Work-life balance and flexibility

We understand just how important flexibility and work-life balance is to all APS employees. In the 2026 APS Employment Conditions survey, workplace flexibility was the condition employees were most satisfied with, at 79%. These proposed positions protect what is already working well, while looking for opportunities to give employees greater choice, certainty and support in managing work alongside life outside of work.

A key goal for APS-wide bargaining is progress towards greater commonality of pay and other conditions.

Clearer and more consistent arrangements help employees navigate changing circumstances and maintain a healthy balance between work and personal commitments. They also help the APS attract and retain skilled people and support a productive, flexible, mobile and adaptable workforce.

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

Stay informed

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.

These are summaries of preliminary Commonwealth positions. To find out more about the proposals, please contact you Agency Lead Negotiator.

Never miss an update, subscribe to APS Bargaining News. Subscribing is the easiest way to receive future updates directly as negotiations continue.

To find out more about the Commonwealth’s preliminary position on work-life balance and flexibility, contact your APS bargaining representative or Agency Lead Negotiator.

Flexible working arrangements

Flexible work is one of the most valued parts of the APS employment offer, whether that is changes to your hours of work, patterns of work or location of work (including working from home). What we heard is clear: flexibility matters to APS employees. Flexible working arrangements allow you to appropriately balance work commitments and operational requirements with caring responsibilities, personal commitments and the priorities that matter outside of work.

The last bargaining round delivered a strong common approach to flexible work across the APS, including a bias towards yes and no fixed caps on the number of days employees can request to work flexibly.

The Commonwealth is proposing to preserve these arrangements, so you continue to benefit from a flexible work framework that considers your individual circumstances while recognising the different roles and operational needs across agencies.

Maintaining these arrangements protects the progress already made and keeps flexibility as a strong part of the APS employment offer.

Flex time ​

Currently, agencies structure and operate flex time in lots of different ways. The Chief Negotiator is proposing a new common condition for flex time to provide a more consistent approach across the APS.

The proposed new common conditions for flex time includes:

• accrual and use of flex time on a minute-for-minute basis
• a maximum flex credit limit of 1 week (Agency standard week)
• a maximum flex debit limit of 10 hours, and
• access to flex for part-time employees.

The new common condition reduces differences between enterprise agreements and promotes a more consistent approach across the APS.

Annual Leave

We heard in the APS Employment Conditions Survey that annual leave is one of the conditions that matters most (56%) and employees are most satisfied with (also, 56%).

To recognise this, and standardise entitlements across the APS, the Chief Negotiator is proposing a new common condition on Annual leave which builds on the existing principles already in place in a majority of agencies, and provides a consistent approach across the APS. This includes:

• an entitlement of 20 days of annual leave across all APS agencies (pro-rated for part time employees).
• consistent accrual and crediting arrangements
• a clear definition of annual leave taken at half pay ensuring employees continue to accrue leave as if they were at work during periods of half pay leave.
• A standard threshold of 40 days as the trigger for excess annual leave
• A common condition for cash out of annual leave to promote genuine commonality.

The new common condition sets the threshold for excess leave at 40 days. This change promotes consistent Work Health and Safety risk management principles and the importance of regularly accessing leave and establishing a culture of supporting leave being taken. This change will affect agencies differently depending on their current conditions.

Under the new proposed condition, you can request to cash out accrued annual leave provided that:

• you will have a balance of at least four weeks of annual leave remaining following the cash out;
• you have taken at least two weeks of annual or long service leave in the last 12 months; and
• each cash out must be by a separate agreement in writing.

If you cash out annual leave, you will be paid the full amount that would have been payable if you had taken the leave. If your agency has a concern about a particular cash out application, they can discuss the request with you and agree on variations or not agree to the request.

Christmas closedown

To provide greater consistency and equity across the APS, the Chief Negotiator is proposing Christmas closedown as a new common condition. Under this proposal, all APS employees (excluding shift workers and casual employees) would receive paid time off for the working days between Christmas Day and New Year's Day each year in a consistent manner, without using your annual leave, ensuring a common entitlement regardless of agency.

Currently, around 78% of agencies provide employees with paid time off between Christmas Day and New Year's Day. The remaining 22% have alternative end-of-year shutdown or closedown arrangements that differ from the proposed common three-day model. As a result, employees across the APS have different entitlements during this period. In some agencies, employees receive additional annual leave to cover the closedown period, while others receive additional leave, agency-specific holidays, or no specific entitlement at all.

This proposed clause will replace any existing arrangements in your current enterprise agreement. It gives employees certainty about end-of-year leave and working arrangements, while supporting a consistent approach across the APS.

Personal and Carer’s leave

Personal and carer’s leave supports you when you are unwell or injured or need time away from work to care for or support someone close to you.

The Chief Negotiator is proposing to retain and update the common principles for personal and carer’s leave established in the last bargaining round. The updated principles provide greater clarity about how the entitlement operates, including for non-ongoing employees.

The proposal also aligns evidence requirements with the Fair Work Act 2009, giving you a clearer and more consistent understanding of the evidence you may need to provide when accessing leave. The updated principles will also work alongside proposed leave portability arrangements, helping make it easier to understand how entitlements are treated when you move between APS agencies.

Agencies will be able to retain existing clauses where they are consistent with the common principles or adopt the updated principles more directly into their enterprise agreements.

These changes provide greater clarity and confidence when you access an important leave entitlement, while preserving reasonable existing arrangements. The updated principles provide a clearer foundation for administering personal and carer’s leave and continue the move towards greater commonality across the service.

Overtime

The Chief Negotiator is proposing for the first time a minimum set of APS-wide principles for overtime. The common principles will:

• set a minimum baseline across the APS for overtime
• provide access to overtime for eligible employees at the APS and Executive Level classifications, in circumstances set out by their agency’s enterprise agreement
• provide that rest relief will apply to eligible employees following overtime
• allow agencies to retain or bargain for more beneficial arrangements

The proposed approach provides principles to promote clearer minimum entitlements for employees and greater consistency across the APS, while allowing agencies to retain specialised arrangements that reflect their operational needs.

Restriction duty

Restriction duty applies when employees must remain available outside their usual working hours to respond if needed. It recognises the additional commitment involved in being available for work during these periods.

The Chief Negotiator is proposing new common principles for restriction duty, creating a minimum standard across the APS. The principles provide access to restriction duty for both APS and Executive Level employees, while allowing agencies to set approval arrangements that reflect their different roles and operational needs.

Agencies keep existing restriction duty arrangements that are more beneficial than the common principles.

The proposed principles would provide clearer minimum entitlements and greater consistency across the APS, while allowing agencies to maintain and further bargain arrangements that suit their workforce and operational requirements.