Public Service Act 1999 Advice No. 25: APS Employment Database

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Please note: This document is for reference purposes only and is no longer considered by the APS Commission to be current. It may contain good practice advice and/or advice on the transitional arrangements between the 1922 and 1999 Public Service Acts.

Introduction

This advice is one of a series of advices to be issued by the Public Service and Merit Protection Commission (PSMPC) concerning the Public Service Act 1999 (the new PS Act) and the Public Employment (Consequential and Transitional) Amendment Act 1999 (the PECTA Act). It is proposed that the new legislation will come into operation on 5 December 1999 and the information contained in this advice will take effect on commencement of the legislation.

2 The purpose of this advice is to inform agencies of the impact of the new PS Act on the development of the APS Employment Database and the action that is proposed.

Background

3 The APS Employment Database is being developed to replace the Continuous Record of Personnel (CRP), the previous source of data on the employment history of staff employed under the Public Service Act 1922. The Department of Finance and Administration (DOFA) ceased to maintain the CRP at June 1999.

4 The Deputy Public Service Commissioner, Mr Peter Kennedy, wrote to COMNET members in March 1998 (Circular 1998/5) outlining the PSMPC data requirements for the APS Employment Database. The circular noted that the data was required for the purposes of reporting to Parliament on the State of the Service and for other research and information purposes such as the APS Statistical Bulletin

5 Over the last 12 months the PSMPC has been working with agencies and the suppliers of their Human Resource systems to develop interfaces that will enable the electronic provision of data to the APS Employment Database.

Impact of the new PS Act on the APS Employment Database

6 Under the new PS Act the current requirement under regulation that the Public Service Commissioner report annually to Parliament on the state of the APS will became part of the primary legislation. The data from the APS Employment Database is an essential input to this reporting.

7 In view of these legislative reporting requirements, it is a high priority to develop a fully operational APS Employment Database as soon as possible. The Commission has worked to do this while at the same time making it as easy as possible for agencies to provide the data.

8 Some of the data fields required for the APS Employment Database will, however, need to be redefined to reflect changes as a result of the new PS Act. For example, the new PS Act changes the employment categories.

9 New specifications which are attached have been developed to reflect the new PS Act. Those data items that have changed are marked 'changed'. Where relevant the old APSED codes have been mapped to the new codes.

10 The Shared Suite and other HR system providers will be provided with the new specifications to enable them to adjust the templates they are developing. Those agencies using the PSMPC spreadsheet will be provided with a new one. Agencies are encouraged to adjust their own data gathering and specifications as soon as possible to reflect the changes in the PS Act 1999.

11 For further information contact the APS Employment Database Project Team by emailing the already operational address, apsed@apsc.gov.au or phone (02) 6202 3711. It is intended to place explanatory notes on the PSMPC website as they are developed.

Jenny Harrison
Team Leader
Values, Conduct and Diversity Team

30 November 1999

Public Service Act 1999 Advice No. 25: APS Employment Database

Introduction

Background

Impact of the new PS Act on the APS Employment Database

Attachment