Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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PUBLIC SERVICE AMENDMENT REGULATIONS 1999 (NO. 2) 1999 NO. 182

STATUTORY RULES 1999 No. 182

Issued by the authority of the Prime Minister

Public Service Act 1922

Public Service Amendment Regulations 1999 (No. 2)

Paragraph 97(1)(aa) of the Public Service 1922 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations prescribing matters required or permitted by the Act to be prescribed.

Section 22B of the Act contains provisions concerning Equal Employment Opportunity Programs in the Australian Public Service (APS).

Subsection 22B(13) provides that the regulations may provide that section 22B shall, subject to modification, apply to and in relation to a Commonwealth authority.

Public Service Regulation 70AA extends the application of section 22B to certain non-APS Commonwealth authorities.

Non-APS authorities so covered are listed in Schedule 1AA of the Public Service Regulations.

The Regulations remove all non-APS authorities from the application of the APS Equal Employment Opportunity provisions in the Public Service Act 1922.

There are thirteen existing non-APS Commonwealth authorities listed in Schedule 1AA. The Schedule also lists a number of organisations that no longer exist as Commonwealth authorities.

Since the Schedule was developed in 1984 the Equal Employment Opportunity (Commonwealth Authorities) Act 1987 (EEO (CA) Act) has been introduced, and the great majority of non-APS Commonwealth authorities are now covered by that Act. The EEO (CA) Act is modelled on the EEO provisions of the Public Service Act and requires Commonwealth authorities to promote EEO for women, Indigenous Australians, people from non-English speaking backgrounds and people with disabilities.

It is no longer appropriate to prescribe these authorities to bring them into the APS Equal Employment Opportunity provisions. All the existing authorities have consented to being removed from Schedule 1AA.

Regulation 1 names the regulations.

Regulation 2 provides for the regulations to commence on gazettal.

Regulation 3 provides for the Public Service Regulations to be amended as provided for in Schedule 1.

Schedule 1

Item 1 omits Regulation 70AA.

Item 2 omits Schedule 1AA.