Ongoing employment – Recruitment and related issues

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Framework

Under the Act, Agency Heads are responsible for staffing actions in relation to ongoing employees such as engagement, movement and assignment of duties including promotion. The formal framework under which such actions are taken is outlined below.

1.1 The legislative framework

The legislative framework which applies to non-SES staffing activities arising from the Public Service Act 1999 is contained in:

the Public Service Act
the Public Service Regulations (the Regulations)
the Commissioner's Directions (the Directions)
the Classification Rules
the Prime Minister's Public Service Directions.

Other legislation applying to employment actions and decisions includes the:

Agencies are also bound by the provisions of their certified agreements and Australian workplace agreements. These may contain terms that affect the recruitment and selection of ongoing employees.

1.2 Employment status

An Agency Head may, on behalf of the Commonwealth, engage a person as an APS employee (section 22(1)) in one of the following categories of employment:

as an ongoing employee (section 22(2)(a))
as a non-ongoing employee for a specified term or for the duration of a specified task (section 22(2)(b))
as a non-ongoing employee for duties that are irregular or intermittent (section 22(2)(c)).

The usual basis for engagement in the APS is as an ongoing employee (section 22(3)).

1.3 Delegations

The Act allows an Agency Head to delegate to another person many of the powers or functions under the Act. An Agency Head may choose to delegate powers under the Act relating to recruitment and selection to an APS employee within the agency. These powers can also be delegated, with the consent of the Public Service Commissioner, to an 'outsider' – a person who is not an APS employee. Any delegation of these powers by the Agency Head must be in writing.

A reference in this booklet to the Agency Head is to be read as also meaning a delegate. See the booklet Delegations for additional information.

1.4 Terminology

The Act uses specific terminology to describe staffing activities. The terms used in the booklet have the following meanings:

'assignment of duties' refers to the action of the Agency Head in determining the duties of an employee. It can occur at any time and is particularly relevant to engagements, promotions and movements. Duties may be assigned on an ongoing or temporary basis and may be at a similar classification, or at a higher or a lower classification (section 25)—section 25 also allows an Agency Head to determine the place or places where the duties are to be performed.
'Gazette' refers to the Commonwealth of Australia Public Service Gazette managed by the APS Commission. Agencies must publish all notifications required under the Act in this Gazette.
'higher classification' refers to a classification which is in a higher APS Group in Schedule 1 of the Classification Rules than the one held by the employee.
'lower classification' refers to a classification which is in a lower APS Group in Schedule 1 of the Classification Rules than the one held by the employee.
'movement' refers to a move of an ongoing employee between agencies (section 26). The move will be associated with the assignment of duties at a similar, higher or lower classification.
'non-ongoing employment' is a generic term which refers to the engagement of APS employees for either a specified term or for the duration of a specified task or for duties that are irregular or intermittent as mentioned in sections 22(2)(b) and (c) of the Act. A person engaged on a non-ongoing basis is referred to as a 'non-ongoing employee'.
'ongoing employment' refers to the employment of an APS employee as an ongoing employee as mentioned in section 22(2)(a) of the Act. The employee is referred to as an 'ongoing employee'.
'promotion' means the ongoing assignment of duties to an ongoing employee at a higher classification than the one held by the employee (Direction 4.6). The assignment of duties at a higher classification to an ongoing employee within a broadband and the allocation of an operational classification to a person in a training classification is not promotion. A promotion will also involve a 'movement' if the promotion is to another agency. The special provisions applying to trainees are discussed in the booklet Training Classifications: Graduate and other trainees: recruitment and related issues.
'similar classification' refers to a classification which is in the same APS Group in Schedule 1 of the Classification Rules as the classification held by the employee.