Monitoring the legal compliance and continual improvement of flexible work practices

The recommendation

The Ambulance Victoria Board should receive quarterly reporting of de-identified flexible work data as a key metric and ultimately be responsible for ensuring compliance with the law and continual improvement. At a minimum, reporting should:
1. refer to the quantity and basis for applications, approvals and refusals
2. be analysed in conjunction with other data to accurately assess the ongoing impact of workplace flexibility on key indicators, including (but not limited to) service delivery, staff recruitment, turnover and retention, promotion and progression and staff health, safety and wellbeing
3. inform continuous improvement workforce planning (see Recommendation 33).
Ambulance Victoria should finalise the development of the Chris21 system and:
1. embed responsibility for the People and Culture Division within the process to record all data pertaining to requests for flexible working arrangements, approvals and refusals (including reasons for refusal)
2. provide regular, accurate data reporting to the Board and Executive Committee and make de-identified flexibility data transparent to staff via internal communication.

Further develop the Commission’s outcomes framework by identifying the measures and data sources to understand the current state of flexibility, including compliance with the law and address any data gaps
Strengthen reporting on flexibile work arrangements by implementing the Chris21 and any other system improvements to ensure the availability of relevant data
Enable and resource the People Services Division to collect related data and collaborate with the Equality & Workplace Reform Division to support whole-of-program reporting

AV’s Gender Equality Program Lead commenced with the Equality & Workplace Reform division in December 2022 and is beginning work to implement the organisation’s Gender Equality Action Plan. The plan includes actions related to flexible work, in line with Recommendations 30-33 made by the Victorian Equal Opportunity & Human Rights Commission.

AV has formally adopted the outcomes framework developed by the Victorian Equal Opportunity & Human Rights Commission, as an overarching framework to guide the development and delivery of reforms to create a safe, fair and inclusive organisation. In mid-July 2022, AV requested that the Commission provide expert advice on the key metrics to support the indicators in its framework. Work to finalise the framework will occur once key staff are recruited.
AV’s Gender Equality Action Plan includes actions related to flexible work, in line with Recommendations 30-33 made by the Victorian Equal Opportunity & Human Rights Commission.

To be confirmed