EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
STATUTORY RULES 1983 NO 112
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 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.
Sub-section 33(3) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 provides (inter alia) that, where an Act confers a power to make regulations, the power shall, unless the contrary intention appears, be construed as including a power to repeal those regulations.
Sub-section 82D(1) of the Act provides that the Public Service Board may, by instrument in writing, determine the terms and conditions of employment of officers and employees.
Regulations 1 to 7 of the statutory rules repeal the following of the Public Service Regulations: regulations 74A, 78, 79, 90, 90A, 90B, 93, 97, 97D, 118, 119, 119A, 119B and 120. Regulations 8 to 10 amend regulations 139, 175 and 176 of the Public Service Regulations.
Details of the repeals and amendments are given below:
Regulation 74A (repeal)
Regulation 74A, which specified the classes of persons who may administer oaths and affirmations required under the Public Service Act or Regulations, is no longer required, following the repeal (in 1973) of the provisions in the Act which required the making of an oath or affirmation as a prerequisite to appointment.
Regulation 78 (repeal)
This regulation provided that all travelling allowances are in addition to the cost of conveyance. This provision has been incorporated in Public Service Board Determination 1983/6, which deals with removal expenses, and which comes into effect on the day these statutory rules are made. The regulation also contained a proviso which related to regulation 119: the latter regulation is repealed by these statutory rules.
Regulations 79, 90, 90A, 97 and 97D (repeal)
Regulation 79 provided that where the allowances that would otherwise be payable under regulations 90, 90A, 90B, 97 and 97D are payable under Public Service Board determinations made under section 82D of the Act, they are not payable under the regulations. Public Service Board determinations have existed for some time which cover the subject-matter of the abovementioned regulations: the regulations were not repealed on the making of those determinations because of the existence at that time of regulations made under other enactments concerning the terms and conditions of staff of certain statutory authorities and statutory office holders that operated by reference to those Public Service regulations. As suitable arrangements have now been made for these matters to be covered without reference to the Public Service regulations, it is appropriate now to repeal them.
Regulations 93, 118, 119, 119A, 119B and 120 (repeal)
These regulations dealt with the following subject-matters:
regulation 93 | - | Cost of conveyance to place of appointment |
regulation 118 | - | Transfer expenses |
regulation 119 | - | Cost of conveyance on transfer |
regulation 119A | - | Removal expenses from Canberra |
regulation 119B | - | Payment of removal expenses on death or retirement of officer |
regulation 120 | - | Removal of furniture. |
The regulations have been replaced by Board Determination 1983/6, which, as mentioned above, came into effect on the repeal of these regulations.
Regulation 139 (amendment)
The statutory rules amended sub-regulation 139(3), which related to the definition of ‘salary’ for the purposes of an officer suspended from duty under the discipline provisions of the Act. The sub-regulation referred to a number of other regulations which have been replaced by Board determinations. The statutory rules have omitted those references, and replaced them by generic references to the determinations which replace the regulations.
Regulations 175 and 176 (amendment)
These regulations provided for the payment of travelling allowance and motor vehicle allowance and transfer costs to persons to whom Division 3 of Part IV of the Act applies (i.e. certain former officers of the Public Service) who are seeking promotion or transfer back to the Service (regulation 175)
They are amended by these statutory rules to omit reference to other regulations which have been repealed or which no longer have any application to regulations 175 and 176; and to replace references to specific Board determinations by generic references in order to remove the need for future ‘machinery’ amendments to the regulations.