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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 6 Hansard (16 May) . . Page.. 1784 ..

(2) In relation to the payment of living away from home and relocation allowances, Attachment B to this response provides details, by agency, of the home towns of each of the officers/employees, for how long they claimed such allowances (where applicable), and the expiry dates of any contracts which include living away from home benefits.

(3) Yes, for Executives, there are limits upon the time that living away from home

allowances can be claimed under the current contracting system.

The Remuneration Tribunal has set relocation allowances for Chief Executives and Executives recruited from outside the ACT since April 1998. The current Determination (84 of 2001) provides that relocation allowances are payable to a maximum of $35,000. The relocation allowance can include a temporary accommodation allowance, which is limited to six months, or, in exceptional circumstances, nine months with the approval of the Commissioner for Public Administration.

The Tribunal's Determination also provides that in the case of re-engaged Chief Executives or Executives, the Commissioner for Public Administration may, having regard to reasonable personal circumstances, approve the continuation of rental subsidy reimbursements where those entitlements existed before Determination 31 of 1998 (ie before 24 April 1998).

Before Determination 31 of 1998, which was the first Determination to include relocation allowances for Executives, these entitlements were provided by the Public Sector Management Standards with reference to earlier conditions set under Public Service Board Determination 1984/46.

(4) Yes, before the current Executive contract arrangements, limits were placed on the time period for eligibility for living away from home allowances.

Before the commencement of the Public Sector Management Act 1994 on 1 July 1994, staff of the ACT Public Service were employed under the Commonwealth Public Service Act 1922. Conditions of service were covered by the 1922 Act, associated determinations and provisions contained in the Personnel Management Manuals.

Under these arrangements, SES staff on temporary and term transfer were entitled to temporary accommodation allowances for the period of a temporary or term transfer, generally up to three years. The relevant Secretary had the authority to extend this period.

Following the commencement of the Public Sector Management Act 1994, the Public Sector Management Standards maintained identical entitlements for SES staff in the ACT Public Service. These identical entitlements were continued with the introduction of Executive contract employment in late 1995. In 1996, the Commissioner for Public Administration extended the maximum duration of the benefit from three to five years, to reflect the maximum term of Executive contracts.

(5) Yes, living away from home allowances (including relocation allowance, reimbursement of relocation expenses, temporary accommodation/rental allowances, etc) are paid to staff below Executive levels.

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