Commonwealth Teaching Service Regulations

Statutory Rules

1973 No. 143

REGULATIONS UNDER THE COMMONWEALTH TEACHING SERVICE ACT 1972.*

I, THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL of Australia, acting with the advice of the Executive Council, hereby make the following Regulations under the Commonwealth Teaching Service Act 1972.

Dated this nineteenth day of July, 1973.

PAUL HASLUCK

Governor-General.

By His Excellency’s Command,

KIM E. BEAZLEY

Minister of State for Education.

COMMONWEALTH TEACHING SERVICE REGULATIONS

Citation.

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Commonwealth Teaching Service Regulations.

Repeal.

2. The Commonwealth Teaching Service Regulations, being Statutory Rules 1972, No. 111, are repealed.

Definitions

3. In these Regulations, unless the contrary intention appears—

“Disciplinary Appeal Board” means the Disciplinary Appeal Board constituted under section 37 of the Act;

“election” mean an election, by the officers of the Service, of an officer as the officers’ representative, or as a deputy of the officers’ representative, on a Promotions Appeal Board or on the Disciplinary Appeal Board;

“nomination day” means the date fixed under regulation 11 as the last date for the receipt of nominations for an election;

“officers’ representative” means—

(a) in relation to a Promotions Appeal Board, the elected officer referred to in paragraph 30 (2) (c) of the Act; and

(b) in relation to the Disciplinary Appeal Board, the elected officer referred to in paragraph 37 (2) (c) of the Act;

* Notified in the Australian Government Gazette on 26 July 1973.

“Promotions Appeal Board” means a Promotions Appeal Board constituted under section 30 of the Act;

“the Act” means the Commonwealth Teaching Service Act 1972.

Allowances.

4. (1) For the purposes of sub-section 8 (2) of the Act, the allowances shall, subject to this regulation, be as follows:—

(a) where the Commissioner is necessarily absent overnight from Canberra in the course of performing his duties—travelling allowance at the rate of Twenty-five dollars per day; and

(b) where the Commissioner performs duties outside Australia and the Territories—such allowances as he would be entitled to be paid if he were an officer of the Public Service of the Commonwealth and were included in the Second Division.

(2) Travelling allowance referred to in paragraph (1) (a) —

(a) is in addition to, and does not include, the cost of conveyance; and

(b) does not relate to a period in respect of which any allowances referred to in paragraph (1)(b) are payable to the Commissioner.

Publication of direction under sub-section 26 (3) or (4) of the Act.

5. A direction given by the Commissioner under sub-section 26 (3) or (4) of the Act shall be made known to the officers by the publication of a copy of the direction in the Gazette.

Seniority of officers.

6. (1) For the purposes of paragraph 28 (2) (c) of the Act, the seniority of officers shall be determined in accordance with this regulation.

(2) Subject to sub-regulation (3), the relative seniority of officers shall be determined according to the respective dates of their appointment as officers.

(3) Where an officer—

(a) was, immediately before his appointment as an officer of the Service, an officer of the Public Service of the Commonwealth performing teaching duties in a Commonwealth school; or

(b) was an officer of the Teaching Service of the State of New South Wales performing teaching duties in a Commonwealth school in the Australian Capital Territory or the Jervis Bay Territory, or was an officer of the Teaching Service of the State of South Australia performing teaching duties in a Commonwealth school in the Northern Territory, during the year 1973 and—

(i) was appointed as an officer of the Service before the commencement of these Regulations; or

(ii) applies for appointment as an officer of the Service before 1st January, 1974,

the seniority of the officer shall be determined as if the Act and these Regulations had been in force—

(c) in the case of an officer referred to in paragraph (a), on the date on which he commenced to perform teaching duties in a Commonwealth school; or

(d) in the case of an officer referred to in paragraph (b), on the date of his appointment as an officer of the Teaching Service of the State of New South Wales, or as an officer of the Teaching Service of the State of South Australia, as the case may be,

and as if the officer has been appointed as an officer of the Service on that date.

(4) Notwithstanding sub-regulations (2) and (3), the relative seniority of two or more officers who occupy positions in the Service having the same classification shall be determined according to the respective dates of their appointment or promotion to positions having that classification.

(5) For the purposes of sub-regulation (4), where the Commissioner makes the same alteration of the classification of all positions having the same classification and, by reason of a direction given under sub-section 26 (3) of the Act, sub-section 26 (2) of the Act does not apply, each of those positions shall be deemed to have had the classification as so altered as from the date on which the position was originally created.

Publication or promotions.

7. The promotion of an officer to a vacant position shall be made known to the officers by the publication of a notification of the promotion in the Gazette.

Appeals against promotions.

8. (1) An appeal against a provisional promotion of an officer to a vacant position shall be made by letter or telegram delivered to the Commissioner at the office of the Commissioner in Canberra within the period that commences on the date on which notification of the promotion is published in the Gazette and ends at the close of business of that office on the twenty-first day after that date.

(2) Such a letter or telegram shall state whether the appeal is on the ground of superior efficiency or on the ground of equal efficiency and seniority.

Elections in accordance with Regulations.

9. An election shall be in accordance with these Regulations.

Returning Officer.

10. The Chief Australian Electoral Officer, or a person authorized by him, shall be the Returning Officer for the purposes of an election.

Nomination day and polling day.

11. (1) For the purposes of an election, the Commissioner shall fix—

(a) a date as the last date for the receipt of nominations; and

(b) a date (being a date not earlier than sixty days, and not later than ninety days, after nomination day) as the date for the close of the poll,

and shall cause a notification specifying the dates so fixed to be published in the Gazette twice in consecutive weeks.

(2) The date referred to in paragraph (1) (a) shall be not less than twenty-one days after the date on which the notification referred to in sub-regulation (1) is last published in the Gazette.

(3) A notification referred to in sub-regulation (1) shall include a statement to the effect that the list of officers to be prepared under regulation 13 will be certified and transmitted to the Returning Officer in accordance with that regulation, and shall specify the latest date by which the ballot-papers and ballot-paper envelopes relating to the relevant election will be sent or delivered to the officers.

(4) Forthwith after the notification referred to in sub-regulation (1) has been prepared, the Commissioner shall cause one copy of the notification to be sent to each place where an officer or officers perform his duty or their duties and there to be made available for inspection by the officer or officers.

Hour of close of poll.

12. The hour for the close of the poll shall be 12 o’clock noon on the date fixed for the close of the poll.

List of officers.

13. (1) For the purposes of each election, the Commissioner shall prepare a list of officers specifying, in respect of each officer, the full name of the officer and the address at which he performs his duty, and the Commissioner shall certify the list and transmit it, in duplicate, to the Returning Officer not later than twenty-one days after nomination day.

(2) If at any time during the period that commences on the date on which the list referred to in sub-regulation (1) is prepared and ends on the date for the close of the poll, a person becomes, or ceases to be, an officer, the Commissioner

shall forthwith notify the Returning Officer in writing of that fact and shall, if that person has become an officer, specify in the notification the full name of the officer and the address at which he performs his duty.

Certificate of status an officer.

14. If required to do so by the Returning Officer (whether as a result of a request under regulation 19 or otherwise), the Commissioner shall forthwith furnish to the Returning Officer a certificate that a person whose name is specified by the Returning Officer is, or is not, an officer of the Service, as the case may be.

Nomination.

15. (1) A nomination of an officer for election shall—

(a) be in writing;

(b) specify the name of the officer nominated and the position occupied by him;

(c) be signed by not less than ten other officers;

(d) be signed, in the presence of a witness, by the officer nominated;

(e) be signed by that witness;

(f) bear a declaration by the officer nominated to the effect that he is an officer; and

(g) be dated the day on which it is signed by the officer nominated.

(2) A nomination shall be lodged with the Returning Officer during the period that commences on the date on which the relevant notification referred to in regulation 11 is first published in the Gazette and ends at 12 o’clock noon on nomination day.

(3) A nomination that does not comply with the requirements of sub-regulations (1) and (2) is void and of no effect.

Need for poll.

16. In the event of one officer only being nominated for election, the Returning Officer shall, by notification published in the Gazette, declare that officer elected, but if two or more officers are nominated, the Returning Officer shall proceed to take a poll.

One vote per officer.

17. Each officer is entitled to one vote only at a poll.

Distribution of ballot-papers.

18. (1) Where, in accordance with regulation 16, a poll is to be taken, the Returning Officer shall, not later than thirty days before the date fixed for the close of the poll, send by post or cause to be delivered to each officer whose name appears on the list prepared by the Commissioner under regulation 13 one ballot-paper and one ballot-paper envelope.

(2) The Returning Officer shall initial each ballot-paper before despatching it in accordance with sub-regulation (1).

(3) The Returning Officer shall ensure that a ballot-paper and ballot-paper envelope to be sent or delivered to an officer under sub-regulation (1) is enclosed in a covering envelope which is fastened and addressed to the officer.

Rectification of list of officers.

19. (1) An officer whose name has not been included in the list prepared by the Commissioner under regulation 13 may, in writing, request the Returning Officer to add the officer’s name to the list.

(2) A request by an officer under sub-regulation (1) shall specify the full name of the officer and the address at which he performs his duty.

(3) Upon receiving a request under sub-regulation (1), the Returning Officer shall add to the list the full name of the officer and the address at which he performs his duty, and shall send, or cause to be delivered, a ballot-paper and ballot-paper envelope to the officer in accordance with regulation 18.

Ballot-papers.

20. (1) A ballot-paper shall be in accordance with the Form in the Schedule.

(2) The names of the candidates at an election shall be set out on each ballot-paper in alphabetical order according to surnames.

(3) The ballot-paper envelope shall be addressed to the Returning Officer and shall have printed on it a form of declaration to the effect that the person voting is an officer and that he has not already voted in the poll.

Manner of voting.

21. (1) An officer shall mark his vote on the ballot-paper by placing the number 1 in the square opposite the name of the candidate for whom he votes as his first preference and the numbers 2, 3, 4 (and so on, as the case requires) in the squares opposite the names of all the remaining candidates so as to indicate the order of his preference for them.

(2) After marking his vote, an officer shall fold the ballot-paper, place it in the ballot-paper envelope, seal the ballot-paper envelope, complete and sign the declaration printed on the ballot-paper envelope and send the ballot-paper envelope containing the ballot-paper by post or otherwise so as to reach the Returning Officer not later than 12 o’clock noon on the date fixed for the close of the poll.

Custody of ballot-papers and scrutiny.

22. (1) The Returning Officer shall, in respect of each election, preserve in his custody a locked and sealed ballot-box in which he shall forthwith place all ballot-paper envelopes received by him up to the hour for the close of the poll.

(2) Forthwith after the hour for the close of the poll, the Returning Officer shall, in the presence of the scrutineers who attend—

(a) open the ballot-box and produce unopened all ballot-paper envelopes received up to the hour for the close of the poll;

(b) if he is satisfied that the declaration on a ballot-paper envelope has been effectively completed and signed and that the person who signed the declaration is an officer and has not already voted in the poll, accept the ballot-paper contained in that envelope for further scrutiny but, if he is not so satisfied, disallow the ballot-paper without opening the envelope; and

(c) proceed with the scrutiny as nearly as practicable, mutatis mutandis, in accordance with the provisions of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918-1973 and the regulations under that Act relating to an election of a member of the House of Representatives.

(3) If on any count two or more candidates have an equal number of votes and one of them has to be excluded, or if in the final count two candidates have an equal number of votes, it shall be decided by lot which candidate shall be excluded or elected, as the case requires.

Allowance or rejection of ballot-papers.

23. The provisions of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918-1973 and the regulations under that Act relating to the allowance and admission, and disallowance and rejection, of ballot-papers in an election of a member of the House of Representatives shall, in so far as they are applicable, apply, mutatis mutandis, to and in relation to an election under these Regulations.

Scrutineers.

24. (1) Each candidate at an election may appoint one scrutineer to represent him at the scrutiny.

(2) All the proceedings at the scrutiny shall be open to the inspection of the scrutineers.

Publication of result of poll.

25. Forthwith after the conclusion of the scrutiny at an election, the Returning Officer shall—

(a) inform the Commissioner in writing of the result of the poll; and

(b) by notification published in the Gazette, declare the successful candidate elected.

Disputed elections.

26. (1) The validity of an election may be disputed by a candidate at the election by a petition addressed to the Commissioner.

(2) A petition disputing an election shall—

(a) set out clearly and fully the facts that are relied upon to invalidate the election;

(b) be signed by the candidate disputing the election; and

(c) be lodged with the Commissioner within fourteen days after the date on which the notification referred to in paragraph 25 (b) is published in the Gazette.

(3) A petitioner shall cause a copy of the petition to be served on the officer elected as a result of the disputed election within fourteen days after the date on which the notification referred to in paragraph 25 (b) is published in the Gazette.

(4) In the event of an election being disputed, the officer elected shall hold the relevant office until the dispute is determined in accordance with these Regulations.

Reference to Disputes Committee.

27. (1) If the Commissioner is satisfied, from the statement of facts relied upon in a petition, that there is a matter for investigation, the Commissioner shall refer the petition to the Disputes Committee, but if he is not so satisfied, he shall dismiss the petition.

(2) The Disputes Committee shall consist of the Chief Australian Electoral Officer and two officers appointed by the Commissioner.

(3) The Chief Australian Electoral Officer shall be the Chairman of the Disputes Committee.

Powers and functions of Disputes Committee.

28. (1) Upon a petition being referred to the Disputes Committee, the Disputes Committee shall—

(a) fix a time for the holding of an inquiry into the matter;

(b) cause notice of the time so fixed to be given to the petitioner, to the person elected as a result of the relevant poll, to the Returning Officer and to such other persons as the Disputes Committee considers should receive that notice;

(c) hold the inquiry; and

(d) afford the petitioner, the person elected as a result of the relevant poll, the Returning Officer and such other persons as the Disputes Committee considers should be given opportunity to do so, opportunity to give evidence and make submissions at the inquiry.

(2) In holding an inquiry, the Disputes Committee is not bound by the laws of evidence, and the procedure to be followed at an inquiry shall be as directed by the Disputes Committee.

(3) Where the members of the Disputes Committee are divided in opinion on a question, that question shall be decided according to the decision of the majority.

(4) The Disputes Committee shall decide the petition, and for that purpose shall have the following powers:—

(a) to require the attendance of witnesses and the production of documents;

(b) to grant to any party to a petition leave to inspect the list of officers prepared by the Commissioner under regulation 13 and other documents used at or in connexion with the relevant election, and to take extracts from that list or those documents;

(c) to examine witnesses on oath;

(d) to enquire into the identity of the voters at the election and whether their votes were improperly admitted or rejected assuming the list of officers prepared by the Commissioner under regulation 13 was correct, but the Disputes Committee shall not enquire into the correctness of the list;

(e) to examine ballot-papers and ballot-paper envelopes;

(f) to admit or reject any ballot-paper;

(g) to declare that any candidate who was returned as elected was not duly elected;

(h) to declare any candidate duly elected who was not returned as elected;

(i) to declare any election absolutely void; and

(j) to dismiss or uphold the petition in whole or in part.

Effect of decision.

29. (1) A decision by the Disputes Committee under regulation 28 shall have effect as provided in this regulation.

(2) If a candidate is declared not to have been duly elected, he ceases to hold office.

(3) If a candidate is declared to have been duly elected, he shall be deemed to have been elected to the relevant office.

(4) If the election is declared absolutely void, a new election shall be held in accordance with these Regulations.

(5) The decision of the Disputes Committee is final and conclusive and without appeal.

(6) An election shall not be void on account of an error or omission by an officer which did not affect the result of the election.

(7) Where an officer was, on account of an error or omission by another officer, prevented from voting in an election, no evidence shall be admitted, for the purpose of determining whether the error or omission did or did not affect the result of the election, of the way in which that first-mentioned officer intended to vote at the election.

Protection in relation to an inquiry.

30. (1) An action or proceeding, civil or criminal, does not lie against any member of the Disputes Committee for or in respect of any action taken or thing done in good faith by the Disputes Committee or by him in his capacity as a member.

(2) A witness or a person making submissions at an inquiry under regulation 28 has the same protection as a witness in proceedings in the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory.

Preservation of ballot-papers.

31. The ballot-papers and ballot paper envelopes used in connexion with an election shall be retained in sealed and endorsed parcels for one month after the declaration of the poll or, where an election is disputed, for one month after the determination of the petition, when they shall be destroyed.

Vacation of office.

32. In the event of a person who has been elected at an election—

(a) ceasing to be an officer; or

(b) tendering his resignation in writing to the Commissioner,

the office of that person shall be deemed to be vacant.

Term of office—officers’ representatives, and deputies or officers' representatives, on Promotions Appeal Boards.

33. (1) Subject to sub-regulation (2), for the purposes of sub-sections 30 (4) and (5) of the Act, the prescribed period is two years.

(2) Where an officer is elected as the officers’ representative, or as a deputy of the officers’ representative, on a Promotions Appeal Board in order to fill a vacancy created by a person who had been the officers’ representative or a deputy, as the case may be, having ceased to be an officer or having tendered his resignation in writing to the Commissioner, the officer so elected shall hold office for the unexpired balance of the period for which that other person had been elected.

Term of office—officers’ representatives, and deputies of officers’ representatives, on Disciplinary Appeal Board.

34. (1) Subject to sub-regulation (2), for the purposes of sub-sections 37 (4) and (5) of the Act, the prescribed period is three years.

(2) Where an officer is elected as the officers’ representative, or as a deputy of the officers’ representative, on the Disciplinary Appeal Board in order to fill a vacancy created by a person who had been the officers’ representative or a deputy, as the case may be, having ceased to be an officer or having tendered his resignation in writing to the Commissioner, the officer so elected shall hold office for the unexpired balance of the period for which that other person had been elected.

SCHEDULE Regulation 20

COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA

Commonwealth Teaching Service Regulations

Directions.—Mark your vote on this ballot-paper by placing the number 1 in the square opposite the name of the candidate for whom you vote as your first preference and the numbers 2, 3, 4 (and so on, as the case requires) in the squares opposite the names of all the remaining candidates so as to indicate the order of your preference for them. Then fold the ballot-paper, place it in the ballot-paper envelope and seal that envelope. Then complete and sign the declaration printed on the envelope and send that envelope containing the ballot-paper by post or otherwise so as to reach the Returning Officer not later than 12 o’clock noon on the                            day of                            , 19              .

CANDIDATES

(b) Full names of candidates to be set out opposite squares.

 (b)

 (b)

 (b)

 (b)