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Last updated: February 2004
Frequently asked questions
Must I give notice of my intention to resign? Can I withdraw my resignation?
There is no statutory or APS-wide obligation for you to give notice of your intention to resign from the APS.
Ongoing employees
If you are an ongoing employee, you have the right to resign at any time (if you are a non-ongoing employee, see below). However, it is usual practice to provide reasonable notice of resignation, and failure to do so may lead to delay in payment of final entitlements.
It is possible that your agency's Certified Agreement, or your Australian Workplace Agreement, or an agency instruction, requires you to give a period of notice before you resign. If such a requirement exists it may be that your agency can insist that you either give a period of notice or have an amount deducted from the final payments due to you if you do not give such notice.
Notice of intention to resign should give sufficient time :
- for you to complete outstanding tasks and/or hand over work to other staff; and
- for the agency to:
- discuss your intended resignation with you;
- process your final entitlements;
- consider post-separation employment issues; and
- commence action to fill the position.
Withdrawal of resignation
If you are an ongoing employee and submit your resignation but then change your mind, any withdrawal of the resignation or alteration of the date of effect is a matter of negotiation between you and your agency.
Non-ongoing employees
If you are a non-ongoing employee, you have no right to resign without your agency's agreement. If you submit your resignation before the end of the task or period for which you were employed, the resignation cannot take effect until it has been accepted by the employing agency.
Other matters
There have been situations where courts have held that a resignation has no effect if it was submitted when the person was in such an emotional state as to be not responsible for or able to understand the consequences of their action. Agencies should be alert to such situations and ensure that, wherever possible, an employee is given an opportunity to fully consider their options before submitting a resignation.
Retirement
It should be noted that all employees have a right to retire once they reach 55 years of age.
