Explanatory Statement
STATUTORY RULES 1983 No. 131
Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Education and Youth
Affairs
COMMONWEALTH TEACHING SERVICE
REGULATIONS AMENDMENT
(Executive Council Minute No 12 refers)
The enactment of the Commonwealth Functions (Statutes Review) Act in 1981, placed into legislation the recommendations of the Review of Commonwealth Functions (Lynch) Committee.
One provision of that Act abolished the position of Commissioner of the Commonwealth Teaching Service.
The legal consequences were to require a number of amendments to the Commonwealth Teaching Service Act and a related decision changed the method of selecting teachers’ representatives on the Promotions Appeal Boards and the Disciplinary Appeal Board.
Under present legislation, the teachers’ representative on these Boards was determined by a ballot of all officers of the Commonwealth Teaching Service. The effect of the proclamation of Sections 166 and 170 of the Statutes Review Act, is to permit regulations to be made under the Commonwealth Teaching Service Act, that enables the relevant industrial organisation to nominate an officers’ representative, or in the case of a nonunion appellant before the Disciplinary Appeal Board, that person would be required to nominate a representative from a list of at least three of his peers.
In addition, with the changes in the structure of the Commonwealth Teaching Service, a number of associated drafting changes were required to delete reference to the “Commissioner” and substitute the “relevant authority”.
Amendments
Regulation 1 cites the principal regulations as the Commonwealth Teaching Service Regulations.
Regulation 2 amends the interpretation in existing Regulation 3 to broaden the definition of appellant to include appeals to the Promotions Appeal Boards as well as the Disciplinary Appeal Board. References to “elections” are deleted and the definition
of “officer” has been changed consequent on the reorganisation of the Commonwealth Teaching Service. The definition of “officers’ representative” is amended by deleting reference to “elected” and substituting “nominated” and a definition for “organisation” is inserted.
Regulation 3 repeals existing Regulation 4 which provided for allowances to be paid to the now abolished position of Commissioner.
Regulation 6 repeals existing Part III and substitutes a new part, which provides the procedures for nomination of offiers’ representatives for both the Promotions Appeal and the Disciplinary Appeal Boards in place of the existing procedure for the election of the representatives.
Regulation 8 amends existing Regulation 6 to require an appellant when lodging a disciplinary appeal to state whether or not he is a member of an approved organisation and if so to provide details of that authority. In addition references to “Commissioner” are deleted and replaced by references to the “relevant authority”.
Regulations 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 14 delete references to the “Commissioner” and substitute “relevant authority” in existing Regulations 5, 6, 35, 38, 41, 42, and 43, and Schedule 2 respectively.
Regulation 13 repeals existing Schedule 1, which prescribed the form of ballot paper for election of officers’ representatives. Consequent on the change of procedure, no ballot paper is necessary.