EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
STATUTORY RULES 1983 NO 91
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 necessary or convenient to be prescribed for giving effect to the Act.
Paragraph 97(1)(b) enables regulations to be made for defining, in relation to the officers included in a class of officers, the seniority of those officers for the purpose of promotion within that class.
Sub-section 51A(1) provides that the regulations may make provision for the temporary performance of the duties of an office including provision for the selection of an officer to perform temporarily the duties of an office of a classification higher than the classification of the office occupied by him and appeals in relation to such selection.
The previous Commonwealth Government, and the New South Wales Government, approved last year the transfer of certain meat inspection staff from the New South Wales Public Service to the Commonwealth Department of Primary Industry. The present Government re-affirmed the earlier decision. Action has been taken to transfer these staff under the provisions of Part III, Division 9F of the Act. The date fixed for the transfer is 1 July 1983.
As the transfer provisions of Division 9F of the Act do not preserve the seniority of New South Wales staff transferring into the Service, it was desired, in order to avoid unfairness to the transferring staff, to give all meat inspection staff in the Department of Primary Industry immediately after the transfer a common seniority date (1 July 1983) for the purposes of promotion, and to remove seniority as a criterion in selection for the temporary performance of higher duties. The relevant staff associations were consulted and were agreeable to this approach.
In the case of promotion seniority for existing staff is determined by reference to a common date - 1 July 1983 - rather than by reference to the date of an officer’s appointment. In the case of selection for the temporary performance of higher duties selection will be solely on the basis of relative efficiency with no reference to seniority.
…/2
The effect of these amendments is that selection of Meat Inspectors will be on the basis of relative efficiency and that seniority will cease to have the limited ‘tie-breaker’ role that would otherwise apply. This is consistent with the policy of amendments to the Act that will come into effect upon proclamation of the relevant provisions of the Public Service Acts Amendment Act 1982, which will make relative efficiency the sole criterion for staff selection. These regulations are necessary as the Meat Inspectors’ transfer takes place on 1 July, and the abovementioned proclamation cannot occur until later in the year.
Details of the regulations are as follows:
• regulation 1 fixes 1 July 1983 as the commencement date for these amendments;
• regulation 2 amends regulation 110 of the Public Service Regulations to provide a common seniority date of 1 July 1983 for existing Commonwealth Meat Inspectors who apply for transfer or promotion within that employment area;
• regulation 3 amends regulation 116 of the Public Service Regulations to provide that relative efficiency is to be the sole criterion in the selection of officers for the temporary performance of higher duties as Meat Inspectors and in appeals relating to such selections.
Overview
The Public Service Regulations (Amendment) 1983 was enacted to address the issue of preserving seniority for New South Wales meat inspection staff transferring into the Commonwealth Department of Primary Industry. The problem arose from the fact that the existing transfer provisions did not maintain the seniority of these transferring staff, which could have led to unfairness. The amendments introduced by this statutory rule aimed to provide a common seniority date for all meat inspection staff in the Department of Primary Industry as of 1 July 1983 for promotion purposes, and to eliminate seniority as a criterion in the selection for the temporary performance of higher duties. This approach was approved by the relevant staff associations and aligns with the broader policy objective of basing staff selection on relative efficiency, as outlined in the Public Service Acts Amendment Act 1982. The regulations were issued with the authority of the Public Service Board, in accordance with the Public Service Act 1922.
Scope and Application
The Public Service Regulations (Amendment) Statutory Rules 1983 No 91, made under the Public Service Act 1922, apply to officers within the Commonwealth Public Service, particularly those involved in meat inspection transferred from the New South Wales Public Service to the Commonwealth Department of Primary Industry. These regulations aim to address the transfer of certain meat inspection staff by ensuring a fair transition in terms of seniority and selection criteria for promotions and temporary duties. Regulation 1 sets the commencement date for these amendments as 1 July 1983, aligning with the transfer date. Regulation 2 modifies regulation 110 of the Public Service Regulations to establish a common seniority date of 1 July 1983 for existing Commonwealth Meat Inspectors applying for transfer or promotion, thereby negating the impact of their previous employment dates on their career progression. Regulation 3 alters regulation 116 to ensure that selection for the temporary performance of higher duties, as well as appeals related to such selections, will be based solely on relative efficiency, removing seniority as a factor except as a tie-breaker. These changes are intended to create a level playing field and are in line with broader policy shifts towards merit-based selection in the Public Service.
Key Provisions
The main operative sections of the Public Service Regulations (Amendment) 1983 (No 91) pertain to the transfer of meat inspection staff from the New South Wales Public Service to the Commonwealth Department of Primary Industry and the associated changes to seniority and selection criteria for these officers. Regulation 1 (1) sets the commencement date for these amendments as 1 July 1983. Regulation 2 (2) modifies regulation 110 of the Public Service Regulations, establishing 1 July 1983 as a common seniority date for existing Commonwealth Meat Inspectors who seek transfer or promotion within their employment area. Regulation 3 (3) revises regulation 116 of the Public Service Regulations, stipulating that relative efficiency will be the sole criterion for selecting officers for the temporary performance of higher duties as Meat Inspectors and in appeals relating to such selections.
These regulations impose specific obligations on the parties involved. The Public Service Board must ensure the smooth transition of meat inspection staff from New South Wales to the Commonwealth Department of Primary Industry by 1 July 1983. For the officers affected, they must adhere to the new seniority date of 1 July 1983 for promotion purposes and accept that selection for temporary higher duties will be based solely on relative efficiency. These changes are designed to prevent unfairness to the transferring staff by standardising their seniority and altering the selection criteria.
The legislation does not explicitly outline specific offences or penalties for breaches of these regulations. However, any breaches of the Public Service Act 1922 or the Public Service Regulations could potentially result in disciplinary action, as per the general provisions of these Acts. The Public Service Act 1922 includes provisions for the dismissal of officers for misconduct or inefficiency, and the Public Service Regulations may provide further details on the procedures and penalties for such actions. The maximum penalties would depend on the severity of the breach and the specific provisions of the Public Service Act 1922 and the Public Service Regulations.