Further key employment conditions

We’re aiming to build on the progress made in the last bargaining round to increase commonality, reduce fragmentation and build a more consistent APS employment offer over time.

We are committed to being a model employer, building a unified, capable and contemporary APS, supporting mobility, attraction and retention, driving productivity and service delivery, upholding fairness and equity, and ensuring sustainability.

That's why we're proposing changes to give employees greater certainty and strengthen our commitment to the APS Employee Value Proposition.

These positions are not final; we are still working with bargaining representatives on drafting and negotiating in good faith.

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These are summaries of key preliminary Commonwealth positions. We encourage you to reach out to your Agency Lead Negotiator to find out more about the preliminary Commonwealth positions.

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To find out more about the Commonwealth’s preliminary position, contact your APS bargaining representative or Agency Lead Negotiator.

Parental leave

Parental leave gives you important time away from work to care for and bond with a newborn or newly welcomed child, while protecting your employment and supporting financial stability.

The Chief Negotiator is proposing to build on the significant steps we made in the last round of bargaining by setting out further changes to make parental leave more inclusive, supportive and easier to navigate. The proposal enhances the parental leave entitlement by:

• Removing the reference to primary or secondary caregiver – acknowledging that a parent is a parent.
• Including surrogate parents through legal domestic surrogacy arrangement
• Increasing the entitlement for the parent of a still born child who is not the parent who has given birth
  • A parent who has given birth retains their entitlement to the full parental leave entitlement.
• Clarification on how this clause interacts with the Maternity Leave Act and other leave types to reduce the complexity of administration
  • Including topping up public holidays and Christmas closedown that may occur when taking paid maternity leave.
• Parameters around taking parental leave while on an international posting.
• Clarifying the foster carer provisions to make leave accessible when fostering becomes a long-term caring arrangement.

This proposal is not to change the quantum of the entitlement, but it does provide greater support for employees and families in different circumstances.

These proposed changes build on the significant reforms agreed through the last bargaining round.

Together, these changes strengthen parental leave across the APS, providing more inclusive arrangements and greater clarity and certainty for you and your families.

Update to the preliminary position

The Chief Negotiator has amended the Commonwealth's proposed position on parental leave, following consultation and negotiation with bargaining representatives.

Changes include:

• Increased paid leave entitlement for non-birth giving parents whose child is stillborn to 8 weeks.
• Clarified eligibility for parental leave where both parents are Commonwealth employees.
• Amendments to the language in the proposal to make the intent clearer and increase transparency.

The Chief Negotiator is also proposing changes to superannuation payments so you will receive superannuation payments when you’re on unpaid or half pay leave for parental leave if your superannuation is calculated using OTE.

• Employer superannuation contributions will be paid for up to 52 weeks of unpaid parental leave, as if you had been at work.
• A top-up of superannuation for any parental leave taken at half-pay, will ensure contributions are paid at the full-time rate.

If your superannuation is calculated using the FCS methodology, superannuation is paid on all periods of parental leave (paid and unpaid)

Part Time Employment

The Chief Negotiator is proposing a new common condition to protect the rights and entitlements of employees who have a flexible working arrangement to work part time.

The proposed common condition for part-time workers allows you and your agency to understand and administer entitlements more effectively. It also increases mobility, as you can have confidence that you will have the same entitlements if you move between agencies.

We heard from bargaining parties that this is something that matters to them and the employees they represent. In considering bargaining representative claims the Chief Negotiator decided to provide a common condition with more generous conditions than requested to protect the rights of parents with young children to opt for part-time work for caring reasons until their child reaches school age.

The proposed clause provides assurance that if you are engaged to work on part-time basis, you will not be compelled to convert to full-time employment or that your part-time ordinary hours and pattern of hours will not be varied without your consent.

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing how work is done across the APS. As these tools become part of more roles, you should be supported with the skills and training to use them safely, ethically and responsibly.

Given the rapidly evolving nature of AI, any response must remain flexible and adaptable to keep pace with emerging developments.

For this reason, the Chief Negotiator is not proposing a standalone common condition on AI, but is proposing to include AI in the Learning and Development and Consultative Committee common conditions.

A standalone clause on AI or embedding prescriptive or overly detailed provisions risks content becoming quickly outdated, potentially leaving the enterprise agreements misaligned with current practice, community expectations, and the broader regulatory landscape.

If you need to use AI tools as part of your duties, your agency needs to take reasonable steps to provide relevant training to help you understand how to use those tools appropriately and responsibly.

We’re building on the proposed new Learning and Development common condition to recognise that introducing new technology, whether that is AI or something else, also means investing in the people expected to use it. It helps employees build confidence and capability as ways of working evolve, while supporting the responsible and ethical use of AI across the APS. The condition provides a clear expectation that appropriate support is available where AI forms part of an employee’s work.

Including AI in the APS Consultative Committee clause confirms that AI-related matters of interest to the whole APS are within the scope of the APS consultative committee.

The following matters are already appropriately addressed through existing enterprise agreement provisions, government policy frameworks, or are otherwise more suitably dealt with outside the enterprise agreement:

• Consultation
• Training and development
• Job security
• Decision making
• Ethical and transparent use
• Procurement
• Data management

These provisions strike a considered balance between organisational efficiency and employee protections, providing confidence that AI will be implemented with appropriate oversight and accountability alongside existing government policies and AI frameworks.

Workplace responsibility allowance

If you’re a First Aid Officer, Mental Health First Aid Officer, Emergency Warden, Harassment Contact Officer, or Health and Safety Representative, you probably receive a Workplace Responsibility Allowance. The amount you receive currently depends on the agency you work for, and the role that you have.

The Chief Negotiator is proposing to increase the minimum rate in the common condition.

Raising the baseline rate aligns over 100 agencies’ minimum rate of payment for the Workplace Responsibility Allowance to achieve greater commonality in the payment of this allowance.

Update to the preliminary position

The Chief Negotiator has amended the Commonwealth's preliminary position on Workplace Responsibility Allowance following consultation and negotiation with bargaining representatives.

The new preliminary position now provides the full allowance rate regardless of whether the employee is part-time or a casual employee.

Working hours

Working hours are a fundamental part of your employment conditions and can affect how your entitlements operate when you move between APS agencies.

The Chief Negotiator is proposing a new common condition for working hours to improve commonality across the APS and move towards consistent practice in working hours and patterns of work.

There are four proposed key changes:

• daily hours of work
• standard hours
• common settlement period
• common span of hours

Currently around 80% of APS employees have ordinary working hours of 7 hours 30 minutes per day. The Chief Negotiator is proposing to make these the standard working hours for all employees and agencies.

Around 90% of agencies currently have a common bandwidth or span of hours. The Chief Negotiator is proposing a common bandwidth of hours, either 6:30am – 6:30pm, or 7:00am – 7:00pm, Monday to Friday. Your agency will negotiate with bargaining parties to determine which option goes into your enterprise agreement.

The Chief Negotiator is proposing to set a default standard of hours worked if managers and employees cannot reach agreement through discussions. The default hours for a full-time employee, other than a shift worker are 8:30am to 12:30pm, 1:30pm to 5:00pm, Monday to Friday.

The Chief Negotiator is proposing a common 4-week settlement period for employees who are not shift workers. This means you are still responsible for keeping a record of your daily hours and you'll acquit or submit your flex time hours every 4 weeks.

All the proposed changes to working hours may have a flow on impact to other conditions, for example, leave and penalty rates, which will be explained further as bargaining progresses.

A new common condition for working hours provides a clearer and more consistent approach to ordinary working hours across the APS. Bringing all APS employees in line provides a strong foundation for reducing differences in pay and conditions across the APS.

Superannuation

Superannuation is a key part of your financial future. How your employer contributions are calculated can affect how much you receive and when.

Across the Commonwealth, there are currently two methods for calculating superannuation for employees whose superannuation is in an accumulation fund, Fortnightly Contribution Salary (FCS) and Ordinary Time Earnings (OTE).

The Chief Negotiator is proposing to transition all APS employees who have an accumulation superannuation fund to OTE calculations, improving commonality, transparency and fairness in superannuation contribution across the service. If you are in a defined benefits super fund (like Public Sector Superannuation Scheme (PSS) or Commonwealth Superannuation Scheme (CSS)) these changes will not apply to you.

OTE is a modern approach to superannuation that sees employer contribution amounts respond immediately to changes in your salary, including any pay increases, promotions, increment advancements and relevant allowances such as higher duties allowance without a qualifying period.

FCS uses your base salary fixed at your most recent birthday, rather than your current active earnings. The delay in recognising your salary increases and allowances under the FCS methodology means you can miss out on both the additional employer contributions and the compound investment earnings generated by those contributions over time.

Under this proposal you can decide whether to opt in to OTE now or wait until your agency moves across at the nominal date. If your Agency already uses the OTE method, there will be no changes to the method by which your superannuation is calculated.

The Chief Negotiator is also proposing changes to superannuation payments so you will receive superannuation payments when you’re on unpaid or half pay leave for parental leave if your superannuation is calculated using OTE.

• Employer superannuation contributions will be paid for up to 52 weeks of unpaid parental leave, as if you had been at work.
• A top-up of superannuation for any parental leave taken at half-pay, will ensure contributions are paid at the full-time rate.

If your superannuation is calculated using the FCS methodology, superannuation is paid on all periods of parental leave (paid and unpaid)

If your agency has more beneficial conditions relating to superannuation in your existing enterprise agreement, they are required to retain it, if you already have your superannuation calculated using OTE.

Together, these changes make superannuation simpler, and more balanced and responsive. Giving you greater clarity and confidence in your entitlements.

Higher duties

The Chief Negotiator is proposing to strengthen the existing common condition for higher duties allowance, providing a more generous common condition entitlement if you temporarily step up into higher-level roles.

Under the current common condition, a position needs to be filled for 2 or more working weeks for a higher duties allowance to be paid. Under the proposed new preliminary position, where an APS1-6 position needs to be filled for one or more working days, the employees filling that position would be paid a higher duties allowance. An Executive Level position that needs to be filled for one or more working weeks will attract a higher duties allowance. This improves existing arrangements for employees in around 90 agencies and provides greater consistency in how additional responsibilities are recognised across the APS.

The proposed condition also protects access to higher duties allowance where an employee acts in a higher-level role as part of a job-sharing arrangement. It provides greater certainty during periods of paid leave, including public holidays by confirming that employees will continue to receive the allowance where they would otherwise have continued performing the higher duties.

These changes provide a clearer and more generous approach to recognising employees who take on higher-level responsibilities.

Purchased leave

Purchased leave is another leave type that gives you greater flexibility to take additional time away from work by purchasing extra leave to use within an agreed period. It can help you manage personal commitments, take extended breaks or use in other circumstances where additional time away from work is needed.

Most APS agencies already provide purchased leave, but arrangements currently vary in who can access it, how much leave can be purchased and how the leave is taken.

The Chief Negotiator is proposing a new APS-wide common condition for purchased leave to establish a consistent minimum entitlement across the APS. Under the proposal, all APS employees will have the ability to purchase 4 weeks of leave should they wish to do so. You will be able to take purchased leave in blocks of one day and, with the agreement of the Agency Head, at half pay. Your employer superannuation contributions will also not be reduced if you choose to purchase leave.

The new common condition establishes a minimum APS-wide standard without removing more beneficial arrangements in existing enterprise agreements. Agencies that currently provide more generous conditions, including access to more than 4 weeks of purchased leave, can retain those arrangements subject to the outcomes in Part B bargaining.

This proposal provides more consistent access to purchased leave across the APS and greater choice in how additional time away from work can be managed. It creates a clearer and more consistent baseline across enterprise agreements, while preserving agency flexibility to manage purchased leave processes in a way that reflects operational and workforce needs.

Miscellaneous leave

Miscellaneous leave gives agencies flexibility to respond when an employee needs time away from work and another type of leave does not fit their circumstances. All APS agencies currently provide some form of miscellaneous leave, although the arrangements differ between enterprise agreements.

The Chief Negotiator is proposing a new common condition for miscellaneous leave to increase consistency while preserving agency discretion. Agencies will continue to be able to approve miscellaneous leave with or without pay, request supporting evidence and apply reasonable conditions depending on the circumstances of the request.

The proposal also provides a common approach to how miscellaneous leave counts as service. Paid miscellaneous leave will count as service for all purposes, while unpaid miscellaneous leave will not count as service unless otherwise determined.

This proposal provides greater clarity and flexibility when other leave types may not meet your circumstances. A common framework will support more consistent administration across agencies, while retaining the flexibility to respond to individual circumstances.

Allowances Matrix

How allowances are treated can vary across APS agencies, which can make it harder for employees to understand what applies to them.

The Chief Negotiator is proposing a common allowance matrix to provide a clearer and more transparent approach across the APS. The matrix will show how allowances are treated within each agency and will include APS-wide common allowances such as the Workplace Responsibility Allowance, Higher Duties Allowance and Community Language Allowance, as well as any agency-specific allowances.

The matrix will make it easier for employees to see what allowances apply and how they are treated in different circumstances. It will also provide agencies and payroll providers with a clearer and more consistent way to administer allowances including their payments.

Agencies will be required to include the treatment of agency specific allowances in the matrix to support transparent treatment and improving understanding for employees.

This approach will provide greater transparency and consistency for APS employees, while supporting simpler administration across the service.