of resources.
Instead, to satisfy your request in the most efficient manner, the
Commission proposes providing you the information via an administrative
release, in the following terms:
· Results will be prepared separately for the 2023, 2024 and 2025
APS Employee Census.
· Aggregated results will be provided in tables for the total group
of APS respondents.
· For groups of respondents comprising each cultural background
asked about in the Employee Census, results for the following questions
will be provided:
o Whether the respondent had experienced discrimination during the last
12 months in connection with their work;
o Whether the perceived discrimination occurred in their agency;
o The basis of the discrimination experienced.
· To preserve privacy and in accordance with the Commission
commitments to respondents, we will not provide results for groups
comprising fewer than 10 respondents. In practice, this will mean that if
fewer than 10 respondents with a specific cultural background have
experiences of discrimination, we will not provide results for the
remaining questions (i.e. whether the discrimination occurred within the
agency and the basis of the discrimination)”.
· Following your agreement to an administrative release, the
Commission would require up to 3 weeks to prepare the information to be
released.
Please advise by Friday, 24 October 2025 if you agree to withdraw your
request and receive the information outlined above via administrative
release.
Kind regards,
FOI Officer
Legal Services
[1]Title: "" - Description: ""Australian Public Service Commission
[2][IMG][3][IMG][4][IMG]w: [5]www.apsc.gov.au
From: FOI <[email address]>
Sent: Monday, 20 October 2025 10:06 AM
To: O <[FOI #13883 email]>
Cc: FOI <[email address]>
Subject: RE: Acknowledgement - FOI | LEX 1668 [SEC=OFFICIAL]
OFFICIAL
Dear Applicant,
I am writing to acknowledge receipt of your request under the Freedom of
Information Act 1982 received on 18 October 2025 for access to documents
held by the Australian Public Service Commission.
The timeframe for responding to your request is 30 days from the date of
receipt. Therefore, the due date for this request is 17 November 2025.
This timeframe may be extended in certain circumstances. You will be
notified if these circumstances arise and the timeframe is extended.
Kind regards,
FOI Officer
Legal Services
[6]Title: "" - Description: ""Australian Public Service Commission
[7][IMG][8][IMG][9][IMG]w: [10]www.apsc.gov.au
______________________________________________________________________
IMPORTANT: This message, and any attachments to it, contains information
that is confidential and may also be the subject of legal professional or
other privilege. If you are not the intended recipient of this message,
you
must not review, copy, disseminate or disclose its contents to any other
party or take action in reliance of any material contained within it. If
you
have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately
by
return email informing them of the mistake and delete all copies of the
message from your computer system.
______________________________________________________________________
References
Visible links
2. https://www.linkedin.com/company/austral...
3. https://www.instagram.com/auspublicservi...
4. https://www.linkedin.com/company/apsc/
7. https://www.linkedin.com/company/austral...
8. https://www.instagram.com/auspublicservi...
9. https://www.linkedin.com/company/apsc/
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #13883 email]
This request has been made by an individual using Right to Know. This message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet. More information on how Right to Know works can be found at:
https://www.righttoknow.org.au/help/offi...
Please note that in some cases publication of requests and responses will be delayed.
If you find this service useful as an FOI officer, please ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's FOI page.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
______________________________________________________________________
IMPORTANT: This message, and any attachments to it, contains information
that is confidential and may also be the subject of legal professional or
other privilege. If you are not the intended recipient of this message, you
must not review, copy, disseminate or disclose its contents to any other
party or take action in reliance of any material contained within it. If you
have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately by
return email informing them of the mistake and delete all copies of the
message from your computer system.
______________________________________________________________________