The Australian Public Service (APS) 2024 Census results are out, and the Australian Skills Quality Agency (ASQA) has performed badly, although not as badly as 2023. Out of 105 federal government agencies, ASQA ranked 102 in the census for ‘I would recommend my agency as a good place to work’.
In 2023, ASQA ranked second last (100/101). And although it ranked fourth last in 2024, ASQA senior executive may be celebrating that the result improved to 52 per cent of employees who would recommend their agency as a good place to work, this is up from 32 per cent in 2023.
The news is not much better for the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA), ranking at 98. Like ASQA, the percentage has improved from 2023 at 43 per cent, to 55 per cent in 2024.
The Department of Home Affairs came in at 89th, which aligns with everything we know about working for that agency.
As a former employee of the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade), I was saddened to see the result of a ranking of 81 for 2024. It was the only agency with a role in international education whose results worsened from 2023 for employees who would recommend their agency, dropping from 72 per cent to 62 per cent.
My time with Austrade as ASEAN Education Commissioner based in Singapore was the best job I’ve ever had (and am ever likely to have). However, a round of redundancies during the year saw several long-term staff leave Austrade which must have been a contributing factor in the results.
The Department of Education maintained 76 per cent of staff who would recommend it from 2023 to 2024. The best performing agency with a role in international education is the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, ranked at 38.
I would recommend my agency as a good place to work
| Department/Agency associated with the international education sector | 2024 ranking (from best to worst)
/ 105 |
2024 Percentage of people who would recommend their agency | 2023
Percentage of people who would recommend their agency |
| Department of Employment and Workplace Relations | 38 | 78% | 78% |
| Department of Education | 44 | 76% | 76% |
| Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade | 72 | 67% | 67% |
| Austrade | 81 | 62% | 72% |
| Department of Home Affairs | 89 | 60% | 57% |
| TEQSA | 98 | 55% | 43% |
| ASQA | 102 | 52% | 100 (32%) |
The agency rated number one is the Organ and Tissue Authority, and at 105, ranked as the worst place to work for the second year in a row, was the National Mental Health Commission. The Commission has since been abolished.
This is the second year that agencies have been required to publish APS Census results; prior to this it was voluntary.
