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1996
THE PARLIAMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF
AUSTRALIA
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PUBLIC SERVICE
AMENDMENT BILL 1996
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
(Circulated
by the authority of the Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Public
Service, the Honourable Peter Reith, MP)
79580 Cat. No. 96 5538 7 ISBN 0644 480114
PUBLIC
SERVICE AMENDMENT BILL 1996
OUTLINE
This Bill
proposes an amendment to the Public Service Act 1922 (the Act) to deal
with a procedural flaw in the discipline provisions of the Act which would
preclude the bringing of valid discipline charges against officers of the
Australian Public Service (the Service) who have resumed duties in a Department
of the the Service after a period of unattachment, where the misconduct alleged
took place when the officer was an "unattached officer" as defined in the
Act.
Division 6 of Part III of the Public Service Act 1922
contains a discipline code which seeks to ensure that officers or employees of
the Service who have committed misconduct can be dealt with, in order to ensure
efficiency in the workplace and maintain the integrity of the
Service.
Because of differences in the nature of the employment
relationship, the procedure for disciplining unattached officers differs from
that for disciplining officers who are not unattached.
The Act defines
"unattached officer", for discipline purposes, as an officer who is in
employment outside the Department and is not performing duty in the Department
or an officer who is on certain types of leave of absence from the Service and
does not hold an office in a Department. An officer ceases to be unattached
upon resumption of duty in the Department. Heads of Australian diplomatic
missions (HOADMs), who were officers of the Service prior to becoming HOADMs are
"unattached officers" while performing the role of Head of
Mission.
Misconduct in respect of an "unattached officer" is defined by
section 63J of the Act as "a failure by the officer to fulfil his duty as an
unattached officer". Section 63J also provides that "an unattached officer
shall be taken to have failed to fulfil his duty as an officer if, and only
if,while he is an unattached officer he engages in improper conduct, being
conduct that brings the Service into disrepute".
The current form of the
discipline provisions do not enable disciplinary action to be taken against an
officer who was, but is no longer,unattached in relation to possible misconduct
that occurred while unattached. Had the possible misconduct been detected prior
to the officer ceasing to be unattached it could have been dealt with under the
Act.
The proposed amendment to the Act seeks to permit disciplinary
action to be taken against a formerly unattached officer as if he or she were
still unattached.
FINANCIAL IMPACT STATEMENT
The
amendments are not expected to have any significant financial
impact.
NOTES ON
CLAUSES
PRELIMINARY
Clause 1: Short
Title
The Act will be called the Public Service Amendment Act
1996.
Clause 2: Commencement
Clause 2 provides that the
Act will commence on the day on which it receives Royal Assent.
Clause
3: Schedule
Clause 3 provides that an Act referred to in the Schedule
to the Bill is amended in the manner set out in that
Schedule.
SCHEDULE
AMENDMENT OF THE PUBLIC SERVICE ACT
1922
Item 1 - Subsection 63JA(3)
This item amends
subsection 63JA(3) of the Act by adding a reference to subsection 63L(9)
consequential on the inclusion of subsection 63L(9) in the Act as provided in
Item 3 to the Schedule.
Item 2 - Subsection 63L(1)
This
item amends subsection 63L(1) of the Act consequential on the inclusion of
subsection 63L(9) in the Act as provided in Item 3 to the
Schedule.
Item 3 - Section 63L
This item amends section 63L
of the Act by including a new subsection 63L(9) which provides a means of
disciplining an officer of the Service who has ceased to be an unattached
officer where the misconduct he or she is to be charged with was committed while
he or she was an unattached officer of the Service.
This item also
includes a new subsection 63L(10) which provides that subsection (9) applies to
a person who ceases to be unattached, whether or not that cessation occurs after
the commencement of subsection (9).
This item also includes a new
subsection 63L(11) which provides that subsection (9) applies to misconduct
whether or not it was committed after the commencement of subsection
(9).