Section 10: Agency Head powers and functions under the Directions

Direction

Power or function

Section 19

Agency Head must make arrangements for employees to undergo a program of training about integrity within specified timeframes.

Section 20

Agency Head must consult with the Commissioner before entering into an agreement with an APS employee or former APS employee that includes a confidentiality or non-disclosure provision and relates to sexual harassment.

Section 21

Agency Head must notify the Commissioner of the number of agreements entered into with an APS employee or former APS employee that includes a confidentiality or non-disclosure and relates to the person’s APS employment.

Section 25

Requirement to notify a vacancy

Note sections 31, 32 and 33 are linked to section 25 by qualifying its operation.

Section 25(2)(b)(ii)

Agency Head may approve a shorter vacancy period where satisfied of special circumstances.

Section 25(3)

Agency may be required to obtain approval from the Commissioner before notifying a specified vacancy or specified class of vacancies.

Section 25(4)

Agency Head may decide for reasons of cost or operational efficiency to limit a non-SES job advertisement to APS employees

Section 27

Agency Head may engage a person to perform duties on a non-ongoing basis if the duration is less than 18 months or the duties are irregular and intermittent. The engagement may be extended up to 3 years. Vacancies to which this section applies are notified to the community as far as practicable. Agency Heads must be satisfied, as a minimum, that the person has the work-related qualities to perform the relevant duties.

Section 28

An Agency Head may engage a person as a non-ongoing APS employee for a specified term if:

(a) the person is an employee of a State or Territory, or of an authority of a State or Territory; and

(b) the Agency Head has entered into an agreement with the State or Territory, or the authority of the State or Territory, to engage the person as a non-ongoing employee for a specified term

Note: the power to enter into an agreement is delegable but the power to engage is not separately delegable as it relates to the power to engage under s22 of the PS Act.

Section 29

Agency Head may engage an ongoing APS employee as a non-ongoing in certain circumstances.

Section 30

Agency Head may request the Commissioner to authorise the engagement of a non-ongoing APS employee as an ongoing APS employee in certain specific circumstances.

Section 34

Agency Head may request the Commissioner to authorise the promotion of an ongoing employee in certain prescribed circumstances where the employee was formerly appointed to a statutory office.

Section 36

Agency Head may engage an ongoing Parliamentary Service employee as an ongoing APS employee if the person is to be employed at a comparable classification level or lower.

Section 37

Agency Head may engage a person as an APS employee (re-engagement of election candidates).

Section 37 sets out that a person may apply to be re-engaged as an APS employee and section 32 of the Act applies (right of return for election candidates) and the basis on which the employee may be re-engaged.

37(3) provides that if the Commissioner is satisfied, they may declare that the person is taken to be a former employee. For example if the Agency in which the employee was engaged no longer exists.

Section 38

An Agency Head may re-engage a former APS employees in limited circumstances.

Section 40

Agency Head must notify certain employment decisions in the Public Service Gazette within 3 months after the decision is made.

Subsection 40(4) sets out circumstances in which an Agency Head may decide not to include a person’s name in a notification of an employment decision.

Subsection 408(6) requires the Agency Head to notify the Commissioner of a person’s name if the name is not notified in the Public Service Gazette.

Section 41

Agency Head must notify certain cancellation decisions in the Public Service Gazette.

Section 42

Sets out when promotion decisions take effect including when a promotion decision is subject to a Promotion Review Committee. Agency Heads are required to be notified of, or agree to, certain things.

Section 44

Agency Head may waive the requirement to engage an employee on probation if satisfied there are reasonable circumstances justifying the waiver.

Agency Head must ensure that, during that period an APS employee is engaged on probation, processes are in place to assess the suitability of the APS employee to perform their duties.

Section 52

An Agency Head must have regard standards and guidance issued by the Commissioner if an APS employee may have breached the Code of Conduct or not achieving effectively performance and the Agency Head is considering initiating an enquiry under subsection 15(3) of the PS Act.

Section 54

Agency Head must have measures in place to collect specified employee information and give that information to the Commissioner.

Agency Head must allow employees to provide a response of ‘choose not to give this information’ for certain questions,

Section 55

Agency Head must comply with any requirement from the Commissioner to give to the Commissioner particular information, or documents, about workplace relations relating to APS employees in the Agency.

Section 56

Agency Head must ensure that there are measures in place

• to promptly give to the Commissioner accurate information that is collected under section 54 or described in section 55, and
• to give the information to the Commissioner in the form the Commissioner requires.

Section 61

Agency Head must take reasonable steps to ensure that the person who determines that an APS employee has breach the Code of Conduct, and the person who determines any sanction is, and appears to be independent and unbiased.

Section 64

Agency Head must consult with the Commissioner on the process for determining whether an SES employee has breached the Code of Conduct and the imposition of any associated sanctions.

Section 66

Agency Head must obtain the Commissioner’s approval before engaging a redundancy benefit recipient as an ongoing or non-ongoing APS employee before the redundancy benefit period has ended.

Section 67

An Agency Head must grant leave without pay to an ongoing APS employee who applies for the leave to undertake or continue employment under the Governor-General Act 1974 or the Members of Parliament (Staff) Act 1984.

Where employee granted leave under subclause 7.4(1) advises that he/she wishes to return to the Agency, Agency Head must arrange this as soon as practicable and employ the person at their former classification or if necessary an equivalent classification.