{"id":"F2017L01450","name":"Maternity Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Regulations 2017","slug":"maternity-leave-commonwealth-employees-regulations-2017","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":144252,"registerId":"commonwealth-F2017L01450-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-03","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Name","content":"#### 1 Name\n\n  This instrument is the Maternity Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Regulations 2017.","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"3","sectionType":"section","heading":"Authority","content":"#### 3 Authority\n\n  This instrument is made under the Maternity Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Act 1973.","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"5","sectionType":"section","heading":"Definitions","content":"#### 5 Definitions\n\n  In this instrument:\n\n> Act means the Maternity Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Act 1973.","sortOrder":2},{"sectionNumber":"6","sectionType":"section","heading":"Prescribed authorities—bodies corporate","content":"#### 6 Prescribed authorities—bodies corporate\n\n  For the purposes of paragraph (a) of the definition of prescribed authority in subsection 3(1) of the Act, each of the following is declared to be a body corporate in relation to which the Act applies:\n    (a) the Anindilyakwa Land Council;\n    (b) the Australia Council;\n    (c) the Australian Broadcasting Corporation;\n    (d) the Australian Film, Television and Radio School;\n    (e) the Australian Institute of Marine Science;\n    (f) the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation;\n    (g) the Australian Postal Corporation;\n    (ga) the Australian Securities and Investments Commission;\n    (h) the Central Land Council;\n    (i) the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation;\n    (j) the Export Finance and Insurance Corporation;\n    (k) the National Gallery of Australia;\n    (l) the Northern Land Council;\n    (m) the Tiwi Land Council;\n    (n) the Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community Council;\n    (o) Tourism Australia.","sortOrder":3},{"sectionNumber":"7","sectionType":"section","heading":"Prescribed authorities—unincorporated bodies","content":"#### 7 Prescribed authorities—unincorporated bodies\n\n  For the purposes of paragraph (b) of the definition of prescribed authority in subsection 3(1) of the Act, each of the following is declared to be an unincorporated body in relation to which the Act applies:\n    (a) the Australian Institute of Criminology;\n    (b) the Australian Law Reform Commission;\n    (c) the High Court of Australia.","sortOrder":4},{"sectionNumber":"8","sectionType":"section","heading":"Unauthorised absence","content":"#### 8 Unauthorised absence\n\n  For the purposes of subsection 3(2) of the Act, an absence from duty by an employee is an unauthorised absence in relation to that employee if leave for the absence has not been granted in accordance with:\n    (a) a law of the Commonwealth or a Territory (other than the Northern Territory); or\n    (b) an instrument made under such a law;\n  that provides for terms and conditions of employment that are applicable to that employee.","sortOrder":5},{"sectionNumber":"9","sectionType":"section","heading":"Persons to whom the Act applies","content":"#### 9 Persons to whom the Act applies\n\n  For the purposes of paragraph 5(1)(b) of the Act, the following persons are prescribed as persons to whom the Act applies:\n    (a) an employee of a body corporate referred to in section 6;\n    (b) an employee of an unincorporated body referred to in section 7;\n    (c) a member of:\n    (i) a body corporate referred to in section 6; or\n    (ii) an unincorporated body referred to in section 7;\n    who is deemed to be employed by the Commonwealth under paragraph 5(2)(c) of the Act;\n    (d) a person referred to in Schedule 1.","sortOrder":6}],"analysis":{"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The regulation maintains its original narrow purpose: specifying which Commonwealth authorities and employees are covered by the parent Act. It has not expanded beyond this technical 'coverage' function."},"complexity_factors":["Very short instrument — only 9 sections, with minimal text","Single definition ('Act') in the interpretation section","No conditional logic, exceptions, or nested provisions","Straightforward list-based structure (sections 6 and 7 are simple enumerations)","No cross-references beyond basic references to the parent Act","No temporal provisions, transitional arrangements, or machinery provisions"],"plain_english_summary":"This regulation specifies which Commonwealth organisations and certain board members are covered by the Maternity Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Act 1973, so those workers can access the Act’s maternity leave entitlements. \n\nIt matters because, by naming these bodies, the instrument activates consistent maternity leave rights for employees of diverse Commonwealth entities—ensuring they are not excluded from the national scheme."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The Regulations do not create new leave rights but alter the Act’s operational scope by prescribing which specific bodies and persons are treated as covered and by defining 'unauthorised absence'. This changes who the Act applies to and when absences disqualify entitlement (see regs 6–9), and also delegates part of the coverage determination to items listed in Schedule 1 (reg 9(d))."},"complexity_factors":["Lists of named bodies corporate and unincorporated bodies (regs 6–7) — straightforward but requires keeping entity lists up to date.","Cross-references to the parent Act and specific subsections (regs 3, 5) — requires reading both instruments to resolve scope.","Reliance on an external Schedule for additional covered persons (reg 9(d)) — creates hidden scope not visible in the core text.","Definition of 'unauthorised absence' ties validity of leave to other Commonwealth or Territory laws/instruments and expressly excludes the Northern Territory (reg 8) — introduces inter-jurisdictional linkage.","Doctrinal clarity: instrument is largely declaratory (who is covered, what counts as unauthorised) rather than creating substantive new entitlements — lowers procedural complexity but shifts administrative verification burdens onto employers."],"plain_english_summary":"These Regulations specify which Commonwealth-related organisations and categories of people are covered by the Maternity Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Act 1973 and define when an employee’s absence counts as an ‘unauthorised absence’ for the Act’s purposes. In practice they determine which employers and members must follow the Act’s leave rules and when an absence will disqualify leave—affecting employers’ record-keeping and employees’ eligibility. (See regs 6–9.)"}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/maternity-leave-commonwealth-employees-regulations-2017","history":"/api/acts/maternity-leave-commonwealth-employees-regulations-2017/history","analysis":"/api/acts/maternity-leave-commonwealth-employees-regulations-2017/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/maternity-leave-commonwealth-employees-regulations-2017/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/maternity-leave-commonwealth-employees-regulations-2017/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/maternity-leave-commonwealth-employees-regulations-2017/documents"}}