EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
STATUTORY RULES 1989 No. 99
Public Service Regulations (Amendment)
Issued by the authority of the Minister for Industrial Relations for and on behalf of the Prime Minister
Subsection 97(1) of the Public Service Act 1922 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations, not inconsistent with the Act, prescribing matters required or permitted by the Act to be prescribed, or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act.
As part of the Government’s reforms in relation to what are collectively known as Government Business Enterprises, the positions of chief executive officer for most of those enterprises have been excluded from the jurisdiction of the Remuneration Tribunal. This means that salary and allowances for chief executive officers are not determined by the Remuneration Tribunal. Consistent with those reforms those positions are now excluded from coverage under the mobility provisions contained in Part IV of the Act. Exclusion from Part IV coverage means that a chief executive officer will not have right of re-entry (if applicable) to a Public Service position. This reform places the chief executive officers on a comparable footing to their private sector counterparts.
All of the offices in question come within paragraph (a) of the definition of ‘Commonwealth office’ in subsection 87(1) of the Act. Paragraph (n) of that definition provides that regulations may declare ‘a class of offices or appointments’ not to be a class of Commonwealth offices for the purposes of Part IV of the Act.
Regulation 171 of the Public Service Regulations (the Principal Regulations) has created a Schedule 3 in which 3 other offices or appointments have already been declared not to be ‘Commonwealth offices’ for the purposes of Part IV of the Act.
The Public Service Regulations (Amendment) make the following amendments to the Principal Regulations:
Regulation 1 provides various retrospective commencement dates for each of the offices or appointments in question. This retrospectivity is necessary to accord with appointing provisions applicable under each of the government business enterprise’s own enabling Act.
Regulation 2 inserts into Schedule 3 of the Principal Regulations 7 additional offices or appointments. The proposed additions are:
Column 1 | Column 2 |
Item | Office or appointment |
1A | Office of Managing Director of the |
| Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation |
1B | Office of Chief Executive of the |
| Australian Industry Development |
| Corporation |
1C | Office of Managing Director of the |
| Australian National Railways Commission |
2A | Office of Managing Director of the |
| Australian Postal Corporation |
2B | Office of the Governor of the Reserve |
| Bank of Australia |
2C | Office of Deputy Governor of the |
| Reserve Bank of Australia |
3A | Office of Managing Director of the |
| Australian Shipping Commission. |
Overview
The Public Service Regulations (Amendment) 1989 were introduced to address the need for aligning the remuneration and mobility provisions of chief executive officers in government business enterprises with those of their private sector counterparts. Enacted by the Parliament of Australia, these regulations were issued by the authority of the Minister for Industrial Relations on behalf of the Prime Minister. The amendments respond to the government's reforms by excluding specific chief executive officer positions from the jurisdiction of the Remuneration Tribunal and from the mobility provisions in Part IV of the Public Service Act 1922. This exclusion ensures that these chief executive officers are not entitled to the right of re-entry to a public service position, thus maintaining parity with private sector standards. The policy objective is to streamline the regulatory framework governing executive remuneration and mobility within government-owned enterprises, thereby enhancing efficiency and alignment with market practices.
Scope and Application
The Public Service Regulations (Amendment) Statutory Rules 1989 No. 99, issued under the authority of the Minister for Industrial Relations and on behalf of the Prime Minister, amend the Public Service Regulations to implement a reform in the remuneration and mobility provisions for chief executive officers of certain Government Business Enterprises. This reform aligns the remuneration practices of these officers with those in the private sector by excluding them from the jurisdiction of the Remuneration Tribunal and from the mobility provisions in Part IV of the Public Service Act 1922. Specifically, the amendment excludes the chief executive officers of the Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation, the Australian Industry Development Corporation, the Australian National Railways Commission, the Australian Postal Corporation, the Reserve Bank of Australia, and the Australian Shipping Commission from the mobility provisions, thus preventing them from having the right of re-entry to a Public Service position. The changes apply to specific offices or appointments as defined in the amended Schedule 3 of the Principal Regulations, with retrospective commencement dates to align with the appointing provisions under each enterprise's enabling Act.
Key Provisions
The key provisions of the Statutory Rules, as part of the Public Service Regulations (Amendment), primarily revolve around the exclusion of certain chief executive officer positions from the jurisdiction of the Remuneration Tribunal, and subsequently from the mobility provisions in the Public Service Act 1922 (the Act). Under Regulation 1, these provisions are given retrospective effect, aligning with the appointing provisions of each government business enterprise's own enabling Act. Regulation 2 further adds seven specific offices to Schedule 3 of the Principal Regulations, thereby declaring them not to be 'Commonwealth offices' for the purposes of Part IV of the Act. This means that the offices of the Managing Director of the Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation, the Chief Executive of the Australian Industry Development Corporation, and others listed in the Schedule are excluded from the Act's mobility provisions, which typically include rights of re-entry to a Public Service position.
These amendments impose specific obligations on the entities concerned, primarily by removing the requirement for the Remuneration Tribunal to determine the salary and allowances for these chief executive officer positions. Instead, these entities are expected to handle the remuneration and allowances in line with their private sector counterparts, thereby ensuring a comparable footing in terms of remuneration. The exclusion from Part IV coverage also means that the chief executive officers of these entities will not have the right of re-entry to a Public Service position if they previously held such a position.
Failure to comply with these regulations, though not explicitly stated in the explanatory statement, could potentially lead to civil or administrative consequences, given the statutory framework in which these regulations operate. For instance, incorrect remuneration practices or failure to adhere to the mobility provisions could result in disputes or legal challenges. The maximum penalties, however, are not explicitly outlined in the explanatory statement but would typically fall within the scope of the Public Service Act 1922 and any relevant industrial or employment legislation.