EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
STATUTORY RULES 1987 No. 180
PUBLIC SERVICE REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT)
Issued with the authority of the Public Service Board
Subsection 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.
Subsection 129(2) of the Public Service Legislation (Streamlining) Act 1986 (‘the Streamlining Act’) provides that after the commencement of that section and until a prescribed Commonwealth authority makes other provision, Division 8C of the Principal Act applies, subject to such modifications as are prescribed, in relation to the staff of the Commonwealth authority. The term “prescribed Commonwealth authority” is defined in subsection 129(3) of the Streamlining Act to mean an authority which immediately before the commencement of section 129 was a prescribed Commonwealth authority within the meaning of the Commonwealth Employees (Redeployment and Retirement) Act 1979. The authorities which were so prescribed are:
Australia Council
Aboriginal Development Commission
Albury-Wodonga Development Corporation
Australian Apple and Pear Corporation
Australian Atomic Energy Commission
Australian Capital Territory Electricity Authority
Australian Capital Territory Health Authority
Australian Dried Fruits Corporation
Australian Dairy Corporation
Australian Egg Board
Australian Film Commission
Australian Honey Board
Australian Institute of Criminology
Australian Institute of Marine Science
Australian Meat and Live-stock Corporation
Australian National Gallery
Australian Tobacco Board
Australian Tourist Commission
Australian Trade Commission
Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation
Canberra Commercial Development Authority
Housing Loans Insurance Corporation
Institute of Family Studies
Legal Aid Commission (A.C.T.)
Milk Authority of the Australian Capital Territory
National Capital Development Commission
National Companies and Securities Commission
National Exhibition Centre Trust
National Standards Commission
Parliament House Construction Authority
Division 8C of the Public Service Act was inserted in that Act by the Streamlining Act and came into operation on 20 July 1987. The new Division effectively replaces the Commonwealth Employees (Redeployment and Retirement) Act 1979, providing for the redeployment and retirement of certain officers and employees of the Australian Public Service. The main features of the new provisions are the simplification of procedures generally, rationalisation of appeal rights and the devolution of a number of powers to departmental Secretaries.
The statutory rules prescribe the modifications to Division 8C of the Principal Act in its application to prescribed Commonwealth authorities. The modifications are largely of a formal nature, for example, the substitution of the terms “Board” and “relevant Secretary” by the term “Authority”, and use of the term “employee” rather than “officer”. The modifications do not alter the substance of the legislation. The most significant departures from the form of Division 8C are noted below.
Regulation 1 inserts into the Public Service Regulations a new Division 3, comprised of new regulation 120E, which regulation substitutes the provisions in new Schedule 1F to the Regulations for the provisions of Division 8C of the Principal Act in relation to the staff of prescribed Commonwealth authorities.
Regulation 2 inserts into the Public Service Regulations new Schedule 1F, which is a modified version of Division 8C of the Principal Act. Division 8C has been most significantly modified in the following ways.
• References to the Board or to the relevant Secretary have been conflated where appropriate and have become references to the Authority. At the same time a new section 76ZB has been added, which gives to a prescribed authority a power of delegation in respect of the powers and functions contained in the modified Division 8C. The vesting of all powers and functions in the Authority avoids drafting problems associated with providing a generic term for the chief executive officer of each authority.
• The power to provide for a retiring age lower than 55 years has been removed from section 76U as it is seen as inapplicable to the prescribed authorities: the provision is currently only used in the general Public Service in respect of Air Traffic Controllers.
• Section 76X has been removed as it is not necessary for authorities to have the power to issue administrative instructions, this being a central co-ordinating task,
and the authorities having in any event the power to determine their own terms and conditions in this area
• Section 76ZA is a new section which reproduces the content of regulation 120E of the Public Service Regulations, to provide for the taking of effect of notices of redeployment or retirement.