Commonwealth Public Service Regulations (Amendment) (Provisional)

Overview

The Provisional Regulation under the Commonwealth Public Service Act 1902 was enacted in 1910 to address the specific needs of appointing telegraph messengers within the public service. This regulation was issued by the Governor-General, acting on advice from the Federal Executive Council, due to the urgency of the matter. The regulation specifies that candidates for the role of telegraph messenger must be between fourteen and sixteen years of age at the time of their last birthday before appointment. This regulation replaced an earlier regulation to align the requirements more precisely with the operational needs of the postal and telegraph services of the time. The policy objective behind this regulation was to ensure that suitable candidates were selected based on their age and potential capacity to perform the duties associated with telegraph messenger roles within the public service.

Scope and Application

The Provisional Regulation under the Commonwealth Public Service Act 1902, specifically Regulation 199, pertains to the eligibility criteria for the appointment of Telegraph Messengers within the Commonwealth Public Service. This regulation applies to individuals who are candidates for such positions, establishing that they must be at least fourteen years of age and not yet sixteen at the time of the examination for the role. Furthermore, any candidate successfully nominated for the position must be between fourteen and sixteen years of age at their last birthday prior to the appointment. The regulation operates on a Commonwealth level, affecting all candidates across Australia who seek to become Telegraph Messengers under the Commonwealth Public Service. While the regulation itself is quite specific to the age requirements for the position, it does not explicitly state any exclusions or exemptions; however, the overarching Public Service Act and related regulations may contain provisions that could affect eligibility or application of the regulation. Any further detail or extension of these provisions would typically be found in subordinate instruments or related legislative acts.

Key Provisions

The Provisional Regulation under the Commonwealth Public Service Act 1902, as outlined in Statutory Rule 1910 No. 19, specifically addresses the age requirements for candidates applying for the position of Telegraph Messenger (Reg. 199). It mandates that any candidate for this role must be at least fourteen years old but must not have turned sixteen by the date of the examination (Reg. 199). Moreover, successful candidates who are nominated for appointment must fall within the age range of fourteen to sixteen years at their last birthday before being appointed (Reg. 199). The Regulation imposes certain obligations on the candidates applying for the Telegraph Messenger role. Firstly, they must ensure that they meet the specified age criteria before applying for the examination. They must be at least fourteen but less than sixteen years old at the time of the examination. Additionally, once nominated for appointment, the candidates must confirm that they still meet the age requirement of being no older than sixteen years at their last birthday prior to the appointment. Breach of the age requirements stipulated in the Regulation can lead to significant consequences. Although the Regulation itself does not explicitly state the penalties for non-compliance, the failure to meet the age criteria would likely result in disqualification from the examination and the appointment process. This could be interpreted as a form of administrative non-compliance, which may have further implications depending on the policies of the relevant department or agency. It is important to note that while the Regulation does not detail specific penalties, breaches of public service regulations can generally lead to civil or criminal consequences as prescribed by the relevant legislation.