EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
STATUTORY RULES 1967 NO 38
PUBLIC SERVICE REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT)
Issued with the authority of the Public Service Board
Sub-section 97(1) of the Public Service Act 1922 (‘the Principal Act’) provides that the Public Service Board may, with the approval of the Governor-General, make regulations prescribing all matters which are required or permitted to be prescribed or which are necessary or convenient to be prescribed, for carrying out or giving effect to the Principal Act.
A number of the provisions of the Public Service Legislation (Streamlining) Act 1986 (‘the Streamlining Act’) which inter alia amended the Principal Act came into operation on 15 January 1987. A number of consequential amendments to the Public Service Regulations (‘the Regulations’) were necessary as a result of the amendments to the Principal Act.
The statutory rules effect the necessary consequential amendments and make other miscellaneous amendments to the Regulations. Details of the regulations are as follows.
Regulation 1 adds to regulation 3 a definition of “the Secretary” to mean the Secretary of the Department in which an officer or employee is employed. The definition is needed in connection with amendments made by regulation 21 (see below).
Regulations 2 and 3 remove references to the Chief Officer from regulations 23 and 29 respectively, which referred to the Secretary and the Chief Officer. The amendments were needed because all references to the Chief Officer have been removed from the Principal Act (and other legislation) by the Streamlining Act, as it has been decided that the relevant Secretary can make appropriate delegations without the need for specially appointed Chief Officers.
Regulation 4 repeals regulation 43A, which prescribed circumstances for the purposes of sub-section 91(4) of the Act. That sub-section, which enabled the Board to grant permission to an officer to take up a company directorship, was omitted by the Streamlining Act and replaced by a provision requiring an officer to obtain the express permission of the Secretary.
Regulations 5, 6 and 7 effect changes to regulations 70A, 70B and 70C. Each of these regulations provides a scheme for applying the equal employment opportunity provisions of section 22B of the Principal Act, in slightly modified form, to employment under the Commonwealth Teaching Service Act, the
Naval Defence Act and the Supply and Development Act. The amending regulations withdrew the application of provisions of that section which were irrelevant to employment under those Acts.
Regulation 8 repeals regulations 72L, 72M and 72N, all dealing with Classification Committees. Regulation 9 removes a reference to a Classification Committee in regulation 72P. References to such Committees, which are no longer used, were removed from the Principal Act by the Streamlining Act.
Regulation 10 replaces an outdated reference to former subsection 82(6) of the Act with a reference to the currently relevant provision, section 82AH, under which the employment of an employee may be terminated.
Regulation 11 omits sub-regulation 139(1) dealing with the interpretation of “Chief Officer” for the purposes of disciplinary action, and adds to sub-regulation 139(2) a definition of “Secretary” for the same purposes.
Regulation 12 amends regulation 140, which provides for the manner of making appeals to a Disciplinary Appeal Committee, by removing the reference to section 66B. As a result of changes made by the Streamlining Act, appeals under section 668, against a decision to refuse an application for reappointment, are to be made directly to the Merit Protection and Review Agency.
Regulation 13 amends regulation 141, which provides for time limits for appeals to be made to a Disciplinary Appeal Committee, by deleting the reference to paragraph 66B(4)(a) of the Principal Act, which no longer exists.
Regulation 14 amends regulation 151, relating to payment of expenses of witnesses summoned to attend disciplinary proceedings, by imposing liability for payment on the Department of the relevant Secretary rather than on that of the Chief Officer.
Regulation 15 omits paragraph (b) from regulation 165, relating to disciplinary action against employees (as distinct from officers). That paragraph covered ‘citizens-in-waiting’, and has been rendered redundant as a result of the Streamlining Act, with citizens-in-waiting now being appointed as officers on probation.
Regulation 16 amends regulation 167 by omitting references to Chief Officer; and by changing the maximum amount which may be deducted from an employee’s salary by way of disciplinary action from $40 to $500, in line with changes made to the Principal Act in relation to officers.
Regulation 17 amends regulation 168 by omitting that part relating to Chief Officers.
Regulations 18, 19 and 20 amend Schedules 1A 1B and 1C in similar ways. The Schedules are the modified versions of section 22B of the Principal Act which are to apply to employment under the Commonwealth Teaching Service Act, the Naval Defence Act and the Supply and Development Act, and each contained a number of provisions erroneously duplicated from section 22B. These provisions were omitted and the headings to the Schedules amended accordingly. (See comments in relation to regulations 5, 6 and 7 above.)
Regulation 21 makes a large number of formal amendments to the Regulations substituting the term ‘Secretary’ for ‘Chief Officer’ in each case.