EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
STATUTORY RULES 1986 NO 155
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, inter alia, that the Public Service Board (“the 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 Act.
A number of provisions of the Public Service and Statutory Authorities Amendment Act 1985 (“the Amendment Act”) have been proclaimed to come into operation on 1 July 1986. These provisions insert into the Principal Act new arrangements for the employment of various categories of persons in the Australian Public Service.
These statutory rules insert various regulations into the Public Service Regulations (“the Regulations”) in relation to the new provisions in the Principal Act. Details of the regulations are as follows.
Regulation 1 provides that these regulations shall come into operation on 1 July 1986.
Regulation 2 repeals existing regulations 121 to 124, which relate to sections of the Principal Act to be repealed, and substitutes new regulations 121 and 122. The regulations repealed relate to the register of applicants for temporary employment; under the new arrangements, the manner in which registers shall be kept will be notified by the Board in the Gazette.
New regulation 121 defines “principal relevant staff organization” for the purposes of new paragraph 82(2)(b) of the Principal Act. Such an organization has a consultative role in relation to the inclusion of classes of employees in the various employment categories under the new temporary employment arrangements.
New regulation 122 prescribes the various schemes (e.g. the Commonwealth Work Experience Program) enabling persons to gain ability for the purpose of participating in the Australian work-force. This is done pursuant to new section 82AG of the Principal Act, under which a departmental Secretary may employ such persons.
Regulation 3 amends regulation 165 of the Regulations to exclude from the Public Service disciplinary code employees employed:
(a) under the Australian Traineeship System; and
(b) under other of the schemes prescribed by new regulation 122 where the employee has been employed for less than 1 year.