Commonwealth Consolidated Acts

PARLIAMENTARY SERVICE ACT 1999 - SECT 7

                   In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears:

"acting SES employee" means a non-SES employee who is acting in a position usually occupied by an SES employee.

"APS employee" has the same meaning as in the Public Service Act 1999 .

"Australian Fair Pay and Conditions Standard" has the same meaning as in the Fair Work (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Act 2009 .

Note:          See Schedules 4 and 9 of the Fair Work (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Act 2009 in relation to the application of the Australian Fair Pay and Conditions Standard.

"authorised member" of a Parliamentary party means:

                     (a)  the Leader of the Parliamentary party; or

                     (b)  a member of the Parliamentary party authorised, in writing, by the Leader of the Parliamentary party to make or withdraw requests under section 64J.

"budget" means an annual Commonwealth budget.

"caretaker period" for a general election has the same meaning as in Schedule 1 to the Charter of Budget Honesty Act 1998.

"category of Parliamentary Service employee" means one of the following categories:

                     (a)  ongoing Parliamentary Service employees;

                     (b)  Parliamentary Service employees engaged for a specified term or for the duration of a specified task;

                     (c)  Parliamentary Service employees engaged for duties that are irregular or intermittent.

"Classification Rules" means rules made under section 23.

"Code of Conduct" means:

                     (a)  the rules in section 13; and

                     (b)  any rules and orders made by the Senate or the House of Representatives under section 50 of the Constitution that apply to Parliamentary Service employees.

"Commissioner" means the Parliamentary Service Commissioner appointed under this Act.

"Commonwealth body" means:

                     (a)  an Agency within the meaning of the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 ; or

                     (b)  the High Court of Australia; or

                     (c)  a Commonwealth authority within the meaning of the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997 ; or

                     (d)  a Commonwealth company within the meaning of the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997 .

"Department" means a Department of the Parliament that is established under this Act.

"determinations" means determinations under this Act other than Part 9.

"enterprise agreement" has the same meaning as in the Fair Work Act 2009 .

"Executive Agency" has the same meaning as in the Public Service Act 1999 .

"fair work instrument" has the same meaning as in the Fair Work Act 2009 .

"general election" means a general election of the members of the House of Representatives.

"independent member" , during the caretaker period for a general election, means a person:

                     (a)  who is not a member of a Parliamentary party; and

                     (b)  who intends to be a candidate in the general election, or in a Senate election held on the same day as the general election, without the endorsement of a political party; and

                     (c)  who, immediately before the caretaker period, was a Senator or a Member of the House of Representatives because the person:

                              (i)  had been elected to the Senate or the House of Representatives without the endorsement of a political party; or

                             (ii)  had been chosen or appointed to fill a casual vacancy to the Senate without the endorsement of a political party.

"insolvent under administration" means a person who:

                     (a)  has become bankrupt; or

                     (b)  has applied to take the benefit of any law for the relief of bankrupt or insolvent debtors; or

                     (c)  has compounded with his or her creditors; or

                     (d)  has assigned his or her remuneration for the benefit of his or her creditors.

"Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit" means the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit provided for in the Public Accounts and Audit Committee Act 1951 .

"joint Department" means:

                     (a)  the Department of Parliamentary Services; or

                     (b)  if another Department is designated as the joint Department by the Presiding Officers--that other Department.

"Library Committee means the committee or committees of the " Houses of Parliament that advise the Presiding Officers in respect of the functions of the Parliamentary Librarian.

"Merit Protection Commissioner" means the Parliamentary Service Merit Protection Commissioner appointed under this Act.

"minimum retiring age" means:

                     (a)  unless paragraph (b) applies, 55 years; or

                     (b)  if a higher or lower age is prescribed by the determinations--that age.

"modern award" has the same meaning as in the Fair Work Act 2009 .

"modifications" includes additions, omissions and substitutions.

"National Employment Standards" has the same meaning as in the Fair Work Act 2009 .

"non-ongoing APS employee" has the same meaning as in the Public Service Act 1999 .

"non-ongoing Parliamentary Service employee" means a Parliamentary Service employee who is not an ongoing Parliamentary Service employee.

"non-SES employee" means a Parliamentary Service employee other than an SES employee.

"ongoing APS employee" has the same meaning as in the Public Service Act 1999 .

"ongoing Parliamentary Service employee" means a person engaged as an ongoing Parliamentary Service employee, as mentioned in paragraph 22(2)(a).

"overseas" means outside Australia and the Territories.

"Parliamentary Budget Office" means the Department of the Parliamentary Budget Office established by subsection 64A(1).

"Parliamentary Budget Officer" means the holder of the office of Parliamentary Budget Officer established by section 64C.

"Parliamentary Librarian" means the holder of the office of Parliamentary Librarian established under section 38A.

"Parliamentary party" :

                     (a)  means a political party at least one member of which is a member of the Parliament of the Commonwealth; and

                     (b)  during a caretaker period for a general election--includes a political party at least one member of which was a member of the Parliament of the Commonwealth immediately before the caretaker period.

"Parliamentary Service" means the Australian Parliamentary Service established by section 9.

"Parliamentary Service employee" means a person engaged as an employee under section 22.

"Parliamentary Service employment" means employment as a Parliamentary Service employee.

"Parliamentary Service Values" means the values in section 10.

"political party" has the same meaning as in the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 .

"Presiding Officer or Presiding Officers" means:

                     (a)  where the expression is used in connection with a reference to the Department of the Senate or the Clerk of the Senate--the President of the Senate; or

                     (b)  where the expression is used in connection with a reference to the Department of the House of Representatives or the Clerk of that House--the Speaker of the House of Representatives; or

                     (c)  otherwise--the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives acting jointly.

"Public Service Commissioner" means the Public Service Commissioner appointed under the Public Service Act 1999 .

"relevant Department" , in relation to a Secretary, means the Department of which he or she is the Secretary.

"Remuneration Tribunal" means the Remuneration Tribunal established by the Remuneration Tribunal Act 1973 .

"Secretary" means the Secretary of a Department and includes the Clerk of the Senate, the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Parliamentary Budget Officer.

"Secretary" of a Department means:

                     (a)  if the Department is the Department of the Senate--the Clerk of the Senate; or

                     (b)  if the Department is the Department of the House of Representatives--the Clerk of that House; or

                   (ba)  if the Department is the Parliamentary Budget Office--the Parliamentary Budget Officer; or

                     (c)  if the Department is another Department--the Secretary of that Department.

"Senate election" means an election of Senators for a State, the Australian Capital Territory or the Northern Territory.

"SES" means the Senior Executive Service established by section 35.

"SES employee" has the meaning given by section 34.

"WR Act collective transitional instrument" means an award, a collective agreement or a pre-reform certified agreement (within the meaning of those terms in the Fair Work (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Act 2009 ).

"WR Act transitional instrument" means an award, a workplace agreement, a pre-reform certified agreement, an AWA or a pre-reform AWA (within the meaning of those terms in the Fair Work (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Act 2009 ).