EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
STATUTORY RULES 1983 NO 5
PUBLIC SERVICE REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT)
Issued with the Authority of the Public Service Board
Paragraph 97(1)(c) of the Public Service Act 1922 provides that the Public Service Board may, with the approval of the Governor-General, make regulations prescribing the conditions under which officers of a Division may be transferred to another Division or to an office in another Division.
Regulation 112 of the Public Service Regulations prescribes the conditions for transfer or promotion of officers from the Fourth Division of the Service to the Third Division. The proposed regulations amend those conditions as detailed below.
Proposed paragraphs (a)-(j) amend sub-regulations (1), (1AA), (1A) and omit (1G) of regulation 112 with the effect that the same educational qualifications which have been determined by the Board under section 35 of the Public Service Act for appointment to the Third Division apply to applicants for transfer or promotion from the Fourth Division to the Third Division. The effect of the amendment is that the basic Third Division entry standard of 4 passes at a Year 12 level examination remains the same. A revision of the qualifications which meet the standard in respect of State and Territorial education systems is included in the table to be substituted in sub-regulation (1A). In addition, it is proposed that a wider range of educational qualifications be recognised for entry into the Third Division:
• approved associate diploma courses of colleges of advanced education (new paragraph (1)(f));
• accredited certificate (other than trade certificate), diploma and associate diploma courses of colleges of technical and further education (new paragraph (1)(g)); and
• special bridging courses for Aboriginals such as those conducted by the Western Australian Institute of Technology, Tranby Aboriginal Co-operative College, and the University of Sydney (new paragraphs (1)(h) and (j)).
Some educational qualifications which were recognised under the former provisions are no longer to be recognised as meeting the Third Division entry standard except to the extent that a savings clause applies to preserve the rights of existing officers who hold such qualifications. Accordingly, the following qualifications will cease to be recognised:
• the ‘October Clerical’ Examination, after 31 January 1983. Passes gained in this examination (an examination conducted by the Board, which has been largely replaced by the Higher School Certificate in recent years) before that date will continue to be recognised and
can be combined with passes in subjects gained in other eligible examinations, such as the Higher School Certificate or the Services General Certificate of Education, to meet the requirement of 4 passes at Year 12 level; and
• the Services General Certificate of Education conducted by the Defence Force, after 31 December 1983. Passes gained prior to that date will continue to be recognised.
Amendments to the existing provisions remove recognition of unconditional admission as a matriculated student to a university or as a student to a degree course of a college of advanced education as meeting the Third Division entry standard (existing paragraphs (1)(bb) and (1)(e)). In practice, these provisions proved not to be a useful indicator of educational achievement or of abilities relevant to the clerical/administrative area of the Third Division. In lieu thereof, the amended regulation provides for recognition of the completion of the first year of full-time study of an approved degree or diploma course or an amount of study which is the equivalent to the amount of study involved in the first year of full-time study in such a course. There is also a savings clause which allows for the continued recognition of unconditional admission where that has been obtained before the commencement of these amendments (new paragraphs (1)(bb) and (1)(e)).
Proposed paragraphs (k)-(n) amend sub-regulation (2) of regulation 112, and add new sub-regulations (2A)-(2C), so that Fourth Division officers with a minimum of 5 years’ continuous service can apply and compete on merit for positions in the Third Division above the base grade (that is, for positions of Clerk Class 2/3 and above).
The amendments enable the recognition of the proven ability and experience of those officers in the Service who do not possess formal educational qualifications. The requirement for a minimum of five years’ service is designed to ensure that eligible staff:
• have had a reasonable period of work experience in the Service;
• have had sufficient time to demonstrate their abilities and have these assessed; and
• possess some degree of maturity.
The new provisions allow the recognition of any continuous period of full-time temporary employment immediately preceding appointment as an officer of the Fourth Division. They also allow for the recognition of periods of continuous service in eligible public employment as defined in Part IV of the Public Service Act.
Continuous service is defined for the purposes of the new provisions as including periods of leave without pay which do not exceed 4 weeks or during which the officer or employee is entitled to receive compensation under the Compensation (Commonwealth Government Employees) Act 1971.