Gender Equity Action Plan 2024-2027

Commissioner’s foreword

I am pleased to introduce the inaugural Australian Federal Police (AFP) Gender Equity Action Plan (GEAP) for 2024-2027.

This plan outlines distinct steps to bridge opportunity gaps and sets in place the strategy to ensure we provide an environment where every member of our workforce has the opportunity to thrive. The responsibility to cultivate an AFP culture that is inclusive, respectful, and empowering, within our workplaces across Australia and around the globe is shared by all, in accordance with the AFP’s core values.

As Commissioner of the AFP, one of my primary objectives is to increase the representation of sworn, female members. To reflect this commitment, in 2021, I set an ambitious target of achieving a 30% sworn female workforce by 2028. This target is now a key performance indicator embedded in the AFP Diversity & Inclusion Strategy.

The AFP also embarked on a collaboration with th Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) in 2021, guided by the Australian Sex Discrimination Commissioner, to adopt a human-rights based approach for enduring change that aligns with our values of diversity, and inclusion. This alliance included the Gender Pay Gap & Equity Research Project, with research from this project informing the development of the AFP’s first GEAP.

The AFP set a gender diversity target to foster accountability and to ensure we are an employer of choice, positioned to attract and retain a diverse range of members with varied skillsets who reflect the communities we serve and protect.

Overcoming entrenched barriers takes sustained, enterprise-wide commitment and the willingness to look beyond our organisation, which is why we have partnered with external experts in developing our plan.

We are all custodians of culture within the AFP, and I encourage all members to engage with this plan and work together towards a more inclusive workforce.

Commissioner Reece Kershaw APM

AFP Champions for Women Foreword

When we take action to create a more diverse and inclusive workplace, everyone benefits.

The AFP’s Gender Equity Action Plan (GEAP) will provide a pathway to drive gender-equal outcomes for everyone to feel safe, supported, and connected in the workplace.

In 2021, AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw announced a 30 per cent target for women in our sworn workforce by 2028. Since then, the AFP has made progress towards this target – acknowledging that it should be seen as the floor, and not the ceiling.

As the AFP’s Champions for Women, we are proud to recognise the incredible work and efforts of the women and gender diverse members who make up a part of our workforce. When we value diversity of thought, action, and leadership, only then can we reach our full potential as a modern policing agency.

Research shows that when people of all genders are at the table, discussions are richer, decision- making processes are stronger and organisations perform more effectively. The AFP is no exception, as we find immense value in amplifying their voices, and promote opportunities for women, who enrich our workforce today, and into the future.

As you may know, a career in the AFP can be incredibly varied. Creating an environment that fosters inclusion and celebrates diversity is a key priority for the AFP. We know that different perspectives, cultures and lived experiences are integral to our work, and a workplace where all genders are valued, is a workplace where we can all thrive.

Assistant Commissioner Justine Gough

Assistant Commissioner Grant Nicholls

Introduction

The AFP Gender Equity Action Plan (GEAP) 2024-2027 provides a sustained framework for embedding gender equity principles across all aspects of the organisation. This plan marks the AFP’s first dedicated three-year roadmap on how we will promote and improve gender equity in our workforce.

The Gender Equity Action Plan: In Context

“All workplaces have a responsibility to ensure that decisions on recruitment, promotion, role allocation and access to flexible work are not influenced by gender bias or assumptions.”

The AFP GEAP has been guided by external frameworks, including the national Working for Women: A Strategy for Gender Equality (2024); the action areas of the Australian Public Service Gender Equality Strategy 2021-26; as well as Australia’s National Action Plan on Women Peace and Security, which forms the basis of the AFP’s International Gender Strategy.

In this first GEAP, the AFP is focusing on embedding changes to processes, structures and supports that our members interact with through their career life cycle.

The Workplace Gender Equality Agency | Gender Equality Indicators

When people feel safe and respected at work, and when they enjoy equality of opportunity, they can thrive and be more productive, while organisations and businesses also benefit.

The AFP is committed to ongoing measurement of gender equality in our workforce. Since 2022, we have been voluntarily reporting our gender equality metrics to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) against the six WGEA gender equality indicators (GEIs), before mandatory public sector reporting began in 2023. The six GEIs have been mapped against the outcomes of this GEAP for ongoing reporting, monitoring and evaluation purposes.

Equality and Equity

There was some consideration about naming this gender action plan an equality plan or an equity plan.

The term equality means the state of being equal where as equity means what is fair and just.

Equality is used across many APS agencies, Australian states, institutions, and organisations, and is used by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency. The AFP also recognises that different approaches are required for different groups in the AFP to achieve equity, and that if equality is the end goal, equity helps us pave the way.

The Diversity & Inclusion Strategy and the Gender Equity Action Plan

Delivering maximum impact to the criminal environment requires us to be as diverse and dynamic as the environment in which we operate.

The AFP Diversity & Inclusion Strategy 2023-2026 (our Strategy) sets out our diversity and inclusion priorities, with a focus on embedding sustainable changes to systems and structures where people interact across the employee life cycle.

Our GEAP is aligned to the outcomes under our Strategy’s RESULTS model: Recruit, Educate, Support, Uplift, Lead, Track and Sustain.

This GEAP was created during the first foundational stage of our Strategy, and is being implemented as we shift from foundational to an enhancement phase across 2024- 2025.

We are committed to applying an intersectional lens to work under our Strategy. We recognise our people are unique and multifaceted and bring different overlapping layers of their identity to work each day. Experiences of gender inequality can be compounded by the different experiences we each have, such as our race, religion, age, ability, class, sexual orientation and languages spoken.

In line with our intersectional approach, action items in the GEAP that can bring benefits across multiple diversity focus areas have been prioritised for delivery.

The Results approach - Gender Equity Action Plan

GEAP Actions: where we are heading

Embedding intersectionality

The AFP Gender Equity Action Plan is the primary document that outlines our roadmap in promoting and enhancing gender equality within our workplace. However, in alignment with best practice, we are committed to embedding an intersectional lens into our future initiatives to ensure that our approach is holistic and multidimensional. Our people are unique and multifaceted, and so our actions need to be widely-encompassing and all-inclusive in order to deliver the maximum positive impact on our diverse workforce, in all aspects of their lives.

Many initiatives outlined within the AFP GEAP are directly relevant and applicable to enhancing the experiences of other diversity cohorts.  Such actions are identified with within the AFP GEAP a unique symbol in recognition of their intersectional impact and relevance across multiple channels of influence. In doing so, we acknowledge the broad interlinkages and overlaps in the pursuit of equity and equality for all forms of diversity. In doing so, we acknowledge the broad interlinkages and overlaps in the pursuit of equity and equality for all forms of diversity.

Further details of these actions, and our approach to intersectionality, can be found within the AFP Diversity and Inclusion Strategy 2023-2026: Phase 2 Implementation.

Recruit a gender-balanced workforce (40/40/20)

The AFP is striving to reach gender balance across our workforce.

Our end goal is guided by the best-practice 40/40/20 gender balance model: 40% men, 40% women, and the remaining 20% of any gender, depending on the recruitment pipeline at the time.

In this first GEAP, the initial focus is on increasing representation in our sworn cohort (our police and protective service officers) by creating fair and inclusive recruitment processes that attract candidates of all genders.

• Stretch Target: 30% women in sworn workforce by 2028. 
• Current State: As at 30 June 2024, women represent 23.9% of the sworn workforce (comprising 26.2% of police, 14.1% of PSOs).

What we know

Entry-level recruit programs remain the main access point for new hires into police roles - and the only entry point for protective service officers (PSO) roles.

To reach our gender target, deliberate and strategic action will be required to attract women - particularly through our policing stream.

From the 2025-26 financial year, women will need to account for a steadily increasing proportion of the 40/40/20 model for recruit gender balance the closer we get to 2028. Decoupling the current target, and focusing specifically on the policing stream, will be required to reach this target.

Efforts will also need to be maintained to apply a 40/40/20 gender balance ratio to lateral transfers, who come across from state and territory police.

How the AFP engages, delivers, and develops new recruitment rounds is only one consideration; retention strategies to address how we make our workplace an attractive, safe and inclusive environment for all genders is also critical when looking to increase representation and is considered across the other outcomes of this GEAP.

D&I Strategy	Action	Indicator of success	Linked WGEA GEI
R1	Establish Diversity Pipeline working group to implement actions to achieve Strategy targets, including but not limited to: Affirmative measures recruitment rounds Assess and evaluate external PSO recruitment campaign Amend Selection Advisory Committee report templates for hiring processes Develop and implement guiding principles for diversity considerations to enable panel members to evaluate diversity considerations in recruitment and promotion opportunities	Meet recruitment targets	GEI1
R2	Update modelling for 30% sworn women to continue to provide a data driven and strategic approach to Board decision making about future workforce	Improved strategies to meetrecruitment target	GEI1
R3	Amend default role descriptions in AFP systems for all internal and external job advertisements to make roles ‘flexible by default,’ including explicit mention of part-time role availability [noting exceptions to sworn roles]	Increased number of applications from all genders and candidates of diverse backgrounds, directly attributableto these measures	GEI1 GEI4
R4	Develop standardised inclusive language prompts for job advertisements to engage and attract a diverse talent pool	Increased number of applications from all genders and candidates of diverse backgrounds	GEI1
R5	Implement Learning and Development Command Reform initiatives such as regional recruit training courses, to help recruits stay closer to family for longer periods	Increased numbers of women applying to sworn recruitment streams	GEI1 GEI4

Educate our workforce on the value of gender equality

The Gender Pay Gap and Equity research project revealed key insights into current AFP workplace attitudes and beliefs relating to gender equality.

Shifting gender stereotypes around choices in the workplace and how these are impacting women, men and gender diverse members, and supporting supervisors through this process, will be the focus of this first GEAP.

What we know

Many of the decisions made which can impact the total take home pay for men, women and gender diverse members in the AFP are made at the Sergeant and team leader level.

First level supervisors are the custodians of AFP culture, and set the norms for how policies are implemented in practice.

Role-modelling examples of flexible work, job-sharing and successful return to work processes helps to transfer policy into action, particularly in operational teams.

D&I Strategy	Action	Indicator of success	Linked WGEA GEI
E1	Develop the Cultural Learning Continuum to enhance enterprise capability and increase inclusion. Including: First Level Leader Training to enhance understanding and implementation of diversity and inclusion principles Lived Experience Library to showcase storytelling on the impacts of gender norms in the workplace	Cultural Learning Continuum is in place and being utilised First Level Leader Training launched High engagement with Lived Experience Library content relating to gender	GEI5
E2	Develop an evidenced-based communications messaging matrix to support ongoing gender equality messaging in the AFP	Regular gender-informed messaging included in AFP communications channels	GEI5
E3	Implement Parental Leave Reform: develop resource materials to simplify and streamline parental leave advice for members and supervisors to help members maximise entitlements and plan their return to work	Increased positive feedback in staff surveys	GEI4 GEI5

Support our people to equitably access pathways and promotion

Recruitment is only one area of focus when it comes to increasing gender balance in our workforce representation - embedding inclusive practices into our organisational culture through support systems is key to enabling choice in careers.

This includes initiatives that support a culturally and psychologically safe workplace and actions that support us to retain people with diverse lived and professional experience.

What we know

The proportion of women in SES senior leadership positions has doubled in the AFP since 2014-15: from 20.2% to 41.2% as at 30 June 2024.

While the AFP had had success in increasing the representation of women at senior levels, further efforts will be required to concentrate on developing the pipeline of future talent.

Critical to any retention and development initiatives is the need for an overall safe and inclusive environment for members of all genders and overlapping forms of diversity in the workplace.

D&I Strategy	Action	Indicator of success	Linked WGEA GEI
S1	Identify career barriers for diverse groups: Develop career and leadership pathways to enhance career progression	Increased understanding of barriers to career progression Improved pathways for progression	GEI1 GEI2 GEI3
S2	Continued investment in women’s mentoring and development programs	Increased sponsorship of additional women’s mentoring and development programs	GEI1 GEI3
S3	Promote greater gender balance in international deployments	Gender balance in international deployments is the same as, or more balanced than, gender balance in the AFP as a whole by 2030	GEI3
S4	Review AFP Family and Domestic Violence (FDV) supports and training for supervisors with a view to increase supervisor capability to support team members experiencing FDV	Review completed. Recommendations presented to Executive	GEI5 GEI6
S5	Improved accountability of enterprise requirement that all leadership development programs have a gender balance	Increase in number of leadership programs reporting a gender balance	GEI1 GEI2
S6	Embed hybrid training delivery options for core sworn training development pathways (e.g., Detective Training Program)	Additional hybrid training delivery options incorporated	GEI1 GEI5

Uplift and improve our workplace policies towards leading employment practice across law enforcement

To become a modern policing agency, our policies and procedures need to be contemporary and fit for purpose to enhance the experiences of our people.

In doing so, a gendered lens needs to be applied to our policy design and review in recognition of that the impact of different policies can manifest in different ways based on their uptake.

Notably, our research highlights the need to consider the way in which we implement flexible work arrangements, how we engage in job design and the impacts of periods of long-term leave. These issues have significant gendered differences – with our findings highlighting the need to support men to spend more time with their families either through secondary carer’s leave, extended personal leave, or flexible working arrangements on return from leave.

What we know

Educating the workforce on on the AFP’s support for providing equal access to parental leave for all parents in the AFP, irrespective of gender, sends a powerful message about the impost of the current status quo in which caring for children falls disproportionately on women.

Access to flexible working arrangements and part-time work can be dependent on the personal views of the decision makers. There is a commonly accepted perception that operational roles pose challenges to flexible or part-time arrangements.

Women access part-time work patterns at a much higher rate than men.

Creating an environment where a part-time request is normalised for both men, women and gender-diverse members ensures equal opportunity and is essential for a modern workplace.

D&I Strategy	Action	Indicator of success	Linked WGEA GEI
U1	Create job design checklists to: provide advice and support for part-time work and flexible work provide support materials for how to have these conversations in the workplace amend default role descriptions in AFP systems for all internal and external job advertisements to make roles ‘flexible by default’ – including explicit mention of part-time availability develop and implement standardised inclusive language prompts for job advertisements to position AFP as an employer of choice for disability and neurodiversity	Increase numbers of flexible work arrangements Staff survey reflects increased confidence	GEI1 GEI4
U2	Undertake a detailed analysis on the impacts of loading superannuation paid on parental leave	Enhanced understanding of impacts to inform next steps	GEI3
U3	Develop a register of operational members who are moving out of frontline work and available for short-term projects across the organisation within commands during pregnancy	Increased interest and register list of operational members available for deployment opportunities	GEI1 GEI4
U4	Staying In Touch Program refresh: introduce digital service portal form for parental leave, create regular and automated digital reminders for supervisors to stay in touch with members on long term leave	Increased reports of satisfaction and support from members on and returning from parental leave	GEI4
U5	Develop a gender-informed enterprise-wide standard operating procedure for Higher Duties Allowance processes which are less than 6 months	Increased gender balance in members undertaking higher duties as a result of this standard operating procedure	GEI3
U6	Introduce gender impact assessments for key policies arising from the 2024 Enterprise Agreement process and/or changes in the external landscape	Gender embedded as consideration when making new AFP policies	GEI3 GEI4
U7	Monitor and evaluate progress of Respect@Work framework against indicators within two years of implementation	Continued compliance with Respect@ Work legislation Implementation is in line with Australian Human Rights Commission best practice indicators	GEI6
U8	Conduct analysis on options to reclassify periods of parental leave as ‘operational service,’ or creation of a dedicated ‘fast- track program’ for identified talent returning from long term leave, to reduce gendered impacts of long term leave on career progression	Greater understanding of options to inform next steps for improvement	GEI4

Leaders are visible in, and accountable for, gender equity initiatives

Across the AFP, members of different genders are progressing their careers differently.

Reasons for this include differing attitudes to preparedness for progression among genders, attitudes to pregnancy and operational duty among AFP first-level leadership, and the different impacts of having a family on the careers of men, women and gender diverse members.

What we know

Addressing the dimensions of the gender pay gap requires strong leadership.

The AFP has an opportunity to set a tone from leadership that caring leave will be supported for all parents to access. The most significant way to signal this shift is through the democratisation of parental leave policies that allow all parents to take time out of the workforce.

The normalisation and value of parental leave among leaders sends a powerful message to members.

Consultative approaches with women is essential to better understand their employment journey through the AFP to reach representation goals.

The attitudes and decisions of first-level leaders (Sergeants and team leaders) is important for addressing gender equality, via their role in allocating opportunity, retention and progression in the AFP - including deciding access to flexible work for all genders, allocation of training and development opportunities, overtime and higher duties.

D&I Strategy	Action	Indicator of success	Linked WGEA GEI
L1	Change command and branch action plans to include accountability for delivery of GEAP outcomes	Increased engagement in diversity and inclusion activities across AFP commands and branches in ACT and regional locations	GEI2
L2	Include diversity and inclusion indicators in SES performance framework	Inclusion of diversity and inclusion indicators in SES performance framework	GEI4 GEI5
L3	Promote an SES Champion Statement of Support ahead of major sworn promotional rounds	Increased number of communications from SES Champion/s for Women	GEI1
L4	AFP Champion/s to engage in relevant community of practice forums to represent the AFP as an employer of choice, and stay updated on best practice	Increased Champion engagement with external agencies and internal network members	GEI1 GEI5

Track our gender insights to sustain and grow our gender agenda

The AFP maintains extensive workforce planning data and excellent capability to underpin decision making.

Recording and monitoring gender disaggregated data will provide us with a clear and ongoing picture of the impact of the implementation of the GEAP. It also enables us to make changes if any unintentional negative consequences arise from any action items, or to identify why things are not improving with enough time to address the issues.

What we know

Current AFP data holdings do not sufficiently capture the impact of child rearing and managing return-to- work arrangements. AFP members return to work after periods of parental leave using both formal and informal flexibility options. However current AFP systems do not record if AFP members are accessing flexible work options to re-engage in the workforce after childbirth.

Ensuring that AFP data holdings capture the impact of leave types used to manage parenting responsibilities, and their impact on superannuation, will provide better data for enterprise-wide decision making.

The AFP holds extensive workforce planning data and excellent capability to underpin decision making. A number of data holdings could be used or augmented to provide progression and promotion insights including creating a line of sight on leave types and their impact on total pay, progression, opportunity and superannuation, including capturing pathways from pregnancy/caring responsibilities back into operational roles; and capturing career pathways, disaggregated by gender, to identify blockers to progression and promotion.

D&I Strategy	Action	Indicator of success	Linked WGEA GEI
T1	External benchmarking to inform how the AFP can progress towards best practice:/ Annual WGEA reporting/ AWEI survey participation	Participation in benchmarking activities	GEI5
T2	Introduce diversity and inclusion-informed processes as part of outgoing exit surveys to identify if there are similarities in the reasons members are resigning – including identification of gender-based concerns	Any diversity-related patterns in resignation are identified and communicated to the responsible SES and monitored through Command Assessment Reviews (CARs).	GEI4 GEI5
S1	Quarterly reporting to Strategy and Performance Board (SPB) to include modelling and tracking against the 30% sworn women targets for overview and accountability	Increased frequency of reporting on gender equality data to SPB and workforce	GEI1
S2	At conclusion of sworn recruitment rounds, report gender- disaggregated data for applicants to policing and PSO roles, and gateway progression data, to the relevant strategic board	Any gender-related patterns surrounding sworn recruitment processes are identified and communicated to the relevant internal strategic board and workforce to show accountability/progress directly against recruitment strategy	GEI1
S3	Expand people dashboard reporting to Boards to include enhanced diversity and inclusion data and monitoring – including:/ number of people taking parental, carers and family violence leave – broken down by gender and other identity metrics to monitor trends - to enable commands to commit to action as part of their workforce plans	Increased Board visibility of enhanced diversity and inclusion data to inform decision making	GEI4
S4	Monitor progress against recommendations in the GPG&E Project Command Insights Reports for commands involved in the AFP-AHRC Gender Pay Gap & Equity Project	Increased Champion engagement with external agencies and internal network members	GEI1 GEI5

Monitoring and Evaluation – How we will measure and report

The GEAP will be monitored and supported by Culture and Inclusion in People Command, who will work collaboratively with members from the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) as part of the AFP-AHRC Partnership team.

This collaborative approach will allow the team to leverage the breadth of subject matter expertise, while ensuring responses to the progress of the GEAP are adapted to the AFP context.

Progress against the deliverables outlined in this action plan will be reported to the AFP Strategy and Performance Board through the existing oversight and accountability mechanisms embedded within the AFP Diversity and Inclusion Strategy 2023-2026. This includes half-yearly progress reporting.

How we will stay on track

A mid-term review of the GEAP will be conducted; and an independent evaluation will be conducted at the end of the GEAP. This will be informed by a range of data sources, including:

• AFP internal SAS Firefly workforce data Reporting against the gender equality metrics embedded within the current internal ‘gender pay gap dashboard.’
• Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) reporting The AFP will continue to report annual gender equality data to WGEA as part of the public sector reporting program, to track and monitor progress against the WGEA gender equality indicators over time.
• Australian Workplace Equality Index (AWEI) reporting The AFP participates in the AWEI annual survey, the national benchmark on LGBTQ+ workplace inclusion, including intersectionality reporting.
• AFP staff surveys The AFP undertakes an annual staff survey to understand and address feedback. Participation in the survey will indicate how we are progressing to improve health and wellbeing support and inclusivity for our people. Data can be drawn from other surveys as needed or can be targeted to subject matter and run by Culture and Inclusion.
• AFP Annual Report General progress of the AFP’s diversity and inclusion work will be reported publicly via the AFP’s annual report.

Guiding legislation

• Sex Discrimination Act The Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth), together with state and territory anti-discrimination laws, provides the primary framework for understanding and addressing sexual harassment as a form of sex discrimination, and recognises the right to work in an environment free from sexual harassment.
• The Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012 (Cth) outlines requirements for Australian private sector employers with 100 or more employees to WGEA on six Gender Equality Indicators each year by law. Commonwealth public sector entities voluntarily reported their gender equality data to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency for the first time in 2022, before this become a mandatory requirement from 2023. The resulting data set tracks and measures Australia’s gender equality progress in workplaces over time.
• The Work, Health and Safety Act 2011 (Cth) provides a framework to protect the health, safety and welfare of all workers at work and of all other people who might be affected by the work.
• Fair Work Act The ‘adverse action’ provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) states ‘an employer cannot discriminate against an employee on the grounds of sex’.

Contact ahrcpartnership@afp.gov.au