Long Service Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Regulations (Amendment) 1991 No. 224
EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Statutory Rules 1991 No. 224
Long Service Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Regulations (Amendment)
(Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Industrial Relations)
Section 26 of the Long Service Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Act 1976 (the Leave Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations for the purposes of the Leave Act.
Under sub-section 4(6) of the Leave Act, a reference to a person who is employed by, remunerated by, in the service of, on loan to or appointed or engaged by the Commonwealth shall be read as including a reference to a person who is employed by, remunerated by, in the service of, on loan to or appointed or engaged by -
(a) a public authority of the Commonwealth;
(b) a body (not being a public authority of the Commonwealth) established by or under a law of the Commonwealth or of an internal Territory that is declared by the regulations to be a body to which this subsection applies; or
(c) a company that:
(i) is incorporated (whether before or after the commencement of this paragraph) under a law of the Commonwealth or a law in force in a State or Territory;
(ii) is a trading corporation, or a financial corporation, within the meaning of section 51(xx) of the Constitution; and
(iii) is declared by the regulations to be a body corporate to which this paragraph applies.
The Commonwealth Serum Laboratories (Conversion into Public Company) Act 1990 (the CSL Act) was assented to on 22 October 1990. Section 13 of the CSL Act, amongst other things, converted the Commonwealth Serum Laboratories Commission into a public company listed under the Companies Act 1981 (the Commonwealth Serum Laboratories Commission Limited), from 1 April 1991.
On conversion to a public company, Commonwealth Serum Laboratories Limited ceased to be a "public authority of the Commonwealth" for the purposes of paragraph 4(6)(a) of the Leave Act.
Schedule 1A of the Long Service (Commonwealth Employees) Regulations (the Regulations) provides a mechanism for declaring a company to be a body corporate under paragraph 4(6)(c) of the Leave Act.
The amendment to the Regulations inserted "Commonwealth Serum Laboratories Limited" in Schedule 1A - Prescribed Authorities Companies from 1 April 1991. As required by the Acts Interpretation Act 1901, the retrospectivity did not disadvantage any person other than the Commonwealth.
Overview
The Long Service Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Regulations (Amendment) 1991 No. 224, issued by the authority of the Minister for Industrial Relations, addresses a legislative gap arising from the conversion of the Commonwealth Serum Laboratories Commission into a public company as per the Commonwealth Serum Laboratories (Conversion into Public Company) Act 1990. This amendment was necessary to ensure that employees of the newly formed Commonwealth Serum Laboratories Limited would still be eligible for long service leave under the Long Service Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Act 1976. By incorporating this amendment, the Regulations maintain the continuity of leave entitlements for employees transitioning from a public authority to a public company, ensuring no employee is disadvantaged by this structural change.
The amendment was enacted to preserve the integrity and purpose of the Leave Act, specifically by ensuring that Commonwealth Serum Laboratories Limited is recognised as a body corporate under the Act. This was achieved by updating Schedule 1A of the Long Service (Commonwealth Employees) Regulations to include Commonwealth Serum Laboratories Limited, thus aligning the Regulations with the structural changes introduced by the CSL Act. The retrospective effect of this amendment, from 1 April 1991, ensures that employees are not disadvantaged by the change in status, in accordance with the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.
Scope and Application
The Long Service Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Regulations (Amendment) 1991 applies to the Commonwealth Serum Laboratories Limited, which was converted into a public company under the Commonwealth Serum Laboratories (Conversion into Public Company) Act 1990. The amendment ensures that this entity remains subject to the Long Service Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Act 1976, even after its conversion from a public authority of the Commonwealth to a public company. This amendment extends the applicability of the Act to include Commonwealth Serum Laboratories Limited, thereby maintaining continuity in the application of leave entitlements for its employees post-conversion. The amendment does not extend to any other entities or authorities not explicitly included in the amendment, maintaining the specificity of the Act's application to the prescribed authorities and companies.
Key Provisions
The Long Service Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Regulations (Amendment) 1991 No. 224 primarily focuses on adjusting the scope of the Long Service Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Regulations to include Commonwealth Serum Laboratories Limited (CSL) as a body corporate subject to the regulations. Under Section 4(6) of the Long Service Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Act 1976 (the Leave Act), the regulations extend the leave entitlements to employees of specified entities. The amendment, effective from 1 April 1991, ensures that CSL, following its conversion into a public company as per the Commonwealth Serum Laboratories (Conversion into Public Company) Act 1990, is included within the regulatory framework governing long service leave entitlements for Commonwealth employees.
The Act imposes specific obligations on CSL and its employees. Firstly, it mandates that CSL adheres to the provisions outlined in the amended regulations, ensuring that eligible employees receive long service leave entitlements as per the legislative framework. This includes the obligation to maintain accurate records of employee service periods and other relevant data necessary for the calculation and payment of long service leave. The regulations also require CSL to comply with any reporting or notification obligations that may be specified under the Leave Act or related regulations.
Breach of the regulations by CSL or failure to comply with the obligations could result in various legal consequences. While specific offences and penalties are not detailed in the explanatory statement, it is reasonable to infer that non-compliance could lead to civil or administrative penalties. These may include fines or other sanctions imposed by the relevant regulatory authority. Additionally, employees who do not receive their entitled long service leave may have recourse to legal action to recover any unpaid leave or associated entitlements. The retrospective nature of the amendment ensures that it does not adversely affect any individual, except the Commonwealth, aligning with the provisions of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.