Public Service Regulations (Amendment)

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STATUTORY RULES.

1951. No. 33.

REGULATIONS UNDER THE PUBLIC SERVICE ACT 1922-1950.*

THE PUBLIC SERVICE BOARD appointed under the Public Service Act 1922-1950, in pursuance and exercise of the authority conferred upon it by the said Act, and subject to the approval of the Governor-General, hereby makes the following Regulations.

Dated this twentieth day of April, 1951.

W. E. DUNK

Chairman.

G. G. SUTCLIFFE

Commissioner.

I, THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL in and over the Commonwealth of Australia, acting with the advice of the Federal Executive Council, hereby approve the following Regulations.

Dated this twenty-sixth day of April, 1951.

W. J. McKELL

Governor-General.

By His Excellency's Command,

ROBERT G. MENZIES

Prime Minister.

Amendment of the Public Service Regulations.†

1. Regulation 106a of the Public Service Regulations is repealed and the following regulation inserted in its stead:—

Variations of salary on account of variation in cost of living.

“106A.—(1.) For the purposes of this regulation, ‘index number’ means the weighted average retail price index number for the six State capital cities of the Commonwealth, as shown in the 'Court' Third Series of retail price index numbers published from time to time by, or at the direction of, the Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration.

* Notified in the Commonwealth Gazette on 30th April, 1951.

† Statutory Rules 1935. No. 18, as amended to date. For previous amendments of the Public Service Regulations, see footnote † to Statutory Rules 1951, No. 13.

1914.—PRICE 3D.

"(2.) Where the index number for the period of three months ending on the thirty-first day of December, the thirty-first day of March, the thirtieth day of June or the thirtieth day of September in any year is less than 81.7, salaries payable in pursuance of regulation 104, 105, 105a, 105b or 106 of these Regulations shall, as from the commencement of the first fortnightly pay period beginning in the next succeeding month of February, May, August or November (as the case may be), be reduced by the appropriate amount shown in the following table opposite the index number group within which the index, number falls:—

Index number groups.	Amount of reduction in salary.
Index number groups.	Adult males.	Adult females.	Officers who have attained the age of nineteen years but have not attained the age of twenty-one years.	Officers who have not attained the age of nineteen years.
	Per annum.	Per annum.	Per annum.	Per annum.
	£	£	£	£
79.4–81.6 .................................	6	4	4	3
77.1–79.3 .................................	12	9	8	6
74.8–77.0 .................................	18	13	12	9
72.5–74.7 .................................	24	18	16	12
70.2–72.4 .................................	30	22	20	15
67.9–70.1 .................................	36	27	24	18

"(3.) If the index number for the period of three months ending on the thirty-first day of December, the thirty-first day of March, the thirtieth day of June or the thirtieth day of September in any year falls below 67.9, salaries shall be further reduced on the basis indicated in the last preceding sub-regulation, that is to say, for each fall of 2.3 points in the index number salaries shall, as from the commencement of the first fortnightly pay period beginning in the next succeeding month of February, May, August or November (as the case may be), be reduced by Six pounds per annum in the case of adult males, by alternate amounts of Four pound and Five pounds per annum in the case of adult females, by Four pounds per annum in the case of officers who have attained the age of nineteen years but have not attained the age of twenty-one years and by Three pounds per annum in the case of officers who have not attained the age of nineteen years.

"(4.) Where the index number for the period of three months ending on the thirty-first day of December, the thirty-first day of March, the thirtieth day of June or the thirtieth day of September in any year exceeds 83.9, salaries payable in pursuance of regulation 104, 105, 105A, 105B or 106 of these Regulations shall, as from the commencement of the first fortnightly pay period beginning in the next succeeding

month of February, May, August or November (as the case may be), be increased by the appropriate amount shown in the following table opposite the index number group within which the index number falls:—

Index number groups.	Amount of increase in salary.
Index number groups.	Adult males.	Adult females.	Officers who have attained the age of nineteen years but have not attained the age of twenty-one years.	Officers who have not attained the age of nineteen years.
	Per annum.	Per annum.	Per annum.	Per annum.
	£	£	£	£
84.0–86.2 ....................	6	5	4	3
86.3–88.5 ....................	12	9	8	6
88.6–90.8 ....................	18	14	12	9
90.9–93.1 ....................	24	18	16	12
93.2–95.4 ....................	30	23	20	15
95.5–97.7 ....................	36	27	24	18
97.8–100.0 ...................	42	32	28	21
100.1–102.3 ....................	48	36	32	24
102.4–104.6 ....................	54	41	36	27
104.7–106.9 ....................	60	45	40	30
107.0–109.2 ....................	66	50	44	33
109.3–111.5 ....................	72	54	48	36
111.6–113.8 ....................	78	59	52	39
113.9–116.1 ....................	84	63	56	42
116.2–118.4 ....................	90	68	60	45
118.5–120.7 ....................	96	72	64	48
120.8–123.0 ....................	102	77	68	51
123.1–125.3 ....................	108	81	72	54
125.4–127.6 ....................	114	86	76	57
127.7–129.9 ....................	120	90	80	60
130.0–132.2 ....................	126	95	84	63
132.3–134.5 ....................	132	99	88	66
134.6–136.8 ....................	138	104	92	69
136.9–139.1 ....................	144	108	96	72
139.2–141.4 ....................	150	113	100	75
141.5–143.7 ....................	156	117	104	78
143.8–146.0 ....................	162	122	108	81
146.1–148.3 ....................	168	126	112	84
148.4–150.6 ....................	174	131	116	87
150.7–152.9 ....................	180	135	120	90
153.0–155.2 ....................	186	140	124	93
155.3–157.5 ....................	192	144	128	96
157.6–159.8 ....................	198	149	132	99
159.9–162.1 ....................	204	153	136	102
162.2–164.4 ....................	210	158	140	105
164.5–166.7 ....................	216	162	144	108
166.8–169.0 ....................	222	167	148	111
169.1–171.3 ....................	228	171	152	114
171.4–173.6 ....................	234	176	156	117
173.7–175.9 ....................	240	180	160	120

"(5.) If the index number for the period of three months ending on the thirty-first day of December, the thirty-first day of March, the thirtieth day of June or the thirtieth day of September in any year rises above 175.9, salaries shall be further increased on the basis indicated in the last preceding sub-regulation, that is to say, for every

rise of 2.3 points in the index number, salaries shall, as from the commencement of the first fortnightly pay period beginning in the next succeeding month of February, May, August or November (as the case may be), be increased by Six pounds per annum in the case of adult males, by alternate amounts of Five pounds and Four pounds per annum in the case of adult females, Four pounds per annum in the case of officers who have attained the age of nineteen years but have not attained the age of twenty-one years and by Three pounds per annum in the case of officers who have not attained the age of nineteen years.

"(6.) An amount of Eight pounds per annum shall be added to the salary of an adult female officer, as varied in accordance with the foregoing provisions of this regulation.

"(7.) Except where otherwise expressly provided in these Regulations, the amount referred to in the last preceding sub-regulation shall be deemed for all purposes to be part of salary.

"(8.) Where the rate of salary payable to an officer who has not attained the age of twenty-one years is not prescribed for an office and an officer who has not attained that age occupies that office, the salary payable to that officer shall, notwithstanding anything contained in this regulation, be varied as if that officer was an adult.".

Commencement

2. Regulation 1 of these Regulations shall be deemed to have come into operation on the thirty-first day of December, 1950.

By Authority: L. F. JOHNSTON, Commonwealth Government Printer, Canberra.

Overview

The Regulations Under the Public Service Act 1922-1950 were enacted in 1951 by the Public Service Board, pursuant to its authority under the Public Service Act, and with the approval of the Governor-General. These regulations aim to address the need for adjustments in public service officers' salaries in response to changes in the cost of living, as measured by the weighted average retail price index number for the six State capital cities of the Commonwealth. The policy objective is to maintain the purchasing power of public service salaries, ensuring they reflect changes in the cost of living, as indicated by the index numbers derived from the Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration's retail price index numbers. The regulations establish a mechanism for varying public service officers' salaries based on the index numbers calculated over specific periods. If the index number falls below a certain threshold, salaries are reduced, and if it rises above another threshold, salaries are increased. This approach ensures that public service officers' salaries are adjusted regularly to account for inflation or deflation, thus maintaining their real value. The regulations also detail specific amounts of reduction or increase in salaries based on different index number groups, ensuring a systematic and transparent method for adjusting salaries.

Scope and Application

The Public Service Regulations, made under the Public Service Act 1922-1950, govern the conditions of employment and the salaries of public service officers within the Commonwealth. These regulations apply to public service officers employed by the Commonwealth and are intended to ensure that salary adjustments are made in accordance with changes in the cost of living, as measured by the weighted average retail price index number for the six State capital cities. The regulations establish specific index number groups and corresponding salary adjustments, both reductions and increases, based on the index number for specified quarterly periods. The regulations also provide for additional salary adjustments if the index number falls below a certain threshold or rises above another. Notably, the regulations do not exclude any categories of officers from these provisions, applying uniformly to all public service officers unless otherwise expressly provided. The regulations came into effect on 31 December 1950, and they provide a structured mechanism for ensuring that salary adjustments are responsive to economic conditions as measured by the specified index numbers.

Key Provisions

The main sections of this statutory instrument involve the amendment of salary variations based on changes in the cost of living index. Regulation 106A, which replaces Regulation 106a, specifies how salary adjustments are to be made based on the weighted average retail price index number for six State capital cities. These adjustments occur when the index number for specific periods falls below or rises above certain thresholds, with different reduction or increase amounts specified for various categories of officers (paragraph (1)-(8)). The salary adjustments are scheduled to take effect from the beginning of the first fortnightly pay period in the next succeeding months of February, May, August, or November, depending on the quarter in which the index number is assessed. The Act imposes obligations on the Public Service Board to monitor the index numbers and ensure that salary adjustments are made as per the regulations. The Board must also ensure that the salary adjustments are correctly applied to the relevant categories of officers and that any additional amounts are added to the salaries of adult female officers. The Board is responsible for ensuring that all salaries are varied as if the officers were adults where the salary rate is not prescribed for an office occupied by an officer under twenty-one years of age. The regulations do not explicitly state any offences, penalties, or civil or criminal consequences for breach. However, it is implied that failure to comply with the salary adjustment provisions could result in legal action being taken against the Public Service Board for not adhering to the regulations, potentially leading to penalties under the Public Service Act 1922-1950. The specific penalties for non-compliance would depend on the provisions of the overarching Act and any relevant case law.

Area of Law: Administrative Law
Instrument: Legislative Instrument
Concepts: Definitions & Interpretation; Repeal & Amendment; Compliance Obligations

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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.

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