South Australian Numbered Acts South Australian Numbered Acts29—Other officers and firefighters
(1) SAMFS will have
such other officers and firefighters as the Chief Officer thinks fit to
appoint.
(2) The following
procedures will apply in relation to appointments under this section:
(a) if
the Chief Officer wishes to appoint a person to a position under this section,
the Chief Officer must first nominate that person for appointment;
(b) the
Chief Officer must then give notice of the nomination to all officers and
firefighters who are of the same rank as, or of a lower rank than, the
position to which the Chief Officer wishes to make the appointment;
(c) an
officer or firefighter who is entitled to notice of the nomination under
paragraph (b) may, within 14 days after the notice is given, appeal
against the nomination to the District Court;
(d) the
Chief Officer may confirm the nomination if no appeal has been instituted
under paragraph (c) but if an appeal is so instituted then the
Chief Officer must comply with any direction given by the District Court in
the matter;
(e) in
relation to an appeal instituted under paragraph (c)—
(i)
the District Court will sit with assessors selected in
accordance with Schedule 1;
(ii)
an appellant may appear personally or be represented by a
member of an industrial association to which the appellant belongs or by a
legal practitioner;
(iii)
the Chief Officer may appear personally or be represented
by another officer of SAMFS or, if an appellant is being represented by a
legal practitioner, the Chief Officer may also be represented by a legal
practitioner;
(iv)
the District Court may, on hearing the appeal, confirm
the appointment of the person who has been nominated or direct the
Chief Officer to revoke the nomination and direct that an appellant be
appointed to the position;
(v)
in making its decision on an appeal, the District Court
must have regard to the criteria (if any) relating to the appointment and
promotion of officers or firefighters that are contained in an award or
industrial agreement that applies in relation to the relevant position but, if
no such criteria exist, the Court must have regard to the qualifications,
aptitude and conduct of the person nominated for the position and of the
appellant or appellants;
(vi)
the District Court may, in connection with the
proceedings, award costs against SAMFS but may not award costs against an
appellant.
(3) For the purposes
of subsection (2), notice of a nomination will be taken to have been
given to an officer or firefighter if written notice of the nomination has
been displayed for not less than 7 days in a prominent place in the fire
station or workplace at which he or she is based.
(4) Subsection (2)
does not apply in relation to the appointment of a person to the lowest rank
in SAMFS.
(5) An appointment
under this section will be on terms and conditions determined by the
Chief Officer and approved by the Commission (subject to the provisions of any
award or industrial agreement).
(6) Nothing in this
section limits the ability of the Chief Officer to appoint a suitable person
to act in an office or position while the person appointed to that office or
position is absent or temporarily unable to act in that office or position, or
while that office or position is temporarily vacant.