Long Service Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Amendment Regulations 2010 (No. 1)

Administered by Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations

Legislation au F2010L00388 Regulations Not in force Legislative Instrument

Legislation content

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

 

Select Legislative Instrument 2010 No. 20

 

Issued by the authority of the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations

 

Long Service Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Act 1976

 

Long Service Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Amendment Regulations
2010 (No. 1)

 

The Long Service Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Act 1976 (the Act) makes provision for long service leave in respect of employees of the Commonwealth.

 

Section 26 of the Act provides that the Governor-General may make regulations, not inconsistent with the Act, prescribing all matters required or permitted by the Act, or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act.

 

Following the Australian Human Rights Commission’s report, Same-Sex: Same Entitlements and an audit of Commonwealth legislation, the Australian Government introduced legislative reforms to remove differential treatment of same-sex couples and their children.

 

These reforms were passed by Parliament in 2008 in the form of the Same Sex Relationships (Equal Treatment in Commonwealth Laws – General Law Reform) Act 2008 and the Same‑Sex Relationships (Equal Treatment in Commonwealth Laws ‑ Superannuation) Act 2008 (the same-sex legislation). These Acts:

  • accord the same recognition to same‑sex de facto relationships and registered relationships as opposite‑sex de facto relationships;
  • ensure that functional recognition is provided to the children of same‑sex relationships; and
  • update outdated language and replace gender specific language with gender neutral language.

 

The purpose of these Regulations is to make the Long Service Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Regulations 1957 consistent with the same-sex legislation.

 

Details of the Regulations are set out in the Attachment.

 

Consultation in relation to these specific regulations was not undertaken as consultation on this issue was undertaken by the Australian Human Rights Commission as part of their reporting process and by the Australian Government as part of the legislative development process.

 

An assessment was made under the guidelines issued by the Office of Best Practice Regulation, which indicated that a Regulation Impact Statement was not required.

 

The Regulations are a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.

 

The Regulations commence on the day after they are registered.


ATTACHMENT

 

Details of the Long Service Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Amendment Regulations 2010 (No. 1)

 

Regulation 1 – Name of Regulations

 

Regulation 1 provides that the title of the Regulations is the Long Service Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Amendment Regulations 2010 (No. 1).

 

Regulation 2 – Commencement

 

Regulation 2 provides for the Regulations to commence on they day after they are registered.

 

Regulation 3 - Amendment of Long Service Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Regulations 1957

 

Regulation 3 provides that the Long Service Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Regulations 1957 (the Principal Regulations) are to be amended as set out in Schedule 1.

 

Regulation 4 – Transitional

 

Regulation 4 clarifies that, despite these technical amendments to principle regulation 5 (which update its gender specific language), that regulation continues to have effect in relation to instruments affecting long service leave for seamen and maritime employees which were made before the commencement of these Regulations.

 

Schedule 1 Amendments

 

These amendments continue the process of removing differential treatment of

same-sex couples and their children from all Commonwealth laws. The project began with the enactment of the Same Sex Relationships (Equal Treatment in Commonwealth Laws – General Law Reform) Act 2008 and the Same‑Sex Relationships (Equal Treatment in Commonwealth Laws ‑ Superannuation) Act 2008 (the same-sex legislation).

 

These amendments amend the Long Service Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Regulations 1957 to ensure that they align with and are consistent with the same-sex legislation.

 

Item [1] – Subregulation 4D(2)

 

Regulation 4D provides that an allowance may be payable to a person who is required to perform duties in a particular region of Australia (the district allowance). Subregulation 4D(2) provides that this district allowance is payable only if:

  • the person remains in the region during the period of his (or her) long service leave; or
  • the person is married, and the person’s family remain in the region during his (or her) absence from the region.

Item 1 amends subregulation 4D(2) so that the reference to ‘married’ extends to a person in a ‘de facto relationship’ with another person as defined under the

Acts Interpretation Act 1901. Additionally, all references to the gender-specific term ‘his’ have been replaced with a gender neutral term.

 

 

Item [2] – After subregulation 4D(3)

 

Item 2 inserts:

  • the gender-neutral definition of ‘child’ from the Same Sex Relationships (Equal Treatment in Commonwealth Laws – General Law Reform) Act 2008; and
  • the definition of ‘family’ from the Fair Work Act 2009 (taken from section 12 of the Act). This definition was chosen over those in the same sex legislation because it is descriptive but does not broaden the coverage of the Principal Regulations.

 

Item [3] – Subregulation 4DA(1)

 

Item 3 replaces references to ‘tradesman’ in subegulation 4DA(1) with a gender-neutral term ‘tradesperson’. This term is appropriate due to its common usage and the fact that it will be used to update the language of the Tradesmen’s Rights Regulation Act 1946.

 

Item [4] – Regulation 5

 

Regulation 5, which prescribes certain persons to be ‘seamen’ for the purposes of section 15 of the Act, contains references to many occupations which are gender specific. Item 4 replaces these occupations with prescribed classes of maritime employees expressed in gender-neutral terms and reordering the classes to increase readability. To ensure coverage by the regulation will remain unaltered, the updated occupations were verified against the Australia Bureau of Statistics publication ANZSCO - Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (1220.0 First Edition, Revision 1, updated 25 June 2009).

 

Item [5] – Further amendments

 

Item 5 replaces a number of other gender specific terms in the Act with the equivalent gender-neutral term.

 

 

Overview

The Long Service Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Amendment Regulations 2010 (No. 1) were introduced to address inconsistencies in the Long Service Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Regulations 1957 following the enactment of the Same Sex Relationships (Equal Treatment in Commonwealth Laws – General Law Reform) Act 2008 and the Same-Sex Relationships (Equal Treatment in Commonwealth Laws – Superannuation) Act 2008. These Acts sought to eliminate differential treatment of same-sex couples and their children in Commonwealth legislation. The Regulations were made under the authority of the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, aligning the Long Service Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Regulations 1957 with the broader legislative reforms aimed at ensuring equal treatment. The primary policy objective of these Regulations is to remove gender-specific language and extend entitlements to same-sex de facto relationships, thereby ensuring consistent and fair treatment across all Commonwealth laws. The Regulations, which do not require a Regulation Impact Statement, were developed following consultation processes conducted by the Australian Human Rights Commission and the Australian Government. They are designed to update and harmonise the Long Service Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Regulations 1957 with the same-sex legislation by incorporating gender-neutral terms and expanding the definition of relationships and family to include same-sex couples. This ensures that all Commonwealth employees, regardless of their relationship status, are treated equitably under the law. The Regulations came into effect on the day after they were registered, implementing the necessary amendments to achieve compliance with the new legislative framework.

Scope and Application

The Long Service Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Amendment Regulations 2010 (No. 1) apply to employees of the Commonwealth and aim to bring the Long Service Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Regulations 1957 into alignment with the same-sex legislation enacted in 2008. These regulations seek to eliminate differential treatment of same-sex couples and their children across all Commonwealth laws by updating gender-specific language and extending recognition to same-sex de facto relationships and their children. The regulations cover all Commonwealth employees who are entitled to long service leave and impact the broader regulatory environment by ensuring consistency with the same-sex legislation. These regulations have a national jurisdictional reach, as they pertain to Commonwealth employees across Australia. The regulations do not specify any exclusions or exemptions but ensure that the updated terms and definitions do not broaden the coverage of the Principal Regulations. The Regulations are subsidiary legislation made under the Long Service Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Act 1976 and the Long Service Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Regulations 1957, and they commence on the day after they are registered.

Key Provisions

The Long Service Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Amendment Regulations 2010 (No. 1) are a set of regulations designed to bring the Long Service Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Regulations 1957 into alignment with the same-sex legislation enacted in 2008. Section 3 of the Regulations mandates amendments to the 1957 Regulations, while Section 4 ensures that these amendments do not affect existing instruments pertaining to long service leave for seamen and maritime employees made prior to the commencement of these Regulations. These changes are detailed in Schedule 1, which includes updates to definitions and terminology to ensure they are gender-neutral and inclusive of same-sex relationships. For example, subregulation 4D(2) is amended to extend the district allowance to individuals in a de facto relationship, not just those who are married (Item 1). Additionally, new definitions for terms such as 'child' and 'family' are introduced, taken from the Fair Work Act 2009 to avoid broadening the coverage of the Principal Regulations (Item 2). The term 'tradesman' is updated to 'tradesperson' for gender neutrality (Item 3), and references to gender-specific occupations in Regulation 5 are replaced with gender-neutral terms, ensuring the coverage remains consistent with the Australia Bureau of Statistics classification (Item 4). Other gender-specific terms are similarly updated throughout (Item 5). The Regulations impose specific obligations on the parties governed by them. They require that the Long Service Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Regulations 1957 be amended to reflect the changes outlined in Schedule 1. These amendments must ensure that all references to relationships and family are gender-neutral and that the definitions used are consistent with other relevant legislation. The Regulations also ensure that existing instruments affecting long service leave for seamen and maritime employees, which were made before the commencement of these Regulations, remain unaffected. This is critical to maintaining the integrity and applicability of pre-existing legal instruments while updating terminology to be inclusive and non-discriminatory. In terms of compliance, failure to adhere to the provisions of these Regulations could lead to legal consequences. However, the Explanatory Statement does not explicitly mention any specific offences, penalties, or consequences for breach. Typically, breaches of regulations such as these could result in administrative actions, fines, or other legal repercussions depending on the severity and context of the breach. The maximum penalties for such breaches would be determined by the relevant laws and regulations governing administrative penalties in Australia, which may include fines and other enforcement measures.

Legal classification tags

Area of Law
Employment & Labour Law
Instrument
Regulation
Concepts
Definitions & Interpretation
Repeal & Amendment
Gender Neutrality

Interactions

Authorises

All Versions

Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation at 26 August 2026. For the latest information on Australian Government law please go to https://www.legislation.gov.au.