EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
STATUTORY RULES 1983 NO 310
PUBLIC SERVICE (SALARIES) REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT)
Issued with the Authority of the Public Service Board
Sub-section 97(1) of the Public Service Act 1922 provides that the Public Service Board may, with the approval of the Governor-General, make regulations prescribing all matters which are required to be prescribed for giving effect to the Act.
Sub-section 30(2) of the Act provides that officers of the Second, Third and Fourth Divisions shall be paid salaries at such rates, or in accordance with such scales of rates, as are prescribed.
Regulation 1 of these regulations introduce two new designations, Cadet (Research Scientist) and Principal Legal Adviser in the Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman.
Regulation 2 of these regulations introduce new designations of Assistant Printing Production Supervisor, Nursing Officer (Aged Persons Welfare) and Nursing Officer (Health Benefits and Services) ; and omit designations of Assistant (Audiometry) and Meat Inspector-in-training which are no longer required.
A new designation of Cadet (Research Scientist) is required to enable the Australian Public Service to attract high calibre science and engineering students to train as Research Scientists. Because of reduced enrolments in relevant postgraduate research programs over the last decade there is now a shortage of qualified Research Scientists relative to employer demand. The introduction of postgraduate cadetships is intended to increase the supply of presently scarce skills by providing an incentive for increased postgraduate enrolments in scientific disciplines which meet the employment needs of the Service.
A designation of Principal Legal Adviser, Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman is proposed, with salary at the same level as a Principal Legal Officer in the Attorney-General’s Department. A different designation is necessary because a Principal Legal Officer is required to be admitted as a practitioner of the High Court or a Supreme Court, and this is not considered necessary for the position in the Ombudsman’s Office.
The Deputy Public Service Arbitrator gave a decision in Determination No 442 of 1982 to redesignate certain positions of Senior Sister in the Department of Social Security as Nursing Officer
(Aged Persons Welfare) and in the Department of Health as Nursing Officer (Health Benefits and Services). This arose from applications by the Royal Australian Nursing Federation to have new designations and rates of pay for staff engaged in the inspection of aged persons’ hostels in the Department of Social Security and by the Department of Health to assess eligibility of persons seeking domiciliary nursing care benefits.
Following a review of the Printing Section of the Australian Government Printing Office the Board has approved the creation of a position of Assistant Printing Production Supervisor. The duties of the proposed position are to assist the Printing Production Supervisor in controlling and co-ordinating the work of staff engaged in printing preparation in the Works Sub-section, Australian Government Publishing Service.
Following the abolition of all positions of Assistant (Audiometry) and Meat Inspector-in-training these designations can be omitted from the regulations.