Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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PUBLIC SERVICE AMENDMENT REGULATIONS 2003 (NO. 1) 2003 NO. 317

Subsection 79(1) of the Public Service Act 1999 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations prescribing matters required or permitted by the Act to be prescribed, or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act.

Subsection 75(1) of the Act, which covers the attachment of salaries to satisfy judgment debts (ie. a debt payable under a judgment or order enforceable by a Court), provides that the regulations may provide for deductions to be made from the salary of a Secretary, the Head of an Executive Agency or an APS employee in order to satisfy a judgment debt, and may prescribe fees payable in connection with such deductions.

The Regulations provide for the procedure to be followed where an Agency Head is in the position of considering whether a deduction should be made in relation to his or her own debt.

The Public Service Amendment Regulations 2002 (No. 1) (the earlier amendments) omitted Regulation 9.1 of the Public Service Regulations 1999 (the Principal Regulations), which related to the attachment of salaries, and inserted a new, more detailed Part 8A.

Section 75 of the Act and Part 8A of the Principal Regulations create the framework for action available where a Secretary, the Head of an Executive Agency or an APS employee incurs a judgment debt. These provisions set out a procedure whereby creditors may recover judgment debts through the Commonwealth, as the employer, deducting part of employees' wages and paying those amounts to creditors in satisfaction of those debts. Subregulation 8A.4(1) of the Principal Regulations provides that where an Agency Head believes that the making of deductions from a debtor's salary is required, the Agency Head must appoint one or more persons as paying officers for the purpose of making those deductions.

However, Part 8A of the Principal Regulations did not provide specifically for the situation where the Agency Head is the debtor. This omission was noted by the Senate Standing Committee on Regulations and Ordinances in its comments relating to the earlier amendments, and these amendments have been made to implement undertakings given to the Committee to meet its concerns.

The Regulations require an Agency Head to delegate the power to appoint a paying officer to an SES employee, should the Agency Head be the judgment debtor. The SES employee would then decide whether deductions are required and, if so, appoint a paying officer for the purpose of making the deductions.

Details of the Regulations are set out in the Attachment.

ATTACHMENT

Regulation 1 names the Regulations as the Public Service Amendment Regulations 2003 (No. 1).

Regulation 2 of the Regulations provides that the Regulations commence on gazettal.

Regulation 3 of the Regulations provides that the Public Service Regulations 1999 are amended as set out in Schedule 1.

Schedule 1 Amendments

The amendments insert a new subregulation 8A.4(1A) after subregulation 8A.4(1) of the Public Service Regulations 1999.

Subregulation 8A.4(lA) provides that where the Agency Head is the debtor:

•       The Agency Head must not appoint a paying officer under subregulation 8A.4 (1);

•       the Agency Head must, without considering whether the making of a deduction from salary is required, delegate his or her power to appoint a paying officer, in writing, to an SES employee in the Agency; and

•       the SES employee must decide whether a deduction from the Agency Head's salary is required and, if so, appoint a person as paying officer.

Subregulaton 8A.4(1A) also provides that the Agency Head must not take any action or make any arrangement in relation to the administration of the debt other than the delegation of the power to appoint a paying officer and assisting the paying officer in the repayment of the debt.