Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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MATERNITY LEAVE (COMMONWEALTH EMPLOYEES) REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT) 1992 NO.137

Statutory Rules 1992 No. 137

(Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Industrial Relations)

Maternity Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Act 1976

Maternity Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Regulations (Amendment)

Section 15 of the Maternity Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Act 1973 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations for the purposes of the Act.

Section 3 of the Act defines "prescribed authority", to include:

(a)       a body corporate (other than an incorporated company, society or association) that is incorporated for a public purpose by a law of the Commonwealth or of a Territory (other than the Northern Territory) and is declared by the regulations to be a body corporate in relation to which this Act applies;

... ; or

(c)       a company that:

(i)       is incorporated under a law of the Commonwealth or a law in force in a State or Territory;

(ii)       is a trading corporation, or a financial corporation, within the meaning of paragraph 51(20) of the Constitution; and

(iii)       is declared by the regulations to be a body corporate in relation to which the Act applies.

Under section 5 of the Act employees of a prescribed authority may be brought by regulation within the maternity leave arrangements provided under the Act.

Paragraph 4(a) of the Maternity Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Regulations (the Regulations) provides that for the purposes of paragraph (a) of the definition of "prescribed authority", an authority specified in column 2 of Schedule 1 in an item in that Schedule is a body corporate.

Paragraph 4(c) of the Regulations similarly provides that for the purposes of paragraph (c) of the definition of "prescribed authority", an authority that is specified in column 2 of Schedule 2A in an item in that Schedule is a body corporate.

The Australian and Overseas Telecommunications Corporation Act 1991 (the AOTC Act) has established the Australian and Overseas Telecommunications Corporation Limited (AOTC Limited), formed as a company by the merger of the Australian Telecommunications Commission (Telecom) and OTC Limited. The relevant parts of the AOTC Act commenced on 1 February 1992.

It has been necessary to amend the Regulations as a consequence of the enactment of the AOTC Act. Prior to the amendment, Telecom was listed as a prescribed body corporate and OTC Limited as a prescribed company for the purposes of the Act.

Accordingly, Schedule 2A of the Regulations has been amended to replace the existing reference to OTC Limited with a reference to AOTC Limited. Schedule 1 to the Regulations has been amended by omitting the entry to Telecom. This reference was no longer required as employees of the former Telecom are now included within the reference to AOTC Limited.