EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
STATUTORY RULES 1984 NO. 430
COMMONWEALTH EMPLOYEES (REDEPLOYMENT AND RETIREMENT) REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT)
Issued with the authority of the Public Service Board
Sub-section 29(1) of the Commonwealth Employees (Redeployment and Retirement) Act 1979 (the Act) enables the Governor-General to make regulations prescribing all matters which are necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act and, in particular, for regulating the manner in which appeals may be made to a Tribunal established under the Act and the procedure of such a Tribunal.
Section 76M of the Public Service Act 1922, which came into operation on 1 October 1984 upon the proclamation of section 84 of the Public Service Reform Act 1984 (Act No. 63 of 1984: Royal Assent - 25 June 1984), provides Senior Executive Service officers in the Australian Public Service rights to appeal to a Commonwealth Employees (Redeployment and Retirement) Appeals Tribunal established under section 16 of the Act against being declared, under sub-section 76K(1) of the Public Service Act, eligible for redeployment on grounds of invalidity and against being notified under sub-section 76L(3) of the Public Service Act of proposed transfer to a lower office or retirement from the Service.
The regulations amended the Commonwealth Employees (Redeployment and Retirement) Regulations, which make provision in relation to appeals by employees to whom the Act applies against redeployment and retirement action taken or proposed to be taken under that Act, to include provisions relating to appeals by Senior Executive Service officers under section 76M of the Public Service Act. This is an interim arrangement pending further implementation of the Merit Protection (Australian Government Employees) Act 1984 (Act No. 64 of 1984: Royal Assent 25 June 1984) at which time all such appeals will be heard by Redeployment and Retirement Appeal Committees constituted under that Act and governed by regulations made under that Act.
Details of the regulations are set out below.
Regulation 1 cites the Commonwealth Employees (Redeployment and Retirement) Regulations as the Principal Regulations.
Regulation 2 amended Part II of the Principal Regulations to provide a new heading - ‘Division 1 - Appeals by employees’. This Division comprises existing regulations 3 to 12.
Regulation 3 made consequential amendments to regulation 3 of the Principal Regulations.
Regulation 4 made a formal amendment to regulation 5 of the Principal Regulations.
Regulation 5 amended regulation 9 of the Principal Regulation to provide gender-neutral terminology.
Regulation 6 inserted a new Division 2 relating to appeals by Senior Executive Service officers comprising new regulations as follows -
regulation 12A - regulation 12B - | Interpretation of Division 2 Form of appeal - lodgment - procedure |
regulation 12C - | Nomination of management representative on Tribunal |
regulation 12D - | Referral of appeals under Division 2 to the Tribunal |
regulation 12E - | Nomination of officers’ representative on Tribunal |
regulation 12F - regulation 12G - | Date of hearing of appeal Documents relating to appeals |
regulation 12H - | Non-disclosure of information of a medical or psychiatric nature |
Regulation 6 also inserted a new heading ‘Division 3 - Proceedings before Tribunals’ and a new regulation 12J relating to the interpretation of Division 3. Division 3 will comprise regulations 12J and existing regulations 13-21 and will provide common provisions in relation to both appeals by employees under the Act and appeals by Senior Executive Service officers under the Public Service Act.
Regulation 7 made a consequential amendment to regulation 22 of the Principal Regulations.
Regulation 8 amended regulation 23 of the Principal Regulations by broadening the class of persons to whom the Director of the Grievance and Appeals Bureau can delegate his or her powers under the Principal Regulations.