Diversity and Inclusion
Annual Report 2016

Welcome
The 2016 Australia Post Diversity and Inclusion Annual Report provides an overview of our workforce diversity profile, key initiatives and performance against our five focus areas: gender, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, people with disability, and people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex (LGBTI). This report is part of our corporate responsibility commitment and just another way we’re working towards a better future for Everyone, Everywhere, Everyday. This report is presented to the Minister for Communications and complies with the Equal Employment Opportunity (Commonwealth Authorities) Act 1987.

Table of Contents
Welcome	2
Diversity and Inclusion at Australia Post	4
Gender	7
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians	13
People with Disability	18
Culturally and Linguistically Diverse	21
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex	24
Flexibility and Support Tools	26

Please note: 
The diversity metrics presented in this report relate to Australia Post employees and do not include diversity data from employees working within our subsidiaries.

Diversity and inclusion have never been more important for Australia Post. Our large workforce, as well as our vast national footprint and trusted brand mean we have the opportunity to drive and promote an inclusive culture, both within our organisation and throughout the communities we interact with every day across Australia. 
From a commercial perspective, a diverse workforce allows us to better understand and connect with our diverse customer base. Furthermore, we need diversity of thought to come up with innovative products and services as well as to solve the current complex challenges facing our business. 
This Diversity and Inclusion Annual Report showcases the multitude of programs and initiatives that we have implemented over the 2015/16 financial year. I am immensely proud of all that we have achieved at Australia Post. However, I am also conscious that there is plenty more for us to do and that we each have an obligation to ensure Everyone, Everywhere, Everyday feels respected and included.
Ahmed Fahour Managing Director & Group CEO, Australia Post

Diversity and Inclusion at Australia Post
At Australia Post we believe a diverse and inclusive workplace brings out the best in our people and helps us to provide a better service to our customers and communities. We do this by:
•	attracting and retaining people with a range of relevant skills, experiences and capabilities from a broad talent pool 
•	fostering innovation by leveraging the experience and ideas of our people and embracing different viewpoints through “diversity of thought” 
•	developing an inclusive culture where our people are engaged, feel they belong and their unique contribution is valued
•	connecting effectively with our customers and community to understand and respond to their needs.
In 2015/16 Australia Post Group continued to deliver a vast range of diversity and inclusion programs and initiatives focused on five key areas:
•	Overcoming assumptions based on gender stereotypes
•	Closing the gap for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians
•	Supporting the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex (LGBTI) community through PostPride
•	Enhancing inclusion for the culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD)
•	Supporting people with disabilities and care commitments.
We are also proud to have launched our second film series, Under the Sun, as part of the Real Stories Project, aimed at inspiring inclusion through stories and film. Additionally, we continued our partnerships with Netball Australia (One Netball) and Infoxchange (Go Digi) to promote diversity and inclusion throughout the community. 
Digital inclusion
In 2014 Australia Post partnered with Infoxchange to create Go Digi, a four-year digital literacy program that aims to help Australians improve their digital skills and confidence. 
The Go Digi website houses a number of resources. These include easy-to-read learning guides on a range of digital topics, a search tool to find face-to-face learning and tips and tricks on how to be a great Go Digi Mentor by sharing your skills with a colleague, family member or friend. 
The 2016 National Year of Digital Inclusion is a significant element of Go Digi. It aims to raise awareness of digital inclusion at all levels of society, increase participation in the digital world and encourage Australians to “realise their online potential”. It also celebrates the benefits of digital literacy and the resulting accessibility to essential online services and making day-to-day lives easier.
The National Year of Digital Inclusion also ran a series of national events, a Digital Inclusion Research study and other internal activities.
The Real Stories Project: Under the Sun
Under the Sun is the second film release of The Real Stories Project. Off the back of the success of Work Mate, our first short film used to increase awareness about people with a disability, we again invited employees to submit inspiring stories. This time we asked for stories of diversity, respect and inclusion. We received a wonderful array of entries and six winning stories were chosen. Partnering with Taste Creative, we then creatively transformed these stories into a short film series called Under the Sun. 
The film series premiered in Melbourne in May; all of the story winners attended and were presented with an Oscar-style trophy. 
“Under the Sun reflects the wonderful diversity we have at Post,” says Lauren Jauncey, Head of Diversity and Inclusion. “It’s a story based on our own people and the power of acceptance. I think it’s a story that everyone can connect to, learn from and enjoy.” 
You can view the film series at www.realstoriesproject.com.au
One Netball
In 2015/16 Australia Post continued to partner with Netball Australia to create the Australia Post One Netball program (One Netball). The program aims to use the power of the game to attract, mobilise and inspire individuals and communities.
Through this program, the netball community is engaged and empowered to establish welcoming environments to help build connections with new communities and participants. The aim is to encourage long-term involvement in the sport as players, coaches, umpires, administrators, volunteers or fans.
The program includes a range of initiatives, such as the Australia Post One Netball Community Awards, One Netball Ambassador visits, Come & Try Clinics and Connected Clubs & Communities Workshops. These take place at both a national and local level; they strengthen awareness and understanding and drive participation across existing and new audiences, including multicultural and Indigenous communities, people with disabilities, socioeconomically disadvantaged communities and regional and remote communities.
“Netball is a fantastic way to bring people together and build awareness, empathy and understanding of diverse groups, as well as break down personal and social barriers,” Australia Post Chief Customer Officer, Christine Corbett, says. 
Find out more at www.onenetball.org.au 
say2action
According to the 2016 say2action survey, diversity and inclusion was again one of the key contributors to employee engagement:
•	72% of employees feel this organisation values diversity
•	70% of employees believe we have a work environment that is open and respects individual differences
Our diversity profile
Australia Post (not including subsidiaries)
	June 2013	June 2014	June 2015	June 2016	
Women	12,804 (39.1%)	12,644 (38.9%)	12,342 (38.7%)	12,120 (38.7%)	
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander	520 (1.6%)	493 (1.5%)	606 (1.9%)	643 (2.1%)	
CALD	7,549 (23.1%)	7,481 (23.0%)	8,103 (25.5%)	7,914 (25.3%)	
People with Disability	2,332 (7.1%)	2,249 (6.9%)	2,016 (6.3%)	1,868 (6.0%)	
LGBTI	Not recorded	Not recorded	266 (0.8%)	291 (0.9%)	

Gender
Highlights:
•	Launched our landmark Gender Action Plan (GAP), focused on continuing to drive positive change in closing the gender gap
•	Increased  representation of female Executives, Managers and Postal Managers
•	Saw participation of more than 400 women in our targeted female development programs
•	say2action revealed that 62 per cent of women at Australia Post are engaged compared to our overall engagement score of 57 per cent
•	Gender pay gap analysis across the Australia Post Group revealed a 1.4 per cent gap in favour of men.
Outlook:
•	Continue implementation of the GAP key initiatives
•	Better support for our working parents
•	Continue to build greater awareness of the need for gender equality within our business and our communities
•	Close the gender pay gap to zero.
Closing the gender gap at Australia Post
Australia Post continued to invest heavily in developing our female talent to ensure we maintain our momentum in improving the representation of women across all levels of leadership.
Australian women are the most educated in the world (more than 50 per cent of university graduates are female) and yet are underrepresented in the workforce and in particular among the varying levels of leadership.  
We know that improving gender balance at Australia Post will allow us to better reflect, connect with and serve our customers and the community that we work in. Women are responsible for 85 per cent of purchasing decisions and action 93 per cent of online purchases – making them our largest customer segment. 
Improving gender equality is the right thing to do and it is critical to the future success of our business. 
This year we saw the following movements in female representation across various levels of leadership at Australia Post:
•	Executives (Band 4 and above) from 33.3 per cent to 35.4 per cent (160 of 452 employees)
•	Postal Managers from 50.9 per cent to 51.0 per cent (128 of 251 employees)
•	Managers from 35.5 per cent to 36.4 per cent (988 of 2714 employees)
Furthermore, our 2016 say2action survey revealed:
•	62 per cent of our female workforce are engaged (compared to Australia Post’s overall engagement score of 57 per cent)
•	76 per cent of our female employees feel that Australia Post values diversity (compared to Australia Post’s overall score of 72 per cent)
•	72 per cent of females believe that their line manager is open to adjusting their work schedules so they can balance commitments outside of work (compared to Australia Post’s overall score of 68 per cent).
These positive results are validation that our continued investment in women across all levels of our business is having a positive impact on improving gender diversity. 
This year we saw the following movements in female representation across various levels of leadership at Australia Post:
•	Executives (Band 4 and above) from 33.3% to 35.4% (160 of 452)
Launching our GAP
October 2015 saw the official launch of our inaugural GAP at a key event held in Melbourne. Approximately 200 internal and external distinguished guests attended to hear about our documented plan to improve the gender gap both within Australia Post and across the communities we serve.
Our GAP is aligned to our new shared value, “Respecting Everyone”. It provides a clear set of goals and actions focused on these three key areas:
1.	Opportunities: Creating employment and career development opportunities for women
2.	Awareness and capability: Building greater awareness of the need for gender equality within our business and communities as well as improving capability to address gender inequalities
3.	Accountability: Holding our leaders accountable for positive change.
Following the launch, the Diversity and Inclusion team continued to drive significant activity aligned to the GAP. Highlights included:
•	conducting a gender pay gap analysis which revealed a 1.4 per cent pay gap across the Australia Post Group, in favour of men; our goal is to reach a zero pay gap 
•	conducting an analysis around the attraction and recruitment of females across all areas of our business so that we better understand where to focus our efforts in improving female representation
•	analysing the retention and engagement of parents transitioning to and from parental leave and understanding how we can better support them
•	continuing our support for White Ribbon Australia and exploring opportunities to increase Australia Post’s impact in addressing domestic violence
•	setting expectations on the “Respecting Everyone” behaviour as part of the performance review process
•	continued focus on and investment in developing our female talent pipeline as well as supporting women in the community.
Investing in our women
Xplore
Xplore is a leadership and career management program designed to build skills in business relationships, organisational presence, resilience and leadership. Since its launch in 2012 we have had more than 130 women complete the program with a further 45 of our female talent commencing the program from June 2016. 
Of the 42 women who completed the program in November 2015, we have achieved a 92.3 per cent retention rate of this future leadership talent pool. Furthermore, three participants have already been promoted to more senior positions. 
TenProgram
In June 2016 we started our third TenProgram. This six-month formal mentoring program is designed to connect our high-potential Band 4 female talent with Management Committee mentors from across our business. The program involves monthly one-on-one mentoring meetings focused on individual career development goals as well as a series of round-table discussions facilitated by the mentors. Twelve of our talented senior women are participating in this program. 
National Association of Women in Operations (NAWO)
NAWO is a not-for-profit organisation, established to champion women in operations and grow the level of representation of talented women in operational roles. In 2015–16 a total of 88 Australia Post women in operational roles across Victoria, New South Wales, Western Australia and Queensland attended NAWO networking and professional development events. We also had two senior women participate in the NAWO Executive Leadership Program. This program equips participants with the skills, confidence and support to progress to more senior management and executive roles.
ProjectMe
“ProjectMe has literally changed the way I look at life! I have learnt so much about myself over the last six weeks. It has been an incredible experience, full of laughter, some tears and LOTS of self analysis. I have come out the other end a stronger, more determined and confident woman.” Participant
In August 2015 we launched ProjectMe, a career development program designed specifically to help inspire, energise and connect our award-level women across our business. Three hundred and twenty-two women and 58 mentors participated in the program. 
Over six weeks, participants undertook various activities including discussions, workbooks, videos, homework and group mentoring sessions facilitated by an Australia Post mentor.
The weekly program topics included:
Week 1 – Strengthen Me: participants identify strengths and how to use them to feel and be more successful and fulfilled at work and beyond.
Week 2 – Release Me: participants are taught to release any thoughts and behaviours holding them back, to help fuel courage and confidence.
Week 3 – Energise Me: participants learn how to manage stress and improve energy.
Week 4 – Connect Me: participants learn how to increase their impact and connect with others by building exceptional communication skills.
Week 5 – Empower Me: participants plan for their future and any roadblocks to success.
Week 6 – Future Me: participants reflect on and celebrate their learning journey, putting plans in place to make changes stick and create a positive ripple effect for other Australia Post women.
Since completing ProjectMe in September 2015, participants were more actively seeking new opportunities across the business. Of the 322 women who completed the program: 
•	136 successfully obtained temporary transfers to new roles, indicating that these women are being more proactive in managing their career 
•	36 successfully obtained permanent transfers
•	23 were promoted to a higher classification.
Furthermore, 222 participants remain connected on a private Facebook page, sharing information and providing ongoing support to each other.
The following feedback is indicative of the program’s success:
“(She) finally started using the My Learning Hub and said she had no idea how many good reads are on it … and that they’re free.” Manager
“Being a mentor was energising and fulfilling. My group were fabulous – honest, open and proactive – a real joy to work with.” Mentor
Male Champions of Change
In 2015 Ahmed Fahour joined the Victorian Male Champions of Change, a group of male CEOs and senior executives whose mission is to step up beside women to achieve greater gender equality in our businesses and communities. 
Led by Federal Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Kate Jenkins, the group is focused on progressing five issue areas:
1.	Promoting visible personal leadership, through role modelling and from a senior level down
2.	Holding ourselves accountable to clear, consistent gender balance metrics and reporting 
3.	Overcoming everyday sexism in workplace cultures and closing gender pay and career gaps
4.	Supporting flexible working and arrangements that meet the needs of modern families 
5.	Understanding and seeking to address domestic and family violence issues in communities.
“Being part of this group has been invaluable, as I’ve been able to reflect and learn from my peers about how to become a more informed and inclusive leader,” says Ahmed Fahour. 
“I’ve also been privileged to share some of the wonderful work we’ve been delivering as part of our Gender Action Plan. Feedback has been so positive that our Plan is now being used as a benchmark and template for other businesses to build their own – which I think is fantastic recognition of what we’re achieving.”
Women in Innovation on International Women’s Day 
“Women in Innovation” was the theme for International Women's Day 2016, providing an opportunity to recognise female innovation and entrepreneurship at Australia Post and beyond.
Across all state capital cities and within workplaces, celebratory events were held to mark this important occasion that supports gender equality, both at Australia Post and across the communities we serve every day.
Over 200 Australia Post employees met to hear Ahmed Fahour present at the International Women’s Day event in Melbourne. Ahmed shared Australia Post’s progress and commitment to supporting female entrepreneurship and innovation, and improving gender equality. Christine Corbett, Chief Customer Officer, hosted a panel discussion and was joined by guest speakers, Sarah Hamilton, CEO of bellabox and board member of Startup Victoria, and our very own Simone Bachmann, Head of Information Security Innovation and Culture. Simone led a cutting-edge innovation team as part of the Australia Post Intrapreneurship process. The panel discussed their experiences of innovation and entrepreneurship and shared thoughts on how more women can engage in leading-edge innovation.
After the formal discussion, attendees were invited to visit the booths that provided insights into innovation at Australia Post and opportunities to understand how we can encourage more women to be involved. Booths included representatives from our Hack Dayz program - where a diverse range of employees across our business collaborate in an innovation hub to 'hack' an idea; our community - with representatives from The Big Issue Women’s Subscription Enterprise sharing their program; The Australia Post Intraprenuership program - an entrepreneurial innovation program supporting start-up organisations; and more.  
Supporting women in our community
Tall Poppies Summit
In April 2016 Australia Post launched Tall Poppies, a program to help more Australian female entrepreneurs start and grow their own businesses into tomorrow’s success stories.
The inaugural summit brought together key influencers from across the entrepreneurial spectrum and a number of successful female business leaders, to join in exploring the issues affecting Australia’s female participation in the entrepreneurial space. The summit enabled collaborative discussion and provided an opportunity for the audience to ask questions in an open and encouraging environment.
Among others, key presenters and panellists were:
Holly Ransom, CEO, Emergent
Jan Owen, CEO, Foundation for Young Australians
Sally-Ann Williams, Engineering Community & Outreach Manager, Google
Angela Priestly, Editor, Women’s Agenda
Sarah Hamilton, Co-Founder and CEO, bellabox
Ahmed Fahour, Managing Director & Group CEO, Australia Post.
The Australia Post Women’s Stawell Gift
In 2016 Australia Post continued its sponsorship of the Women’s Stawell Gift to ensure equal prize money across the men’s and women’s events. This year’s winner was fifteen-year-old Talia Martin from Ballarat. 
Business Breakfast eCommerce Series
As part of our StarTrack Business Breakfast Series we ran two eCommerce events during April 2016 in Melbourne and Sydney – From start-up to success: Women powering eCommerce – to educate, support and inspire 180 of our business customers to learn from the practical tips and personal experiences of a panel of leading businesswomen in the eCommerce sector.
According to Ben Franzi, General Manager eCommerce Platforms and Digital, "With many of Australia’s top online retailers scaling-up with a female leader at the helm, these events allowed us to strengthen our relationships with and empower our female customers by sharing valuable eCommerce insights and entrepreneurial success stories to help them innovate and improve their own online customer experience.”
The Big Issue Women’s Subscription Enterprise
Australia Post continued to support The Big Issue Women’s Subscription Enterprise, which provides job opportunities for homeless, marginalised and disadvantaged women. Since 2013, Australia Post has engaged the women’s enterprise to sort and collate thousands of Santa mail letters that come through before Christmas.
2015 Our Neighbourhood Community Grant Recipient
Organisation: Project Respect Funded: $10,000   Project title: Employment pathways for economically disadvantaged women
Profile
This grant will expand current services that specifically address the barriers faced by women who are trying to exit the sex industry by providing a practical program which is designed to create sustainable employment and study choices. The project will establish a number of partnerships with educational institutions and service providers and support women through the employment process.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians
Highlights:
•	Achieved our largest number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees on record – 643 
•	Employed 127 new Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people through our award-level recruitment campaign 
•	Employed 32 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in our Christmas Casuals campaign 
•	Increased our traineeship program to 51 trainees with an additional 14 securing ongoing employment with Australia Post 
•	Continued our Employee Care Program delivering essential support and mentoring to our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees and their managers
•	Celebrated Reconciliation and National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee (NAIDOC) weeks with an increased focus on local events
•	Launched our national Indigenous branding across our Letters & Mail Network and StarTrack fleets 
•	Placed 7 students as part of the Indigenous Internship Program with CareerTrackers
Outlook
•	Continue implementation of the 2014–17 Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) measurable targets and actions 
•	Commence development of the fourth Reconciliation Action Plan for implementation in August 2017 
•	Ensure that our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander trainees are well positioned to secure permanent Australia Post employment
•	Continue to increase our workforce to reach 2.5 per cent Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees by July 2017
•	Implement enterprise-wide culture education and awareness training program for employees 
•	Increase the number of our Above Base Grade and Contract level (professional) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees 
•	Increase our student placements with CareerTrackers Indigenous Internship Program.
Supporting our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities – Reconciliation Action Plan 2014–17
This year Australia Post celebrated 27 years of formal commitment to improving the social and economic wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and communities. Australia Post has a very long history of direct engagement with Aboriginal communities – as well as employing Indigenous Australians. Our first formal employment strategy for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians was in 1988 – in an era long before workplace “Reconciliation Action Plans” had even been considered. Australia Post’s first Indigenous Employment Strategy pre-dates the formation of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation, the predecessor to Reconciliation Australia.
Australia Post’s third Reconciliation Action Plan can be found at http://auspost.com.au/media/documents/reconciliation-action-plan-australia-post-2014-17.pdf  
As at 30 June 2016, we had 643 Australia Post staff identified as Aboriginal and or Torres Strait Islander; this includes our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander trainees. We have met our RAP employment commitments for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workforce in Australia Post, which now sits at 2.1 per cent. This growth reinforces Australia Post’s commitment to providing meaningful employment and career opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians and now represents our largest Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workforce on record. Over the 12-month period, July 2015 – June 2016, we achieved 7.5 per cent growth of our workforce. Accordingly, we are confident of reaching our three-year RAP commitment of 2.5 per cent representation by July 2017, and further aspiring to achieve 3.0 per cent workforce in 2020 to match Australia’s population parity.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees  2015:	606 (1.9%) 2016:	643 (2.1%)
2015 AHRI Awards – Finalists Indigenous Employment
Australia Post was selected as one of two finalists in the category for Indigenous Employment, at the Australian Human Resources Institute Awards (AHRI). The AHRI Indigenous Employment Award recognises excellence in Indigenous employment initiatives and programs in the workplace. Australia Post was recognised for the employment outcomes achieved against our stretch targets within our Reconciliation Action Plan. 
Leaders Embrace Indigenous culture
The Letters and Mail Network leadership team participated in a cultural immersion program in Alice Springs (Northern Territory) to deepen their understanding of Indigenous culture and tradition. The Letters and Mail Network is the largest employer of Indigenous people, with over 300 employees who make up 2.0 per cent of our total workforce nationally.
The activity deepened understanding of local Indigenous culture and the group heard about the local peoples way of life, the laws, marriage and naming system, and tribal hierarchy. The Letters and Mail team experienced traditional weaponry and consumed Indigenous bush tucker including witchetty grubs, bush fruits, spices and roast Kangaroo tail. The cultural immersion reinforced our partnership with Indigenous Australians and energised the group to discuss how we can continue to deliver outcomes in employment and support the Indigenous community.
National Reconciliation Week and NAIDOC Week events
The Indigenous team, led by Chris Heelan, National Indigenous Manager, partnered with senior state and territory Australia Post leaders to host local Reconciliation Week events across the country including major events in Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane, Sydney and Hobart. This year our priority was for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal staff to connect and celebrate our progress against the actions and targets in our Reconciliation Action Plan. Collaboration was a key theme, along with recommitment to the partnership and continued support of our Indigenous employees and community. Events included the participation of prominent Indigenous members of the community, including Stan Grant, Australian journalist and correspondent, who was special guest at our Melbourne celebrations. 
NAIDOC Week was once again celebrated across our organisation, with increased local events occurring throughout our facilities. Many of our  643 Indigenous employees attended their local NAIDOC events enabled through the Australia Post NAIDOC leave provisions. This year our NAIDOC celebrations culminated in Darwin, with an Indigenous Employment forum bringing together senior leaders and State Managers across our business to discuss progress and identify new opportunities. Australia Post also participated in the National NAIDOC Awards and Ball event in Darwin, with our largest-ever representation this year, evidence of the increased support for our Indigenous programs.
2016 Indigenous Art Prize: Developing our relationship with the community
Our NSW headquarters, StarTrack House, is located next to the Sydney suburb of Redfern. Redfern Park was the site of the 1992 “Redfern Speech” by Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating, which acknowledged the Year of the World’s Indigenous People. The speech addressed the challenges faced by Indigenous Australians and is widely recognised as one of the great public speeches delivered in Australia. Many of the topics and challenges Mr Keating spoke about are still relevant in 2016. 
The 2016 Indigenous Arts Prize was designed to honour and reflect the 1992 Paul Keating speech, valuing Reconciliation and interpreting the 2016 National Reconciliation Week theme – “Our History, Our Future, Our Story”. Australia Post Indigenous and non-Indigenous employees in NSW and the ACT were invited to submit design concepts that could be translated into artwork through an open competition. The successful employee finalists were recognised at an event in Sydney on 26 May. Members of the local NSW Indigenous Arts sector, members of Australia Post’s Group Properties and representatives of the building architects were all involved in the selection panel. A local Indigenous artist has been commissioned to translate the design for application to the wall at StarTrack House for public viewing. 
CareerTrackers Indigenous Internship Program
CareerTrackers is a national non-profit organisation that creates private sector internship opportunities for Indigenous university students. The program was identified as an opportunity within our Reconciliation Action Plan 2014–17 to address Australia Post’s low participation rate in our professional workforce. Australia Post’s Internship Program provides young talent from these communities with an opportunity to work in a professional environment. Partnering with CareerTrackers allows Australia Post to identify potential talent, support them with their learning and development, and build essential relationships with Indigenous Australia. 
Seven interns began in the 2015 Summer Internship intake with CareerTrackers. We exceeded our target in our Reconciliation Action Plan 2014–17, with commitments of five interns to be placed across the three-year period. Significant growth of the program has been achieved, with 34 intern placement opportunities committed across the organisation for the 2016 summer period.  
Michael Coombs, CEO at CareerTrackers, says, “The program is about retaining students in university, propelling them into their careers and ultimately creating role models that are going to go back to their families, to their communities, to inspire the next generation”.
Supporting our Indigenous community – Indigenous fleet branding
Our commitment to Reconciliation remains very real – in our workplaces and out in the community. The best demonstration of that commitment is the list of practical measures and initiatives that we have inserted into our Reconciliation Action Plan. We are now taking the message of Reconciliation to the streets of Australia – by changing the livery on some of our vehicle fleet. We have started by rebranding 31 trucks, vans and utilities; these vehicles are taking to the roads in all our capital cities and many regional centres. The vehicles carry a clear message that Australia Post and StarTrack are: “Supporting our Indigenous community”.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employee recruitment 
In 2015/16 we continued our strong focus on and investment in attracting and recruiting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander candidates. This resulted in 127 new external Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander placements over the 12-month period. We continued our partnership with the Vocational Training and Employment Centres (VTECs), having placed VTEC candidates into employment with Australia Post across a variety of business areas. 
The Diversity Employment initiative with StarTrack at our Darra facility in Queensland continued delivering very encouraging results. We worked with our VTEC partner, Yourtown, to place 12 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people into permanent roles. The successful candidates continue to receive mentoring support from both Australia Post leaders and Yourtown to maximise their chances of success in their new roles.
Building our talent – Indigenous Traineeship Program 
The investment in our Indigenous Traineeship Program with our regional, rural and remote Post Office network continued with 51 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adult and school-based (Years 11 and 12) trainees taking part this year. The traineeship program began in 2007 and continues to build talent for employment with Australia Post. Trainees complete fully accredited national qualifications in business. A greater focus on transitioning trainees into permanent employment resulted in 14 trainees securing employment with Australia Post in the 12-month period, July 2015 – June 2016, with 100 per cent retention achieved.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Christmas Casuals employment
Australia Post continued to recruit the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community through the highly successful 2015 Christmas Casuals employment program. We employed 32 people during this campaign.
Supply Nation partnership
Australia Post is a partner of Supply Nation, connecting with and procuring more services from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses and suppliers. This year, we again partnered with Melbourne-based Indigenous business Marcus Lee Design to work on the rapup newsletter editions, design our new Australia Post Indigenous corporate wear, and prepare for the August 2016 launch of the Australia Post Indigenous Recruitment and Marketing campaign.
The Australia Post Indigenous decal, designed by Marcus Lee Designs, also featured in our Indigenous branding across the Australia Post and StarTrack fleet. This campaign will see more of our fleet involved in the next year, proudly reinforcing Australia Post’s support for the Indigenous community. Adelaide-based Indigenous owned and operated business, Print Junction, continued to print our 2014–17 Reconciliation Action Plan documents, the Diversity and Inclusion Annual Reports and the Gender Action Plan documents. We continue to work in partnership with our procurement team to investigate new opportunities to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses.
rapup newsletter
Australia Post distributes a newsletter rapup to all our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees. Now in its fourth year of publication, rapup provides regular information on the progress and implementation of the Australia Post Reconciliation Action Plan; it shares stories from our workforce and highlights the success of our programs. The newsletter communicates to our geographically dispersed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees.
Employee Care Program
Australia Post’s Employee Care Program for our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees has delivered improved engagement with both employees and managers. The program outlines a full year of employee support provided by our Indigenous Employee Consultants for new starters, as well as regular scheduled meetings with existing longer-tenured employees. 
2015 Our Neighbourhood Community Grant Recipients
Organisation: Ngaanyatjara Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Women's Council Funded: $10,000 Project title: Trailer delivers fibre art and community benefits
Profile
Tjanpi Desert Weavers will purchase an off-road trailer to provide fibre art sculpture skills development workshops and support for Indigenous women.  Tjanpi provides a culturally and socially appropriate avenue for women in disadvantaged communities across Australia’s vast central desert region to create an income for themselves.
Organisation: Elm Grove Sanctuary Trust Ltd. (Dalmeny, New South Wales)   Funded: $10,000 Project title: Study Centre bridges educational gap for Indigenous students
Profile
This grant provides after school assistance from trained volunteer teachers to help Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from economically disadvantaged backgrounds complete their homework and study. The project intends to make learning fun and help bridge the academic gap. Volunteer musicians will also provide music training with instruments recently donated by professional musicians.

People with Disability
Highlights:
•	Commenced our new Accessibility Action Plan
•	Reached the finals of the AHRI Awards for our disability-awareness film, Work Mate
•	Continued our commitment to the "Stepping Into" internship program
•	Sponsored the Australia paralympic team.
Outlook:
•	Launch and deliver our new Accessibility Action Plan.
Australia Post currently employs 1,868 people who have disclosed a disability, representing 6.0% of our total workforce.
Australia Post is a leading employer of people with disability. Having implemented our first Accessibility Action Plan (2012–15), we are developing our new plan, building inclusion and accessibility to employment opportunities, our products, services and facilities. 
To do so, we have partnered closely with the Australian Network on Disability (AND), convened an internal working group with representatives from across the business and conducted several employee focus groups. 
Australia Post currently employs 1,868 people who have disclosed a disability, representing 6.0 per cent of our total workforce. This places us favourably against the Australian Public Service, which reports 3.0 per cent representation of employees with a disability. 
Stepping Into – the university internship program
This year, partnering again with the Australian Network on Disability (AND), we employed two interns through “Stepping Into” – a program that provides practical work experience for talented students with disability who may otherwise face significant barriers to finding employment. This year’s successful interns were Diana Nguyen, who worked with the Communications team, and Bronwyn Matthews, who worked with the Diversity and Inclusion team. Both placements were extremely successful.
“The Stepping Into program at Australia Post was an amazing opportunity to work in an environment where I am not judged by my disability but am embraced for the skills and strengths I can bring to an organisation.” Bronwyn Matthews
Building disability awareness through Work Mate
Our short film, Work Mate, based on the story of our blind employee, Charlie McConnell, continued to be used as a disability awareness tool within our organisation. This film was first developed as part of The Real Stories Project (see page 2). 
The success of Work Mate and The Real Stories Project was formally acknowledged at the AHRI Awards in December 2015, with Australia Post awarded finalist for the Graeme Innes AM Award for Disability Employment.
Work Mate has continued to win a number of international film festival awards.
Australia Post helps support the 2016 Paralympic team
In March 2016 the Australian Paralympic Committee (APC) proudly named Australia Post as a Major Partner and the official postal and logistics supplier of the 2016 Australian Paralympic Team. Supporting the team for a third consecutive Summer Games campaign, our sponsorship for the 2016 team includes provision of a national fundraising and community engagement campaign, Games uniform delivery and Games-time support of the team.
As the official postal and logistics supplier to the APC, Australia Post and StarTrack will also deliver Paralympic athletes their team kit.
According to APC Chief Executive, Lynne Anderson, “Australia Post demonstrated its strong commitment to Australia’s Paralympic Team in Beijing 2008 and London 2012, and we are thrilled that such an iconic Australian organisation will join us again for what will be our biggest and hopefully our most successful Paralympic Games yet”. 
Australia Post Chief Customer Officer, Christine Corbett, says: “At Australia Post, we know that sport helps build inclusive, cohesive and diverse communities and has the power to unite people. 
“Our partnership with the APC is about combining our nationwide postal and logistics networks with the Australian Paralympic Team’s capacity to bring the Australian community together through sport, fostering a more socially inclusive Australia.
“We are excited to back our Paralympic athletes and support their journey to the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games.” 
The APC is currently preparing to transport more than 170 athletes across 15 sports, from every Australian state and territory, to the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, which begin on 7 September.
Lifestyle Solutions – Work Assist program 
Our Community Relations, Mail Network and Safety teams collaborated with one of Australia Post’s National Community Partners, Lifestyle Solutions (not-for-profit disability services provider), to develop the Work Assist program. The program has provided over 25 opportunities for people living with a disability to gain skills, knowledge and hands-on work placement across the Australia Post Group business. 
The Australia Post and Lifestyle Solutions Partnership also provides Community Mail programs in Alice Springs, NT, and Mayfield, NSW. The programs provide additional work experience opportunities for people living with a disability.
Find out more at www.ourneighbourhood.com.au 
2015 Our Neighbourhood Community Grant Recipient
Organisation: Family Resource and Network Support Inc (Croydon, New South Wales)   Funded: $8,000 Project title: Digital skills for youth with an intellectual disability
Profile 
This grant will focus on tablet and smartphone training for young people with an intellectual disability to give them the knowledge and skills to operate the devices and link up with their local community. A major focus will be to assist participants to use the technology safely, making them less vulnerable to costly mistakes and being exploited.

Culturally and Linguistically Diverse
Highlights:
•	Celebrated our cultural diversity through A Taste of Harmony events
•	say2action survey showed 77 per cent of our CALD employees feel that Australia Post values diversity and 74 per cent believe we have a work environment that is open and respects individual differences
•	Continued our partnership with the AFL to celebrate and promote the Multicultural Round
•	Employed 28 people from a refugee background as part of the Christmas Casuals program.
Outlook:
•	Continue to celebrate and promote our cultural diversity.
Australia Post currently employs 31,281 people from 146 nations, speaking over 64 languages
Cultural diversity is part of who we are at Australia Post as we are fortunate to have a workforce of 31,281 people from 146 different nations, who speak over 64 languages. We reflect the Australian community with a total of 7,914 employees (25.3 per cent) from CALD backgrounds.
Celebrating our cultural diversity
For the fourth consecutive year we sponsored and participated in A Taste of Harmony. This event plays an important role in celebrating cultural diversity and this year Australia Post had over 10,780 employees participate across our offices, facilities and outlets nationally.
As we did in 2015, we encouraged our people to share stories and photos of their A Taste of Harmony events as a way of inspiring other workplaces to participate. The story that most captured the spirit of A Taste of Harmony was submitted by Archerfield Annexe, Heathwood Delivery Centre, Queensland.
The winners have been awarded the enviable prize of having celebrity chef, Ed Halmagyi from Better Homes and Gardens, come to their workplace and personally cook for them in August 2016.
Connecting with our people
say2action 
For the fifth consecutive year the say2action survey was offered in four languages: English, Tagalog, Vietnamese and Chinese (Traditional). 
The say2action results showed that 63 per cent of our CALD workforce are engaged (compared to Australia Post’s overall engagement score of 57 per cent). Additionally, 77 per cent of our CALD employees feel that Australia Post values diversity (compared to Australia Post’s overall score of 72 per cent) and 74 per cent of our CALD workforce believe we have a work environment that is open and respects individual differences (compared to Australia Post’s overall score of 70 per cent).
World Wide English
World Wide English is an interactive, self-paced online English training course. This is available to all our employees who can access the course from work or from home. The course is offered by Post People 1st and caters for beginner to intermediate English language levels. Topics covered include speaking, listening, reading and writing skills. This year a total of 621 employees participated in the training.
Connecting with our community
Working the Australian way
Australia Post again partnered with multicultural services provider AMES Australia and a number of other organisations to deliver workshops to help newly arrived professionally skilled migrants better understand the Australian workplace and what is required to gain and keep employment. Our recruitment professionals participated in workshops, conducted mock interviews and provided feedback to the participants.
2015 Our Neighbourhood Community Grant Recipient
Organisation: Cornerstone Community (Quarry Hill, Victoria) Funded: $6,080   Project title: Community kitchen brings new and established residents together
Profile
This grant expands an existing community garden by installing a community kitchen to create a space for shared meals and community events that connect established local residents with newly arrived migrants. The project aims to establish a kitchen where the local refugee and migrant community can build even stronger links with the local neighbourhood by creating cooking classes and shared meal events.
AFL Multicultural Ambassadors
As the official Multicultural and Community Inclusion partner of the AFL, Australia Post launched a harmonious television advertisement aimed at celebrating cultural diversity in football and recognising how multiculturalism enriches Australian neighbourhoods. You can view the advertisement at www.youtube.com/user/auspost/videos 
This advertisement celebrated the 2016 Toyota AFL Multicultural Round and encourages all Australians to open our minds to the possibility of what everyone has to offer, no matter where they come from.
We also continued the MyPassport initiative, aimed at welcoming thousands of multicultural spectators to the game. Football fans were encouraged to invite someone who had never experienced the thrill of a live match, to attend select AFL games across the country for free.  
Furthermore, fans across NSW were invited to attend the AFL Multicultural Festival presented by Australia Post, at Cathy Freeman Park, in Sydney. There was entertainment from Bollywood dancers and a live performance by Justice Crew, as well as fun activities including rides, food stalls, AFL clinics and multicultural workshops.
Ucan2 mentoring and Christmas Casuals Employment
For the last five years we have supported the Foundation House Ucan2 program. Ucan2 aims to increase education, training and employment options for young people aged between 16 and 24 years from a refugee background.
Over eight months our employees mentor young people to help them integrate into Australian life. This year 22 employees participated, all of whom benefited significantly from the opportunity to develop new skills and give back to the community in a tangible way. To date 129 employees have participated in the program.
This year 20 Ucan2 participants, as well as eight migrants from AMES Australia, had the opportunity to work at Australia Post during our peak Christmas period.
Christmas Island Lunar New Year stamp issue
Australia Post produced the first Christmas Island Lunar New Year stamp issue in 1994 – Year of the Dog. The 45 cent stamps issued were of a dog named Mickey and a Pekinese, both designed by Yen Lau. The Lunar New Year stamp series is created for the Australian territory of Christmas Island, which has a high proportion of permanent residents of Chinese descent.
In February 2016, to celebrate the Year of the Monkey, we released a Lunar New Year stamp issue featuring the mischievous Monkey in calligraphic and pictorial form.

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex
Highlights:
•	Established the Australia Post Midsumma Arts Prize
•	Participated in the Australian Workplace Equality Index
•	Released an International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia (IDAHOT) PostPride film. 
Outlook:
•	Expand PostPride nationally
•	Continue celebration and promotion of LGBTI inclusion
•	Encourage participation in national Pride March events.
PostPride ensures that our workplace culture continues to be one of inclusion and respect
Over the last 12 months PostPride continued to focus on building our network of people who are interested in developing, supporting or learning more about the Australia Post LGBTI community.
Our PostPride network is for everyone –­ LGBTI employees and advocates. We welcome anyone who has a genuine interest in ensuring that everyone is treated with respect, regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity or intersex status.
Midsumma Festival and Australia Post Art Prize
In January 2016 Australia Post continued to support the Midsumma Festival – a celebration of queer art and culture across Melbourne and regional Victoria. In our second year as a sponsor we expanded our approach of supporting the LGBTI arts community with the launch of the inaugural Australia Post Art Prize. Themed around “Identities”, the prize invited interstate, regional, emerging and established artists from the LGBTI community to submit work focused on personal experiences within the queer community. It provided a unique platform for the artists to share their stories with family, friends, colleagues and the wider community.
The finalists featured in an exhibition with works representing the many identities we all have (as a partner, a child, a colleague, queer or LGBTI) and how we can influence the way we relate to each other. Our aim is to build on the success of this year’s prize, and our support of the arts community will form a key part of our ongoing commitment to the festival.
Midsumma Carnival and Pride March
More than 100,000 attendees visited the Midsumma Carnival, which provides Australia Post with an opportunity to show our support of the LGBTI community. This year PostPride members volunteered to take a more active role in planning our involvement at this event.
Australia Post customer and drag queen, Rhonda Butchmore, made a number of guest appearances to greet festival-goers. She also found time to pose for the street artists who created a wall of art to be auctioned at the Midwinta Gala Ball to raise funds for the 2017 festival. 
PostPride volunteers greeted visitors who wrote messages of inclusion and love which were placed on PostPride banners. PostPride members, family and friends proudly walked beneath these banners in the Pride March. This is the second consecutive year that Australia Post has walked in the Pride March.
Mark Nilsson, PostPride member, played a key role in the Victoria events crew and volunteered at the carnival. He said of PostPride
“I never thought I would see the day that my employer was supporting and endorsing diversity in this way for my community. I was already proud to be a member of the LGBTI family outside of work, and when the PostPride idea was formed I was actually surprised Australia Post would support such an initiative and was keen to be involved. It gives me even more of a sense of belonging to my workplace and being able to positively represent both groups together to the wider community is a really great thing.” 
PostPride comes out in Sydney
Momentum
In February PostPride came out in Sydney with an event held at StarTrack House. This event, Momentum, provided the first opportunity for NSW PostPride members to connect in person with other members and management. The evening featured a number of employees sharing their inspiring stories and talking about the importance of focusing on LGBTI inclusion. The event also aimed to build some momentum for future activities and events. 
International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia
This year we created a very special film to highlight the challenges and issues faced by people questioning their gender identity. PostPride member Alexis-Kiara shared her story of transition, family and respect in a short film we launched on 17 May in recognition of International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia. The film now has almost 30,000 views and has received overwhelming support from our people and the broader community. The film was also shared with other organisations including samesame and IDAHOT Australia. It can be viewed at  https://www.facebook.com/australiapost/videos 
For Alexis-Kiara, the opportunity to share her story in this way was an empowering and freeing experience: 
“I hope that in sharing this story it might help someone, somewhere, understand that they are not alone and that it will be OK”.
How inclusive are we?
In March 2016 Australia Post lodged a submission with Pride in Diversity for the Australian Workplace Equality Index (AWEI). The AWEI is a national benchmark on LGBTI workplace inclusion that drives best practice in Australia and sets a comparative benchmark for Australian employers across all sectors. 
Based on our activities over the first year of PostPride we achieved participant status. The results of the index will now be used to determine our priorities and actions for the next year.

Flexibility and Support Tools
Australia Post continues to provide a range of flexibility options for all employees. Our Workplace Flexibility Policy helps to facilitate flexible work arrangements and assists us in attracting, engaging and retaining the right people at Australia Post.
We also offer a Flexibility at Post Toolkit for managers to enhance their understanding of employees’ legal obligations and how they can use different techniques to think laterally about the opportunities that flexibility can bring to their work area. It is essential that we continue to build a flexible culture and equip our leaders with the skills and mindset to think openly about flexible work arrangements.
According to our 2016 say2action survey, 68 per cent of employees believe that their line manager is open to adjusting their work schedule so they can balance commitments outside of work. 
Supporting Australia Post parents
Maternity and paternity leave
Female employees at Australia Post who have had more than 12 months continuous service are offered 14 weeks maternity leave at full pay or 28 weeks at half pay when they have their baby. This year 453 female employees took maternity leave compared to 502 the previous year. Fathers and partners are offered to take up to eight weeks unpaid paternity leave. This year 179 male employees took paternity leave, an increase on the 155 who took paternity leave last year.
As part of the GAP this year, the Diversity and Inclusion team has reviewed the policies for parental leave and will make recommendations to improve our support of Australia Post parents.
Executive-level Parental Leave Coaching 
This year we continued to provide our executive-level women with the opportunity to access Parental Leave Coaching. This involves individual support directed at their personal needs and business requirements in relation to: 
•	preparing for the transition to parental leave
•	remaining connected to the workplace while on leave
•	successfully managing their return and re-engaging in the business. 
In 2016–17 we will be piloting an online self-paced coaching tool, which will be accessible for all employees taking parental leave. The tool will provide coaching for those who are due to go on leave, connection to the online program while on parental leave, and advice on how to engage in their return to work.  
We will also be training selected employees across the business to be coaches for those who are going on and returning from parental leave. These coaches will provide extra help to those employees to understand how they can best support their career and family commitments. 
Parents at Post Forum
The Parents at Post Forum is an informal networking group for parents across the business to connect and provide support and advice to each other on the challenges of balancing parenthood and their careers. This year the group invited senior managers to share their experiences, which gave guidance to members when considering how they could manage their career and family. The group has grown to over 120 members, with most members based in Melbourne CBD offices, and has extended to include members from NSW.
The group also shares online via a newly established Yammer page that enables participants to ask questions, share articles of interest and support each other.
ParentalReady Toolkit
The ParentalReady toolkit is available to all employees and assists expectant employees, managers, fathers and partners in navigating the parental experience.
Other flexibility offerings
For Australia Post, flexibility is not just about supporting parents but is also about our commitment to offer work–life balance opportunities to all our employees. Accordingly, we have continued initiatives such as 48/52 or purchased leave, employment breaks, transition to retirement and carer’s leave.
48/52 or purchased leave
48/52 provides an additional four weeks unpaid leave in a year to give employees the opportunity to better balance their work and private life. An employee accessing 48/52 will receive their normal base fortnightly salary, but with an automatic deduction for a 12-month period to cover the four weeks without pay. This year 1,844 employees took purchased leave compared to 1,865 last year. 
Employment break
The employment break provision allows employees to take a lengthy break from the workforce for family reasons. It recognises that we all experience changing life circumstances that, while temporary, may demand full-time attention. Employment breaks help staff take time out to cover these periods knowing they have the security of a job to return to. An employment break may be for a period of three months to a maximum of three years. This year 175 employees opted to take an employment break, which was a slight increase on last year (165).  
Transition to retirement – Create Your Future
Given that nearly 60 per cent of our workforce are aged 45 and over, our transition to retirement initiative, Create Your Future, is critical in supporting our retiring employees as well as ensuring that we adequately retain and transfer their valued skills and knowledge. The program aims to support mature-age employees to make important decisions and plan for later-in-life career and retirement changes. This year 621 employees experienced either a face-to-face or online version of the program. 
Carer’s leave
Carer’s leave is available to employees who need to care for a member of their immediate family or household who is sick or requires care due to an unexpected emergency. This year 10,286 employees accessed carer’s leave compared to 10,458 last year. 
Part-time employment
Employees can request conversion from full-time to part-time employment to achieve a balance between their work and personal needs for either a fixed period or as a permanent arrangement. This year 74.8 per cent (23,412) of Australia Post employees were full time and 25.2 per cent (7.869) were part time.
Partnering with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander suppliers
As part of our commitment to building sustainable partnerships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander business, Australia Post is a signatory to Supply Nation to actively procure services from suppliers that are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander owned, managed and controlled. This year’s Annual Diversity & Inclusion Report has been printed by certified Supply Nation supplier, Print Junction. 
For more information on diversity and inclusion at Australia Post Please contact diversityandinclusion@auspost.com.au 
www.auspost.com.au