{"id":"F2024L01160","name":"Australian Broadcasting Corporation (Definition of senior political staff member) Instrument 2024","slug":"australian-broadcasting-corporation-definition-of-senior-political-staff-member-instrument-2024","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":442576,"registerId":"F2024L01160-fast-fetch-1775957552317","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-12","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Australian Broadcasting Corporation (Definition of senior political staff member) Instrument 2024","content":"---\nmeta-content-style-type: text/css\nmeta-content-type: application/xhtml+xml; charset=utf-8\n---\n\n?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" standalone=\"no\"?>\n\n![Commonwealth Coat of Arms of Australia](image.001.jpeg)\n\n \n\nAustralian Broadcasting Corporation (Definition of senior political staff member) Instrument 2024\n\nI, Michelle Rowland, Minister for Communications, make the following instrument.\n\nDated 12 September 2024\n\n \n\nMichelle Rowland\n\nMinister for Communications\n\n \n\n \n\nContents\n\n1  Name\n\n2  Commencement\n\n3  Authority\n\n4  Definitions\n\n5  Schedules\n\n6  Specification of classes of persons\n\nSchedule 1—Repeals\n\n \n\n \n\n1  Name\n\n  This instrument is the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (Definition of senior political staff member) Instrument 2024.\n\n2  Commencement\n\n  This instrument commences on the day after the instrument is registered.\n\n3  Authority\n\n  This instrument is made under subsection 3(3) of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation Act 1983.\n\n4  Definitions\n\n1.     In this instrument:\n\n\nAct means the Australian Broadcasting Corporation Act 1983.\n\nLegislature of a Territory means:\n\n(a)   the Legislative Assembly for the Australian Capital Territory; or\n\n(b)   the Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory.\n\nMinister means a Minister of State for a State or a Territory.\n\n1.     In this instrument, the term Policy Advice means advice about policy matters, the communication of policy matters to the public, and/or parliamentary matters.\n2.     Without limitation to subsection (2), examples of Policy Advice include:\n\n\n1.     developing policy proposals for the consideration of member of a State Parliament or a Legislature of a Territory;\n2.     analysing policy proposals and making recommendations to a member of a State Parliament or a Legislature of a Territory;\n3.     participating in policy discussions with or on behalf of a member of a State Parliament or a Legislature of a Territory;\n4.     working with public sector employees to implement policies on behalf of a member of a State Parliament or a Legislature of a Territory who is a Minister.\n\n\n \n\n5  Schedules\n\n  Each instrument that is specified in a Schedule to this instrument is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to this instrument has effect according to its terms.\n\n6  Specification of classes of persons\n\n \n\n1.     For the purposes of the definition of ‘senior political staff member’ under subsection 3(1) of the Act, subsections (2), (3) and (4) below specify the classes of persons.\n\n\nClass A–Federal\n\n1.     A person who:\n\n\n1.     is employed under the Members of Parliament (Staff) Act 1984 (Cth); and\n2.     occupies a position in the ‘senior staff’ classification as defined by the Commonwealth Members of Parliament Staff Enterprise Agreement 2020‑2023 made under the Fair Work Act 2009.\n\n\nClass B – State or Territory\n\n1.     A person employed in a senior position by or on behalf of a member of a State Parliament or a Legislature of a Territory to primarily provide Policy Advice to the member.\n2.     Without limiting subsection 6(3), a person is deemed to be employed in a senior position if the position is known by one of the following designations:\n\n\n1.     Chief of Staff;\n2.     Deputy Chief of Staff;\n3.     Principal Adviser (however described);\n4.     Senior Adviser (however described);\n5.     Senior Media Adviser (however described);\n6.      Specialist Adviser (however described).\n\nSchedule 1—Repeals\n\nAustralian Broadcasting Corporation (Definition of senior political staff member) Instrument 2014\n\n1  The whole of the instrument\n\nRepeal the instrument\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"Unauthenticated. Configure AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY or use a provider module. Learn more: https://ai-sdk.dev/unauthenticated-ai-gateway","source":"analysis-cron"},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"Replaces the 2014 instrument and updates who is captured as a 'senior political staff member' by: (a) tying the federal class to employment under the Members of Parliament (Staff) Act and to the 'senior staff' classification in the Commonwealth Members of Parliament Staff Enterprise Agreement 2020–2023 (s6 Class A); (b) specifying state/territory senior staff who 'primarily provide Policy Advice' and listing common position titles that are deemed senior (s6(3)); (c) expanding and exemplifying the meaning of 'Policy Advice' (s4(2)–(3))."},"complexity_factors":["Cross‑references to external laws and instruments increase interpretative steps: Members of Parliament (Staff) Act 1984 and Commonwealth Members of Parliament Staff Enterprise Agreement 2020–2023 (Class A: s6 Class A).","Dependency on the instrument maker and statutory power: instrument is made under subsection 3(3) of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation Act 1983 (Authority: s3).","New definitional material for 'Policy Advice' with multiple illustrative activities creates room for factual assessment of duties (Definitions: s4(2)–(3)).","Deeming list of position titles for state/territory senior roles (Chief of Staff, Deputy Chief of Staff, Principal Adviser, Senior Adviser, Senior Media Adviser, Specialist Adviser) relies on employer/designation rather than fixed grade, increasing scope for disputes about status (s6(3)).","Requirement that the role 'primarily provide Policy Advice' is a qualitative threshold requiring factual judgement by employers, staff or regulators (s6(3)(1)).","Repeal of the 2014 instrument and replacement by this instrument changes the textual baseline that administrators and lawyers must consult (Schedule 1—Repeals).","A simple commencement rule (commences day after registration) reduces timing complexity but requires attention to administrative registration (s2)."],"plain_english_summary":"This instrument sets out who counts as a 'senior political staff member' for the purposes of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation Act 1983 by specifying two classes: federal staff covered by the Members of Parliament (Staff) Act and enterprise agreement senior‑staff classifications, and state/territory senior advisers whose primary role is to provide \"Policy Advice\". It replaces the 2014 instrument and matters because it determines which parliamentary staff fall within the Act’s special rules by formalising labels and examples of advisory work."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The original 2014 instrument appears to have covered only federal senior political staff (or had a narrower scope). This 2024 version explicitly expands the definition to include senior state and territory political staff members, creating a new 'Class B' category that did not exist in the previous framework. This significantly broadens the pool of people subject to ABC hiring restrictions."},"complexity_factors":["Short instrument (approximately 2 pages)","Only 4 defined terms in section 4 (Act, Legislature of a Territory, Minister, Policy Advice)","Simple structure with clear Class A and Class B categorisation","Minimal cross-referencing — only references to the ABC Act 1983, Members of Parliament (Staff) Act 1984, and Fair Work Act 2009","Straightforward repeal of a single previous instrument in Schedule 1","Some minor complexity in the 'however described' qualifiers for job titles, allowing for variations in naming conventions"],"plain_english_summary":"This instrument updates who counts as a \"senior political staff member\" for the ABC, replacing the 2014 definition with a 2024 rule set. It covers senior federal staff under the Members of Parliament (Staff) Act and senior state/territory advisers whose main role is policy advice or parliamentary/communications work — including roles styled Chief/Deputy Chief of Staff, Principal or Senior Adviser, Senior Media Adviser, and Specialist Adviser. That classification limits whom the ABC may hire to protect its independence."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/australian-broadcasting-corporation-definition-of-senior-political-staff-member-instrument-2024","history":"/api/acts/australian-broadcasting-corporation-definition-of-senior-political-staff-member-instrument-2024/history","analysis":"/api/acts/australian-broadcasting-corporation-definition-of-senior-political-staff-member-instrument-2024/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/australian-broadcasting-corporation-definition-of-senior-political-staff-member-instrument-2024/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/australian-broadcasting-corporation-definition-of-senior-political-staff-member-instrument-2024/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/australian-broadcasting-corporation-definition-of-senior-political-staff-member-instrument-2024/documents"}}