Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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PUBLIC SERVICE REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT) 1995 NO. 243

STATUTORY RULES 1995 No. 243

Issued by the Authority of the Prime Minister

Public Service Act 1922

Public Service Regulations (Amendment)

The Public Service Act 1922 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations prescribing matters required or permitted by the Act to be prescribed.

Part V of the Public Service Regulations govern the transfer and promotion of officers and directions for officers to perform temporarily the duties of another office. Within Part V, regulation 116A provides that the Secretary of a department may direct an officer to perform temporarily the duties of another office in that department. Regulation 116B requires that a direction to act in a position below a certain level (generally, the Senior Officer Grade C level) for more than three months must be notified in a manner that is likely to be noticed by other officers. Regulation 116C allows an officer who believes that he or she would perform the duties of an office more efficiently than an officer who has been selected to act in that office to appeal to the Merit Protection and Review Agency against the Secretary's direction that the other officer act in the position. An appeal can only be lodged against such a direction if the period of acting is more than three months ("the nonappellable period") and, generally, if the office is below the Senior Officer Grade C level.

The purpose of the proposed regulations is to extend the non-appellable period for acting arrangements from three to twelve months. The decision to extend the nonappellable period was announced in the 1995-96 Budget and will result in more efficient administration within the Australian Public Service.

Regulation 1 provides that the Public Service regulations are amended as set out in the following Regulations.

Regulation 2 would amend paragraph 116B(2)(a) of the Regulations by omitting the reference to three months and substituting a reference to twelve months. This change is reflected in the title to regulation 116B.

Regulation 3 of the proposed regulations would amend Regulation 116D, consistent with the amendment to be made to Regulation 116B, by omitting the reference to three months in subparagraph 116D(1)(h)(ii) and substituting a reference to twelve months. Regulation 116D sets out the circumstances in which an appeal against a direction to act is taken to have lapsed. Subparagraph 116D(1)(h)(ii) provides that an appeal is deemed to have lapsed where the Secretary of a department advises the Merit Protection and Review Agency that the release of the appellant to perform the duties of the office would cause substantial difficulties in the functioning of the department and where the effect of subtracting from the total period of acting the period during which the appellant would be unavailable would be to leave no continuous period of three months or more for the appellant to act in the position.

Regulation 4 is a transitional provision which provides that, notwithstanding the amendments to regulations 116B and 116D, those regulations as they were in force immediately before the date on which the amendments commence continue to apply in relation to directions made before that date as if the amendments had not been made.

This will preserve the rights of officers to appeal against a direction that another officer act in a position if the direction had been made before the amendments take effect.

The regulations commenced on gazettal.