The right to work means every person can earn a living in fair and favourable conditions. Advancing cultural diversity in employment is a legal duty and a core public sector value. This is reflected in Victoria’s Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006, the Equal Opportunity Act 2010, and our international commitments.
Culturally safe workplaces make employees feel valued, respected, and seen. These employees engage more. They collaborate better and stay longer. This helps maintain institutional knowledge and build future leaders.
A workforce that only represents one dominant culture can miss important issues or views. Diverse teams ask different questions. They consider a broader range of perspectives. This improves decision-making and problem-solving.
Employees from diverse backgrounds and experiences bring cultural knowledge. This can improve the relevance, trustworthiness and impact of policy, services, and programs delivered for the Victorian community.
Studies show that policies and programs improve when diverse community members are equitably included in the public sector workforce. This builds trust and confidence in the government and public policies.
The VPS serves one of the most culturally diverse populations in Australia. However, this diversity is not fully reflected in our workforce, leadership, or service delivery systems.
You told us that pockets of good practice exist but systemic barriers remain across the employee lifecycle. This includes:
Current recruitment practices, workplace environments and career development pathways can unintentionally favour the dominant cultural group. This limits access, opportunity and belonging for employees from culturally diverse backgrounds.
This lack of representation affects fairness and inclusion in the Victorian public sector. It also affects the sector’s ability to develop policy, programs and services that meet the needs of Victoria’s diverse communities.
Overall, we can do better. Consultations identified five related themes. These themes guided the development of this strategy.
By taking targeted and systemic action, the VPS can boost talent, increase trust and improve the public sector effectiveness to serve all Victorians.
1. Leadership matters
There needs to be visible representation of culturally diverse employees in executive roles. There also needs to be more meaningful sponsorship from leaders.
2. Inclusive systems and culture
Inclusion should be embedded in these systems:
3. Psychological and cultural safety
Support services must be culturally safe. Data practices should be transparent. These are foundational to inclusion.
4. Data-driven accountability
Data collection, reporting, use, and feedback loops must be improved. This is especially important for progression and exit experiences.
5. Valuing international experience
Qualifications and professional experience of employees who migrated to Australia must be recognised and respected.