4.2 Work culture and conditions

The NBA has an active staff participation forum, which is made up of representatives from all teams within the NBA and is chaired by a representative from the executive group. One of the staff participation forum’s major achievements in 2007–08 was the successful negotiation of the NBA 2007–10 Collective Agreement, with 97% of staff members voting affirmative to the new agreement.

Since the changes to the employment bargaining framework introduced in February 2008, new staff are employed under the NBA Collective Agreement or, where appropriate, through a common law contract or Section 24(1) Determination of the Public Service Act 1999.

2007–08 also saw the launch of the NBA’s Wellbeing Program, which gives staff the opportunity to participate in weekly lunch time activities such as organised walks, stress buster comic relief and other wellbeing activities. Over 26% of the NBA’s staff participated in the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ (ABS) lunch time fun run in May 2008, many of whom completed the 7 km course in under an hour. This resulted in an overall fifth-place victory for the NBA team.

An NBA values statement was drafted in April to demonstrate the behaviours, ethics and overall approach that are important to staff and management. Clear commitment has been given to keep the statement alive by regular celebrations recognising excellent examples of the demonstration of values.

NBA values statement

The Golden Rules of the NBA

1. Actively listen, think and encourage engagement.

2. Criticise sparingly, praise generously.

3. Be part of the team.

4. Take responsibility for quality outcomes.

What our values mean for how we work

We take responsibility for our outcomes All staff proactively analyse issues and create solutions. We clarify expectations, set clear goals and maintain a commitment to work-life balance
We praise and support each other We celebrate achievements; We ask – ‘What can I do to help?’
We encourage ongoing personal development We take pride in learning and sharing this learning with our teams and do things smarter and better
We seek to always understand We listen to and value all points of view. We never interrupt and we are patient
We are respectful We appreciate the workloads of all staff. We walk away from criticism of individuals or activities. We offer positive views.
We are courteous We are on time, we are polite, we accept and give feedback on performance and behaviour
We act on things that make a difference We strive for personal leadership in our assigned tasks. We ensure we understand the links of today’s tasks to the future of the sector

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