Further key employment conditions

We’re aiming to build on the progress made in the last bargaining round to increase commonality 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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To find out more about the Commonwealth’s preliminary, 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.

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.