AFP's 2022 staff survey results show poor ratings on SES communication, police technology

The Australian Federal Police's 2022 staff survey results also show law enforcement officials are struggling with the agency's administrative processes, with nearly half indicating it impacted their work greatly.

Greens senator David Shoebridge described the fresh results as a "brutal indictment" on the Australian Federal Police's leadership, adding internal emails from the commissioner, which focused heavily on the positive responses, were "jarring".

More than 40 per cent of the 5120 federal police employees who undertook the survey did not agree that communication between the most senior leaders and their underlings was effective.

Nearly a third of staff did not think their senior executive worked as a team.

The overall average positive response toward senior leadership rate in the survey reached 38 per cent - a 1 per cent drop on last year's results and 19 per cent lower than the public service average.

The areas where the agency rated very positively included inclusivity, flexible work practices, job security and goal clarity.

Commissioner Reece Kershaw briefly acknowledged the shortfalls in an all-staff email released to The Canberra Times under a freedom of information request.

The top cop said he and his team would reflect on the results, but focused heavily on the minor improvements on the previous year's feedback.

"Our results have shown that goal clarity, team performance and relationships, inclusivity and supervisor performance are a strength for the organisation," he said in an all-staff email in January.

"Our results also show that you want to understand the 'why' from your senior leaders, and that prioritisation, workload management and communication need to be the areas of focus for us over the next 12 months.

"Your senior executive and I will continue to reflect on the survey results to make positive change in your work environment and will share our commitments in the near future."

An AFP spokesperson said the agency "acknowledges the challenges of policing, in particular given the complexity and tempo in keeping Australians safe and protecting our way of life".

The spokesperson added the AFP would always strive to ensure members are heard, and address issues that arise.

Senator Shoebridge said the commissioner's comments following the report's release were "jarring".

It follows questioning by the Greens senator in February over what the law enforcement agency's top brass were doing in response to similar results revealed in the 2021 staff survey.

"There is clearly a strong sense of purpose and confidence in the AFP at the officer level but that rapidly falls away when staff are asked about senior management," Senator Shoebridge said.

"What is really troubling is that faith in the AFP's senior leadership has fallen even further in this latest survey. These repeated poor results need to produce serious accountability at the commissioner and senior SES levels.

"The complete absence of self-reflection in Commissioner Kershaw's communication with staff was especially jarring. Staff who had taken the time to send him and his team a message would have felt ignored, not heard."

During the February Senate estimates hearing, chief operating officer Charlotte Tressler acknowledged the damning results from the 2021 survey but said there had been "modest improvements" since.

She said her team had looked a range of initiatives to improve the results, including creating a dedicated "corporate improvement" office and an innovation fund to reduce red tape.

"We are progressing ... streamlining processes, and looking to improve wherever we can," Ms Tressler said at the time.

"That is, of course, an ongoing exercise. That work will never be done and that is something that we'll continue to work on."

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The modest improvements on last year's results include a 1 per cent increase on positive responses to the multiple layers of decision-making, with 25 per cent saying it has no or very little impact while 41 per cent said it had a big impact.

There was also a 7 per cent improvement on those feeling burnt out, increasing to 39 per cent on the previous year.

However, the administrative processes and technology issues remain, with the latter dipping by a further 2 per cent to 29 per cent on 2021's results.

Recruitment processes again rated poorly though there was a minor increase in positive responses.

Just under a third say recruitment and promotion decisions are fair and merit-based - a 5 per cent increase on the 26 per cent who said so last year.

Still, 41 per cent remain unconvinced those decisions are fair and merit-based, according to the recent results.

Senator Shoebridge said the results showed there were issues within the core structures of the AFP, not just at the leadership level.

"Staff have been telling anyone who will listen that HR processes are unfair, that they lack administrative support and that promotions in the AFP are not based on merit," he said.

"These are fundamental failings in any organisation and the blame for them lies directly at the feet of the AFP's senior leadership team who keep pretending nothing is wrong.

"The thousands of hardworking staff at the AFP, who go to work every day trying to do their best, deserve far more than this.

"They deserve a government that is willing to take on the AFP's self-replicating and entrenched senior leadership that have allowed these problems to fester for years."

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