Public Service (Salaries) Regulations (Amendment)

Overview

The Statutory Rules 1972 No. 164, titled Regulations under the Public Service Act 1922-1972, was enacted by the Public Service Board in pursuance of the authority conferred upon it by the Public Service Act 1922-1972. These regulations were approved by the Governor-General on the fourteenth day of September, 1972, and are intended to address discrepancies in salary rates for specific officers within the public service. The regulations were made to ensure that certain officers of the Third Division are paid at rates applicable to officers of the Fourth Division, thereby rectifying any inequities in their remuneration. This was achieved by amending Regulation 7 of the Public Service (Salaries) Regulations and introducing new salary groups in the Third Schedule to reflect these changes.

Scope and Application

The Regulations under the Public Service Act 1922-1972, approved by the Governor-General, establish specific amendments to the Public Service (Salaries) Regulations, impacting the remuneration of certain officers within the Australian Public Service. These Regulations apply to specific officers within Third Division who are now to be compensated at the rates applicable to officers of the Fourth Division. The amendments include changes to the regulation by inserting new categories of officers such as Assistant Technical Cataloguer, Technical Cataloguer, Senior Technical Cataloguer, and Supervising Technical Cataloguer, among others, to ensure their salaries are aligned with the revised groupings in the Third Schedule. The application of these Regulations is limited to the officers specified within the amendments, thereby directly affecting their salaries and conditions of employment within the Commonwealth public service framework. The Regulations are designed to address specific salary disparities among certain public service roles, ensuring equitable compensation within the public sector. The scope of these Regulations extends to the officers listed in the amendments and their corresponding salary adjustments, as outlined in the Third Schedule. There are no stated exclusions or exemptions in the provided text, and the application is confined to the Commonwealth of Australia, affecting only the officers specified within the Third Division of the public service. The Regulations are part of the broader legislative framework under the Public Service Act 1922-1972, with potential for further adjustments through subordinate instruments as needed.

Key Provisions

The main operative sections of these regulations concern the amendment of the Public Service (Salaries) Regulations. Specifically, Regulation 7 is amended to include several new categories of officers whose salaries will now be aligned with those of officers in the fourth division (sections 1(a) to 1(c)). Additionally, a new group, Group 303a, is inserted into Part I of the Third Schedule, detailing the salary ranges for these new categories (section 2). These amendments ensure that certain officers who were previously paid at Third Division rates now receive salaries in line with those of officers in the fourth division. These regulations impose specific obligations on the Public Service Board and the officers concerned. The Public Service Board must ensure that the amended salary rates are applied to the newly classified officers, as outlined in Regulation 7. For the officers themselves, these regulations mean that their salaries will be adjusted to reflect their new classifications, as per the detailed salary ranges in Group 303a. This alignment aims to provide fair compensation based on the responsibilities and roles of these officers. Breaches of these regulations, if any, could result in various consequences. For instance, failure to correctly apply the new salary rates might lead to disputes or legal challenges from affected officers. While these regulations do not explicitly state penalties for non-compliance, breaches could potentially result in administrative or legal actions under the overarching Public Service Act 1922-1972. The maximum penalties for such breaches would be determined by the relevant provisions of the Act and any applicable case law or administrative guidelines.