Employment Conditions
What is the public service?
- Australian Public Service (APS)
Most Australian Government
agencies employ people under the provisions of the
Public Service Act 1999 – jobs in these agencies are part of the Australian
Public Service (APS).
In the APS you are employed by the agency you work for, on behalf of the Australian
Government.
- Non-APS Australian Government agencies
‘Non-APS’ agencies
are still part of the Australian Government but employ people under their own Acts
― for example, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation and the Australian
Government Solicitor.
They have their own arrangements for advertising and filling jobs, which may include
advertising in the Gazette.
- Jobs in the Parliamentary Service
People employed in the
Parliamentary
Service are employed under the
Parliamentary Service Act 1999. There
are three departments established under the
Parliamentary Service Act 1999.
Arrangements for advertising and filling jobs in the Parliamentary Service are similar
to those for the APS.
Where can I find APS vacancies?
All APS agencies advertise (‘notify’) jobs in the APS Employment Gazette. The Gazette
is available weekly from the APSjobs
website (www.APSjobs.gov.au).
Most APS jobs are also advertised in newspapers and on individual Australian Government
agency websites.
Agencies may use applications from advertised vacancies to fill similar jobs for
up to 12 months from when the original vacancy was advertised in the Gazette.
Who can apply and when?
Most APS jobs are open to all Australian citizens, however, individual agencies
may decide to employ non-citizens.
Some jobs have other restrictions on who can be employed, as follows:
- Existing
APS employees
- Jobs open to existing APS employees only are marked in the Gazette with the symbol
(♣). Existing APS employees include:
- temporary (‘non-ongoing’) APS employees employed at the time of the Gazette notice
- Parliamentary Service
staff
- Australian Capital Territory public service staff
- some non-APS
Australian Government agency staff
- Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islanders
- ‘Identified positions’ are jobs that are open to Indigenous and non-Indigenous
people who meet the selection criteria, which require:
- specific knowledge and understanding of Indigenous Australian cultures and issues
- the ability to communicate sensitively and effectively with Indigenous communities.
- ‘Special measures provisions’ identify jobs that are restricted to Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander applicants. These are to provide job opportunities for
Indigenous people.
- People with intellectual
disability
In addition, people who have received a redundancy benefit from the APS, the Parliamentary Service or (in certain circumstances) the Murray-Darling Basin Commission are excluded from APS employment for varying periods (depending on the amount of their redundancy benefit). Further information, including limited exceptions that may apply, is available
here
The application closing dates for individual jobs are in each advertisement. The
agency advertising the job decides whether to accept late applications for that
job.
Applicants should be aware that the names of successful applicants will be notified
in the Gazette.
Pay and conditions
A few conditions of service ― such as long service leave ― are the same across all
agencies. However, other conditions and pay levels are decided at individual agency
level.
Information about pay and employment conditions for particular agencies is available
from the agency.
The agency may specify
conditions of engagement. These can include, for example, essential qualifications
for a job, security and character clearances, or health checks.
All APS employees must behave in ways that uphold the
APS Values and meet the requirements set out in the
Code of Conduct. Sanctions may be imposed for breaching the Code of Conduct.
Probation
Generally, all new ongoing APS employees serve a
probationary period. Agencies will tell you about this requirement, including
the length of time, before you start in a job.
During probation, an agency assesses how suitable a person is for the job. If the
agency considers that you have successfully completed the probation period, you
will be advised.
If you do not successfully complete the probation period, your employment may be
terminated.
Superannuation
An agency can give people information about which superannuation schemes they are
eligible to join. For new employees, APS agencies offer a choice of superannuation
funds (‘Super Choice’).
APS employees who are currently members of either the Public Sector Superannuation
Scheme or the Commonwealth Superannuation Scheme continue to contribute to these
superannuation funds.
Employee promotions and movements
A promotion
occurs when an ongoing APS employee is assigned duties at a higher classification
on a continuing basis. There are certain rules about when a
promotion takes effect.
If an APS employee is already employed within an agency’s broadband, and moves to
a job at a higher classification within that broadband, it is not considered a promotion.
Where an ongoing employee moves into a job at the same classification level, or
transfer to another agency at the same level, this is a movement (transfer) not
a promotion.
Reviewing Promotion Decisions
The office of the Merit Protection
Commissioner is an independent office within the Australian Public Service
Commission. An important part of the Commissioner’s role is to provide a fair system
for review of decisions for all APS employees.
Ongoing APS employees, who are unsuccessful applicants
for promotion, may apply to the Merit Protection Commissioner to have the promotion
decision reviewed by a Promotion
Review Committee. Successful applicants whose promotion has not taken effect
can also apply for a promotion review.
There are certain rules about when and where promotion review applications can be
lodged.
Role of Independent Selection Advisory Committees
An agency may ask the Merit Protection Commissioner to set up an
Independent Selection Advisory Committee. The committee can make recommendations
about the suitability of candidates for employment, promotion, or the type of work
they should do (at levels up to and including APS Level 6).
A committee recommendation on a promotion is not binding, but:
- if accepted, the promotions are not subject to the normal promotion review
processes, or
- if not accepted, then any subsequent promotion decisions are subject to the
normal promotion review processes.
Senior Executive Service jobs
The Senior Executive Service
forms the senior leadership group of the Australian Public Service. The role of
the SES is to provide professional expertise and policy advice within the APS. SES
people are expected to have high level management and leadership skills.
The general APS assessment, probation and employment conditions apply to the SES.
However, there are some different requirements and provisions:
- Applicants for SES jobs are assessed against ‘core’ SES selection criteria, based
on the leadership capabilities.
Agencies may also apply additional job-specific criteria.
- SES selection committees always include a
representative of the Australian Public Service Commissioner, who is from an
unrelated agency. The Commissioner needs to endorse all SES engagements and promotions.
- A copy of the final selection report is forwarded to the Australian Public Service
Commission at the end of the process.
- SES employees' terms and conditions are set out in determinations issued under the employing
legislation (where available) or individual common law arrangements; or, where the majority of
SES employees in an agency choose, in an enterprise agreement.