Contents

Part 1--Preliminary                                                                                                                1

1............ Short title [see Note 1] ....................................................................... 1

2............ Commencement [see Note 1] .............................................................. 1

3............ Objects of this Act ............................................................................. 1

4............ This Act binds the Crown .................................................................. 2

5............ This Act extends to things outside Australia ..................................... 2

6............ Engagement of employees in Department or Executive Agency ........ 2

Part 2--Interpretation                                                                                                           3

7............ Interpretation ...................................................................................... 3

8............ Workplace Relations Act .................................................................... 6

Part 3--The Australian Public Service                                                                        7

9............ Constitution of the APS ..................................................................... 7

10.......... APS Values ......................................................................................... 7

11.......... Commissioner's Directions about APS Values .................................. 8

12.......... Agency Heads must promote APS Values ......................................... 8

13.......... The APS Code of Conduct ................................................................. 8

14.......... Agency Heads bound by Code of Conduct ...................................... 10

15.......... Breaches of the Code of Conduct ..................................................... 10

16.......... Protection for whistleblowers .......................................................... 11

17.......... Prohibition on patronage and favouritism ........................................ 11

18.......... Promotion of employment equity .................................................... 11

19.......... Limitation on Ministerial directions to Agency Head ...................... 12

Part 4--APS employees                                                                                                     13

Division 1--APS employees generally                                                               13

20.......... Employer powers etc. of Agency Head ........................................... 13

21.......... Prime Minister's directions to Agency Heads ................................. 13

22.......... Engagement of APS employees ........................................................ 13

23.......... Classification Rules .......................................................................... 14

24.......... Remuneration and other conditions .................................................. 15

25.......... Assignment of duties ........................................................................ 15

26.......... Voluntary moves between Agencies ................................................. 16

27.......... Compulsory moves between Agencies ............................................. 16

28.......... Suspension ........................................................................................ 16

29.......... Termination of employment ............................................................. 16

30.......... Retirement ........................................................................................ 17

31.......... Forfeiture of additional remuneration ............................................... 17

32.......... Right of return for election candidates .............................................. 18

33.......... Review of actions ............................................................................. 18

Division 2--The Senior Executive Service                                                     20

34.......... SES employees ................................................................................. 20

35.......... Constitution and role of SES ............................................................ 20

36.......... Commissioner's Directions on SES matters ..................................... 20

37.......... Incentive to retire .............................................................................. 20

38.......... Commissioner's certificate required for termination of SES employment                21

Division 3--Heads of Mission                                                                                22

39.......... Heads of Mission ............................................................................. 22

Part 5--The Public Service Commissioner                                                              23

Division 1--Commissioner's functions etc.                                                    23

40.......... Public Service Commissioner ............................................................ 23

41.......... Commissioner's functions ................................................................ 23

42.......... Commissioner's Directions .............................................................. 24

43.......... Commissioner's inquiry powers ...................................................... 25

44.......... Annual report ................................................................................... 25

Division 2--Commissioner's appointment, conditions etc.                    26

45.......... Appointment of Commissioner ........................................................ 26

46.......... Remuneration etc. ............................................................................. 26

47.......... Removal from office ......................................................................... 26

48.......... Acting Commissioner ....................................................................... 27

Part 6--The Merit Protection Commissioner                                                        28

Division 1--Merit Protection Commissioner's functions etc.              28

49.......... Merit Protection Commissioner ....................................................... 28

50.......... Merit Protection Commissioner's functions .................................... 28

51.......... Annual report ................................................................................... 29

Division 2--Merit Protection Commissioner's appointment, conditions etc.    30

52.......... Appointment of Merit Protection Commissioner ............................ 30

53.......... Remuneration etc. ............................................................................. 30

54.......... Removal from office ......................................................................... 30

55.......... Acting Merit Protection Commissioner ........................................... 31

Part 7--Secretaries of Departments                                                                           32

56.......... Creation of offices of Secretary ........................................................ 32

57.......... Responsibilities of Secretaries .......................................................... 32

58.......... Appointment etc. of Secretary ......................................................... 32

59.......... Termination of appointment ............................................................ 33

60.......... Engagement of former Secretaries ..................................................... 33

61.......... Remuneration and other conditions .................................................. 33

62.......... Acting Secretary ............................................................................... 34

63.......... Annual report ................................................................................... 34

Part 8--Management Advisory Committee                                                           35

64.......... Management Advisory Committee .................................................. 35

Part 9--Executive Agencies                                                                                            36

65.......... Establishment etc. of Executive Agencies ......................................... 36

66.......... Responsibilities of Heads of Executive Agencies ............................. 36

67.......... Appointment etc. of Head ................................................................ 37

68.......... Remuneration and other conditions .................................................. 37

69.......... Acting Head ...................................................................................... 37

70.......... Annual report ................................................................................... 38

Part 10--Administrative arrangements and re‑organisations                      39

71.......... Arrangements with States and Territories ........................................ 39

72.......... Machinery of government changes ................................................... 39

Part 11--Miscellaneous                                                                                                     41

73.......... Payments in special circumstances ................................................... 41

74.......... Locally engaged employees .............................................................. 42

75.......... Attachment of salaries to satisfy judgment debts ............................ 42

76.......... Release of personal information ....................................................... 42

77.......... Positions ........................................................................................... 43

78.......... Delegations ....................................................................................... 43

79.......... Regulations ....................................................................................... 44

Notes                                                                                                                                             47

  

Notes to the Public Service Act 1999

Note 1

The Public Service Act 1999 as shown in this compilation comprises Act No. 147, 1999 amended as indicated in the Tables below.

The Public Service Act 1999 was amended by the Workplace Relations Amendment (Work Choices) (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2006 (No. 1) (SLI 2006 No. 50). The amendments are incorporated in this compilation.

For all relevant information pertaining to application, saving or transitional provisions see Table A.

Table of Acts

Act	Number and year	Date of Assent	Date of commencement	Application, saving or transitional provisions
Public Service Act 1999	147, 1999	11 Nov 1999	5 Dec 1999 (see Gazette 1999, No. S584)
Criminal Code Amendment (Theft, Fraud, Bribery and Related Offences) Act 2000	137, 2000	24 Nov 2000	Ss. 1--3 and Schedule 1 (items 1, 4, 6, 7, 9--11, 32): Royal Assent Remainder: 24 May 2001		Sch. 2 (items 418, 419)
Statute Law Revision Act 2002	63, 2002	3 July 2002	Schedule 1 (items 26, 27): (a)		--
Legislative Instruments (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Act 2003	140, 2003	17 Dec 2003	S. 4 and Schedule 1 (item 32): (b)		S. 4
Financial Framework Legislation Amendment Act (No. 1) 2006	30, 2006	6 Apr 2006	Schedule 3 (items 35, 36): 7 Apr 2006		--
Australian Trade Commission Legislation Amendment Act 2006	56, 2006	21 June 2006	Schedule 3 (item 6): 1 July 2006		--
Workplace Relations Amendment (Transition to Forward with Fairness) Act 2008	8, 2008	20 Mar 2008	Schedules 1--7: 28 Mar 2008 (see F2008L00959) Remainder: Royal Assent		--

(a)     Subsection 2(1) (item 21) of the Statue Law Revision Act 2002, which provides as follows:

                 (1)   Each provision of this Act specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, on the day or at the time specified in column 2 of the table.

 

Commencement information
Column 1	Column 2	Column 3
Provision(s)	Commencement	Date/Details
21.  Schedule 1, items 26 and 27	Immediately after item 1 of Schedule 2 to the Ministers of State and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2000 commenced	10 March 2000

(b)    Subsection 2(1) (items 2 and 3) of the Legislative Instruments (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Act 2003 provides as follows:

                 (1)   Each provision of this Act specified in column 1 of the table commences on the day or at the time specified in column 2 of the table.

 

Provision(s)	Commencement	Date/Details
2.  Sections 4 and 5	Immediately after the commencement of sections 3 to 62 of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003	1 January 2005
3.  Schedule 1	Immediately after the commencement of sections 3 to 62 of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003	1 January 2005

Table of Amendments

ad. = added or inserted     am. = amended       rep. = repealed      rs. = repealed and substituted
Provision affected	How affected
Part 2
S. 7....................................	am. SLI 2006 No. 50; No. 8, 2008
Part 4
Division 1
Ss. 23, 24..........................	am. SLI 2006 No. 50; No. 8, 2008
Division 3
S. 39..................................	am. No. 56, 2006
Part 5
Division 1
S. 42..................................	am. No. 140, 2003
S. 43..................................	am. No. 137, 2000
Part 6
Division 1
S. 50..................................	am. No. 137, 2000
Part 10
S. 72..................................	am. SLI 2006 No. 50; No. 8, 2008
Part 11
S. 73..................................	am. No. 30, 2006
Note to s. 73......................	ad. No. 30, 2006
S. 78 .................................	am. No. 63, 2002

Table A

Application, saving or transitional provisions

Criminal Code Amendment (Theft, Fraud, Bribery and Related Offences) Act 2000 (No. 137, 2000)

Schedule 2

418  Transitional--pre‑commencement offences

(1)        Despite the amendment or repeal of a provision by this Schedule, that provision continues to apply, after the commencement of this item, in relation to:

                     (a)  an offence committed before the commencement of this item; or

                     (b)  proceedings for an offence alleged to have been committed before the commencement of this item; or

                     (c)  any matter connected with, or arising out of, such proceedings;

as if the amendment or repeal had not been made.

(2)        Subitem (1) does not limit the operation of section 8 of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.

419  Transitional--pre‑commencement notices

If:

                     (a)  a provision in force immediately before the commencement of this item required that a notice set out the effect of one or more other provisions; and

                     (b)  any or all of those other provisions are repealed by this Schedule; and

                     (c)  the first‑mentioned provision is amended by this Schedule;

the amendment of the first‑mentioned provision by this Schedule does not affect the validity of such a notice that was given before the commencement of this item.

Legislative Instruments (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Act 2003 (No. 140, 2003)

4  Transitional provisions

             (1)  If legislation introduced into the Parliament before the commencing day but commencing on or after that day:

                     (a)  authorises an instrument to be made in the exercise of a power delegated by the Parliament; and

                     (b)  is expressed to require that instrument to be published as a statutory rule under the Statutory Rules Publication Act 1903;

any instrument so made is taken to be an instrument referred to in paragraph 6(b) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 despite the repeal by this Act of the Statutory Rules Publication Act 1903.

             (2)  If legislation introduced into the Parliament before the commencing day but commencing on or after that day:

                     (a)  authorises an instrument to be made in the exercise of a power delegated by the Parliament; and

                     (b)  is expressed to declare that instrument to be a disallowable instrument for the purposes of section 46A of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901;

any instrument so made is taken to be an instrument referred to in subparagraph 6(d)(i) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 despite the repeal by this Act of section 46A of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.

             (3)  If legislation that is in force immediately before the commencing day or that is introduced into the Parliament before that day but that commences on or after that day:

                     (a)  authorised or authorises an instrument to be made in the exercise of a power delegated by the Parliament that adversely affects the rights of a person, or results in the imposition of liabilities on a person; and

                     (b)  provided or provides that the instrument has effect, to the extent that it adversely affects those rights or results in the imposition of those liabilities, despite subsection 48(2) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901, before the date of its notification in the Gazette;

that legislation is to be construed, on and after the commencing day or the day of its commencement, whichever last occurs, as if it had provided instead that the instrument, to the extent that it adversely affects those rights or results in the imposition of those liabilities, has effect, despite subsection 12(2) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003, before its registration under that Act.

             (4)  If:

                     (a)  legislation (the enabling legislation) in force immediately before the commencing day:

                              (i)  authorises the making of an instrument; and

                             (ii)  does not declare such an instrument to be a disallowable instrument for the purposes of section 46A of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 but nonetheless makes provision for its disallowance by the application, with or without modification, of the provisions of Part XII of that Act; and

                     (b)  an instrument is made in the exercise of that authority on or after the commencing day; and

                     (c)  the instrument is not a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 or otherwise;

the enabling legislation has effect, on and after the commencing day, as if:

                     (d)  it had declared such instruments to be disallowable instruments for the purposes of section 46B of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901; and

                     (e)  it had provided for such modifications of the operation of that section as are necessary to ensure that the effect of the applied provisions of Part XII of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 is preserved.

             (5)  In this section:

commencing day means the commencing day within the meaning of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.