EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
STATUTORY RULES 1984 NO. 468
PUBLIC SERVICE REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT)
Issued with the Authority of the Public Service Board
Sub-section 33(3) of the Act provides that powers under the Act in respect of appointments, transfers and promotions shall, subject to sub-section 33(4), be exercised in accordance with procedures that preclude discrimination on specified grounds. Paragraph 33(4)(b) provides, inter alia, that the reference to discrimination in relation to a power in respect of appointment, transfer or promotion shall be read as not including a reference to discrimination in relation to appointment that is not unlawful under the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 or the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 and is in accordance with a program to encourage the appointment of women or persons in a designated group to the Service, being a program that is declared by the regulations to be an approved program.
The definition of “designated group” in sub-section 7(1) of the Act includes members of the Aboriginal race of Australia or persons who are descendants of indigenous inhabitants of the Torres Strait Islands.
Under the provisions of the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 effect is given to paragraph 4 of Article 1 of the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination which provides, so far as is relevant, that special measures taken for the sole purpose of securing adequate advancement of certain racial or ethnic groups to ensure such groups equal enjoyment or exercise of human rights and fundamental freedoms shall not be deemed racial discrimination. Recruitment programs to encourage the appointment of Aboriginals to the Service do not therefore constitute unlawful discrimination under the Racial Discrimination Act 1975.
The purpose of the regulation is to declare three recruitment programs to encourage the appointment of persons to the Australian Public Service to be approved programs for the purposes of paragraph 33(4)(b). The programs are:
• the Assistant Research Officer (Aboriginal Services) program;
• the Clerical Assistant (Aboriginal Services) Grade 1 program; and
• the Clerk (Aboriginal Services) Class 1 program.
These are special recruitment programs administered by the Public Service Board to encourage the appointment of members of the Aboriginal race to the Australian Public Service.