National Archives of Australia - Annual reports

• reflecting Australia’s cultural diversity in theArchives’ records and ensuring they areaccessible to all.In 2010–11, the Archives commenceddevelopment of an Indigenous employmentstrategy and a people with disabilityemployment strategy. The number of Archives staffidentifying as belonging to one of three diversitygroupings has decreased over the last three years(Table 22). These new strategies aim to increasethe representation of these diversity groupings inthe Archives’ workforce.All Archives employment policies, proceduresand practices comply with the requirementsof the Disability Discrimination Act 1992.Learning and development activities take intoaccount the particular needs of staff with adisability. During the recruitment process,assistance is provided to applicants who identifyas having particular needs. Provision is also madefor reasonable adjustment within the workplace toassist staff with a disability.Ecologically sustainabledevelopment andenvironmental performanceThe Archives is committed to ecologicallysustainable development and improving itsenvironmental performance. Details of Archivesactivities supporting this are provided below.Statistical data about the Archives’ ecologicallysustainable development and environmentalperformance can be found at Appendix I.Environmental managementsystemIn response to Australian National Audit Officerecommendations, in 2010–11 the Archivesdeveloped a draft environmental managementsystem. The system was developed to meetAS/NZS ISO 14001:2004 EnvironmentalManagement Systems: requirements with guidancefor use. Following an independent external review,a number of recommendations to improve thesystem were provided, including:• enhancements to the Archives’ environmentalperformance and measurement targets• site-specific recommendations• identified green procurement requirements• strengthening staff awareness training.These recommendations will result in theenvironmental management system being updatedwith an implementation plan to meet benchmarksand targets over a five-year period.Energy useThe Archives uses energy 24 hours a day, sevendays a week to ensure the strict range of roomtemperatures and relative humidity required for thelong-term preservation of archival records.Implementation of energy-reduction measures,including a trial that involved increasing the rangeof temperature and humidity parameters in storagerepositories, resulted in energy savings during2010–11. Ongoing monitoring of energy use atArchives sites allows a timely response whenabnormal usage patterns arise. A significant risein gas and electricity consumption at the Archives’East Burwood (Victoria) site – associated withTable 22: Number of employees by diversity grouping, 2009–11Diversity grouping 2009 2010 2011Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander 2 1 1Person with a disability 8 7 6Culturally and linguistically diverse 90 82 65Total 100 90 72Management and accountability 45