EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Statutory Rules 1985 No. 177
PUBLIC SERVICE REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT)
Issued with the authority of the Public Service Board
Sub-section 97(1) of the Public Service Act 1922 (the Act) provides, inter alia, 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 Act.
The Public Service Regulations have hitherto made provision relating to the establishment, constitution and procedures of Promotion Appeal Committees. Under the Merit Protection (Australian Government Employees) Act 1984 (Merit Protection Act) the Merit Protection and Review Agency (the Agency) is to have responsibility for the establishment, constitution and procedures of Promotion Appeal Committees.
In related papers (Executive Council Minute No. 10 refers) it was recommended that 21 July be fixed by Proclamation on which the provisions of the Merit Protection Act relating to Promotion Appeal Committees came into operation.
To enable the transfer of responsibility from the Public Service Board to the Agency for Promotion Appeal Committees it was necessary for provisions in the Public Service Regulations relating to Promotion Appeal Committees to be repealed. Comparable provisions have been included in the Merit Protection (Australian Government Employees) Regulations made under the Merit Protection Act. (Executive Council Minute No. 11 refers). Details of the amendments to the Public Service Regulations are set out below.
Regulation 1 provided for the regulations to come into operation on 21 July 1985.
Regulation 2 and 3 amended existing regulations 56 and 57 by omitting references to ‘Regional Director’ and substituting ‘Board’. The reason for this amendment is that the Board’s Office has been reorganised so that there is no longer a Regional Director in the A.C.T.
Regulation 4 amended existing regulation 104 which provides a definition of Promotion Appeal Committee so that the definition refers to the section of the Merit Protection Act under which Promotion Appeal Committees are to be established.
Regulation 5 repealed regulations 109D, 109E and 109F which hitherto have made provision relating to the establishment, constitution and procedures of Promotion Appeal Committees.
Regulation 6 amended regulation 160 to broaden the delegation power provided by that regulation to the Director of the Grievance and Appeals Bureau. Hitherto the Director had been able to delegate powers relating to discipline appeals only to staff of the Public Service Board. With the establishment of the Agency and pending legislative transfer of responsibility for discipline appeal matters from the Board to the Agency it was desirable for the Director to be able to delegate the Director’s powers to members and staff of the Agency.