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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 13 Hansard (27 November) . . Page.. 4802 ..

MR STANHOPE (continuing):

The bill also excludes general actions relating to employment in the ACT public service, such as gazette notifications of appointments and pre-employment medicals, to validate the employment action that Totalcare has taken. In the case of temporary employment, the bill excludes certain criteria designed to restrict temporary employment only to specialist or urgent services or where no permanent officer is otherwise available.

The approach set out in the bill supports the maintenance of terms and conditions insofar as they are set by the Public Sector Management Act. This includes that staff are transferred at level and on equivalent tenure arrangements, noting that probationary staff would continue on probation. The bill also provides for the retention of leave entitlements, unless paid out, the recognition of prior service with Totalcare and the retention of entitlements no less favourable than immediately before transfer.

This approach has been adopted as most terms and conditions for staff are provided through industrial instruments, such as certified agreements. As industrial instruments operate with the force of Commonwealth law, they override inconsistent ACT laws. The approach under the bill reflects the continued operation of Totalcare certified agreements under the Commonwealth Workplace Relations Act transmission of business rules. Following the transfer of staff, a separate industrial process is likely to be necessary to negotiate new agreements with unions and staff to translate and align terms and conditions with staff of the ACT public service.

While Totalcare staff will be transferred on the same tenure, the bill also permits the commissioner to convert temporary employees to permanent tenure in certain circumstances. This includes where staff have been employed by Totalcare on a temporary basis for at least five years, reflecting the limit of fixed-term employment under the Public Sector Management Act, and in other circumstances where the commissioner considers it appropriate. This may include where a position is of an ongoing nature. This capacity reflects the government's commitment to permanent employment.

The bill provides that the Commissioner for Public Administration may, with my advance approval, make public sector management standards for matters incidental to the Totalcare transfers and individual determinations to address anomalies arising from the transfer. The bill also includes a regulation making power to deal with transitional matters and modify the operation of the new part, if the executive considers it appropriate. These provisions are often included in transitional legislation and are designed to reflect the complexities that may arise during the transfers.

Mr Speaker, in summary, the bill will: insert a new part in the Public Sector Management Act to provide for the Commissioner for Public Administration to transfer Totalcare staff to equivalent positions in the ACT public service without a merit process; provide an approach to the transfers to support maintenance of terms and conditions under transmission of business practices, including transfer of staff on the same tenure and classification, with any probationary staff to continue on probation, the transfer of leave entitlements not paid out, and the recognition of prior service and entitlements no less favourable than immediately before the transfer; provide capacity for the commissioner to convert temporary employees to permanent tenure in certain circumstances after the transfer; provide a capacity for the commissioner to make management standards with

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