EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
COMMONWEALTH EMPLOYEES (REDEPLOYMENT AND RETIREMENT) REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT)
STATUTORY RULES 1982 NO 302
Issued with the Authority of the Public Service Board
Sub-section 29(2) of the Commonwealth Employees (Redeployment and Retirement) Act 1979 enables the Governor-General to make regulations prescribing all matters which are required or permitted to be prescribed.
Section 7 of the Act provides in part:
‘(1) The objects of this Part are -
(a) …
(b) secondly, to ensure, to the greatest extent that is practicable, that each employee in a Department, and each employee of a prescribed Commonwealth authority, whose services cannot … reasonably be used in the Department or by the authority, as the case may be -
(i) …
(ii) …
(iii) for any other prescribed reason,
is redeployed in the Australian Public Service or in the employment of a prescribed Commonwealth authority on duties which he can reasonably be required to perform.
(2) Regulations prescribing a reason for the purposes of paragraph (1)(b) shall not be made except after consideration by the Governor-General of a report made to the Governor-General by the Public Service Board after consultation by the Public Service Board with the organisations, being organisations representing the interests of employees or a class of employees, prescribed for the purposes of this section.’
The following organisations have been previously prescribed for the purposes of section 7 of the Act:
Australian Council of Trade Unions
Council of Australian Government Employee Organisations
Australian Council of Salaried and Professional Associations
Council of Professional Associations
The Council of Australian Government Employee Organisations and the Australian Council of Salaried and Professional Associations subsequently amalgamated with the Australian Council of Trade Unions and throughout the later consultations their views were presented by the Australian Council of Trade Unions.
The proposed regulations provide that an employee may be declared eligible for redeployment for the reason that ‘the employee is inefficient’ or ‘is not qualified to perform his duties’. The regulations define ‘inefficient’ and ‘not qualified’ for the purposes of the regulations.
An employee is defined to be ‘inefficient’ when, in the performance of his normal duties, he has not attained or sustained a standard of efficiency that a person can reasonably be expected to attain or sustain in the performance of those duties. The regulations include certain matters which must and others which may be taken into account in determining whether an employee is inefficient.
An employee is defined to be ‘not qualified to perform his duties’ when, in relation to those duties, he has ceased to hold or has become unable or ineligible to hold or to use and enjoy an essential qualification, or a competent person or body has suspended, cancelled, revoked, rescinded or otherwise withdrawn an essential qualification.