A culture of diversity, respect and inclusion
Building a culture of diversity, respect and inclusion in our workplaces is key to a fair and thriving public sector. By reflecting these values in our workforce and our ways of working, we create a stronger foundation to serve Queensland.
This chapter details progress towards diversity targets and analysis of the employment experience of diversity groups.
Highlights
- The sector continues to make progress towards diversity targets. In March 2026:
- 2.74% of employees identify as Aboriginal peoples and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples – 4% target
- 3.69% identify as people with disability – 12% target
- 9.42% identify as being people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds – 12% target
- 56.05% of leaderships roles are occupied by women – 50% target.
- While there is no target for Australia South Sea Islanders or LGBTQIA+ people, according to the 2025 Working for Queensland (WfQ) survey:
- 1% of respondents were Australian South Sea Islanders
- 7% of respondents were LGBTQIA+
Under the Public Sector Act 2022 (the Act), public sector entities must build workforces that reflect the diverse views, experiences and backgrounds of the people of Queensland. They must also take active steps to improve equity and diversity in employment for diversity target groups.
A public sector that reflects the community it serves, which harnesses the experiences, perspectives, insights and background of the wider community, develops and provides better informed policies and services.
Foundational principles in the Act that guide public sector employment and management include fostering a workplace culture that is respectful, safe and free from discrimination.
These provisions make it clear that an inclusive workforce is not optional. The Act supports consistent expectations across agencies. Since the Act commenced in 2023, all agencies with over 100 employees must undertake an annual equity and diversity audit of their workforce and develop an action plan to address areas requiring further work.
Two data sources provide insight into how the sector is preforming on diversity, respect and inclusion: Minimum Obligatory Human Resource Information (MOHRI) data and the annual WfQ employee survey data. Together, they provide complementary but different insights about who works in the public sector and what their workplace experience is
MOHRI offers a snapshot of representation across key diversity groups and classification levels. It helps track progress against diversity targets and identify structural gaps, such as underrepresentation in leadership roles.
The survey data provides insight into employee experience—how people feel about inclusion, respect and psychological safety in their workplace. These measures help show whether diversity is resulting in genuine inclusion.
Some questions in the 2025 WfQ survey changed to ensure the survey instrument remained contemporary and fit for purpose. Consequently, trend data for these revised questions is not available.
Questions that previously focused on barriers to success changed to examine perceptions of equal employment opportunity. Findings are presented for employees who identify with a diversity target group and compared with those who do not identify with a diversity target group.
There are differences in the diversity data captured through MOHRI and the WfQ survey.
Employees may choose not to share their diversity information in payroll systems that inform MOHRI for a range of reasons, including, lack of perceived benefit, concerns about privacy and confidentiality, fear of stigma, lack of trust, or uncertainty about definitions.
These factors can vary significantly across different diversity groups. The WfQ survey data is completed by approximately 20% of public sector employees and typically shows higher representation for some groups than the MOHRI data due to respondents feeling more comfortable with sharing their diversity information in an anonymous survey.
Equity and diversity progress
The Queensland public sector has 4 workforce diversity targets:
- 4% who are Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples
- 12% from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds
- 12% people with disability
- 50% women in leadership.
Progress towards the targets varies across diversity groups, and by data source, as shown by the MOHRI and WfQ survey data in the diversity dashboard below.
Diversity dashboard
| Metric | Target | % (MOHRI) | No. of Employees | Target No. of Employees | % (WFQ) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander | 4% | 2.74% | 9,142 | 13,333 | 3.91% |
| Australian South Sea Islander | No target | 0.31% | No target | No target | 0.58% |
| Person with disability | 12% | 3.69% | 12,303 | 39,999 | 11.00% |
| Neuro-divergent | No target | N/A | No target | No target | 13.81% |
| Culturally and linguistically diverse | 12% | 9.42% | 31,387 | 39,999 | 12.03% |
| Women in leadership | 50% | 56.05% | 2,571 | 2,294 | N/A* |
| Identify as women | No target | 68.91% | No target | No target | 58.60% |
| Identify as man | No target | 30.37% | No target | No target | 34.87% |
| Gender diverse | No target | 0.23% | No target | No target | 0.75% |
| LGBTQIA+ | No target | N/A | No target | No target | 7.00% |
Source: MOHRI March 2026 and WfQ 2025.
*Leadership classification is not captured in the WfQ survey
| Metric | Safe, Respected and Included | Safe | Respected | Included |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander | 69% | 73% | 67% | 67% |
| Australian South Sea Islander | 69% | 71% | 69% | 68% |
| Person with disability | 66% | 73% | 63% | 62% |
| Neuro-divergent | 70% | 76% | 67% | 67% |
| Culturally and linguistically diverse | 81% | 85% | 79% | 77% |
| Women in leadership | 92% | 94% | 91% | 91% |
| Identify as women | 79% | 83% | 76% | 76% |
| Identify as man | 77% | 82% | 73% | 74% |
| Gender diverse | 62% | 68% | 60% | 59% |
| LGBTQIA+ | 77% | 81% | 75% | 75% |
Source: WfQ 2025.
| Metric | Overall Engagement | Pride | Recommendation | Inspiration | Motivation | Personal Attachment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander | 59 | 64 | 61 | 59 | 58 | 55 |
| Australian South Sea Islander | 58 | 63 | 59 | 60 | 57 | 53 |
| Person with disability | 54 | 60 | 56 | 52 | 51 | 50 |
| Neuro-divergent | 56 | 63 | 59 | 54 | 53 | 51 |
| Culturally and linguistically diverse | 71 | 78 | 73 | 70 | 69 | 63 |
| Women in leadership | 83 | 86 | 83 | 83 | 84 | 80 |
| Identify as women | 63 | 71 | 66 | 63 | 61 | 57 |
| Identify as man | 60 | 68 | 63 | 57 | 56 | 56 |
| Gender diverse | 46 | 51 | 50 | 45 | 44 | 43 |
| LGBTQIA+ | 60 | 68 | 64 | 60 | 58 | 52 |
Source: WfQ 2025.
Progress against diversity target groups
While MOHRI data shows representation has improved slightly across all 4 target groups, progress against most diversity targets is slow. The exception is women in leadership, where the overall target has been met.
WfQ survey measures of employee experience, such as feeling safe, respected and included, highlight that building respectful and inclusive workplace cultures requires ongoing effort and are vital in creating an environment where individuals feel safe to overtly identify with target groups.