{"id":"parliamentary-and-electorate-staff-employment-act-1992","name":"Parliamentary and Electorate Staff (Employment) Act 1992","slug":"parliamentary-and-electorate-staff-employment-act-1992","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"wa","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":105944,"registerId":"wa-parliamentary-and-electorate-staff-employment-act-1992-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-03","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Parliamentary and Electorate Staff (Employment) Act 1992","content":"![Crest]()Western Australia\n\nParliamentary and Electorate Staff (Employment) Act 1992\n\nWestern Australia\n\nParliamentary and Electorate Staff (Employment) Act 1992\n\nContents\n\nPart 1 — Preliminary\n\n1. Short title 2\n\n2. Commencement 2\n\n3. Interpretation 2\n\nPart 2 — Employment of members of staff of Parliament and electorate officers\n\n4. Employers of certain staff of Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly, and of electorate officers 5\n\n5. Employers of other staff of Parliament 6\n\n6. Delegation 6\n\n7. Representation of employers for purposes of *Industrial Relations Act 1979* 8\n\nNotes\n\nCompilation table 9\n\n  \n\nWestern Australia\n\nParliamentary and Electorate Staff (Employment) Act 1992\n\nAn Act to provide for the employment of certain members of the staff of Parliament, and electorate officers, by the President of the Legislative Council or the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly or both of them, acting jointly, as the case requires, and for related matters.\n\n## Part 1 — Preliminary\n\n##### 1. Short title\n\nThis Act may be cited as the *Parliamentary and Electorate Staff (Employment) Act 1992* 1.\n\n##### 2. Commencement\n\nThis Act shall come into operation on the day on which section 7(1) of the *Industrial Relations Amendment Act (No. 4) 1987* comes into operation 1.\n\n##### 3. Interpretation\n\n(1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears —\n\n  department of the staff of Parliament includes subdivision of a department of the staff of Parliament;\n\n  electorate officer means person appointed to be an electorate officer —\n\n(a) to assist a member of the Legislative Council or a member of the Legislative Assembly in dealing with constituency matters; or\n\n(b) to assist the secretary of a parliamentary political party;\n\n  the Director‑General means the person for the time being holding or acting in the office of chief executive officer of the department of the Public Service principally assisting the Minister administering the *Constitution Act 1889* in that administration;\n\n  the President means the person for the time being holding or acting in the office of President of the Legislative Council or, if there is for the time being no such person, the person for the time being holding or acting in the office of Clerk of the Legislative Council;\n\n  the Speaker means the person for the time being holding or acting in the office of Speaker of the Legislative Assembly or, if there is for the time being no such person, the person for the time being holding or acting in the office of Clerk of the Legislative Assembly.\n\n(2) A reference in this Act to —\n\n(a) the Department of the Legislative Council is a reference to the department of the staff of Parliament principally assisting the President in the administration of the affairs of the Legislative Council;\n\n(b) the Department of the Legislative Assembly is a reference to the department of the staff of Parliament principally assisting the Speaker in the administration of the affairs of the Legislative Assembly;\n\n(c) the Department of the Parliamentary Reporting Staff is a reference to the department of the staff of Parliament principally assisting the President and the Speaker in the reporting of parliamentary debates;\n\n(d) the Department of the Parliamentary Library is a reference to the department of the staff of Parliament principally assisting the President and the Speaker in the administration of the library of Parliament; or\n\n(e) the Joint House Department is a reference to the department of the staff of Parliament principally assisting the President and the Speaker in the provision of —\n\n(i) certain financial and personnel management services to other departments of the staff of Parliament;\n\n(ii) catering services;\n\n(iii) building and grounds management services; and\n\n(iv) security services,\n\nby whatever designation that department may from time to time be known.\n\n(3) A reference in this Act to —\n\n(a) the Chief Hansard Reporter is a reference to the officer of the staff of Parliament principally responsible to the President and the Speaker for the reporting of parliamentary debates;\n\n(b) the Parliamentary Librarian is a reference to the officer of the staff of Parliament principally responsible to the President and the Speaker for the administration of the library of Parliament; or\n\n(c) the Executive Officer of the Joint House Department is a reference to the officer of the staff of Parliament principally responsible to the President and the Speaker for the provision of the services referred to in subsection (2)(e).\n\n(4) An employer under this Act —\n\n(a) has the power to appoint persons to be the employees of that employer; and\n\n(b) subject to any award, order or industrial agreement in force under the *Industrial Relations Act 1979* and without limiting the application to this Act of the *Interpretation Act 1984*, may at any time exercise in respect of a person employed by that employer any of the powers conferred by sections 52 and 53 of the *Interpretation Act 1984*.\n\n## Part 2 — Employment of members of staff of Parliament and electorate officers\n\n##### 4. Employers of certain staff of Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly, and of electorate officers\n\n(1) The President, acting on the recommendation of —\n\n(a) the Clerk of the Legislative Council, is, subject to section 35 of the *Constitution Act 1889*, the employer of each member of the Department of the Legislative Council other than the Clerk of the Legislative Council and the Deputy Clerk of the Legislative Council; or\n\n(b) the Director‑General, is the employer of each electorate officer appointed to assist —\n\n(i) a member of the Legislative Council in dealing with constituency matters; or\n\n(ii) the secretary of a parliamentary political party who is a member of the Legislative Council.\n\n(2) The Speaker, acting on the recommendation of —\n\n(a) the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly, is, subject to section 35 of the *Constitution Act 1889*, the employer of each member of the Department of the Legislative Assembly other than the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly and the Deputy Clerk of the Legislative Assembly; or\n\n(b) the Director‑General, is the employer of each electorate officer appointed to assist —\n\n(i) a member of the Legislative Assembly in dealing with constituency matters; or\n\n(ii) the secretary of a parliamentary political party who is a member of the Legislative Assembly.\n\n##### 5. Employers of other staff of Parliament\n\n(1) The President and the Speaker, acting jointly, are the employer of —\n\n(a) the Chief Hansard Reporter;\n\n(b) the Parliamentary Librarian; and\n\n(c) the Executive Officer of the Joint House Department.\n\n(2) The President and the Speaker, acting jointly on the recommendation of —\n\n(a) the Chief Hansard Reporter, are the employer of each member of the Department of the Parliamentary Reporting Staff other than the Chief Hansard Reporter;\n\n(b) the Parliamentary Librarian, are the employer of each member of the Department of the Parliamentary Library other than the Parliamentary Librarian; and\n\n(c) the Executive Officer of the Joint House Department, are the employer of each member of the Joint House Department other than that Executive Officer.\n\n##### 6. Delegation\n\n(1) The President may, either generally or as otherwise provided by the instrument of delegation, by writing signed by the President delegate to —\n\n(a) the Clerk of the Legislative Council the exercise or performance of any power or duty conferred or imposed on the President by this Act in respect of members of the Department of the Legislative Council referred to in section 4(1)(a); or\n\n(b) the Director‑General the exercise or performance of any power or duty conferred or imposed on the President by this Act in respect of electorate officers referred to in section 4(1)(b),\n\nincluding this power of delegation.\n\n(2) The Speaker may, either generally or as otherwise provided by the instrument of delegation, by writing signed by the Speaker delegate to —\n\n(a) the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly the exercise or performance of any power or duty conferred or imposed on the Speaker by this Act in respect of members of the Department of the Legislative Assembly referred to in section 4(2)(a); or\n\n(b) the Director‑General the exercise or performance of any power or duty conferred or imposed on the Speaker by this Act in respect of electorate officers referred to in section 4(2)(b),\n\nincluding this power of delegation.\n\n(3) The President and the Speaker, acting jointly, may, either generally or as otherwise provided by the instrument of delegation, by writing signed by them delegate to —\n\n(a) the Chief Hansard Reporter the exercise or performance of any power or duty conferred or imposed on them, acting jointly, by this Act in respect of members of the Department of the Parliamentary Reporting Staff referred to in section 5(2)(a);\n\n(b) the Parliamentary Librarian the exercise or performance of any power or duty conferred or imposed on them, acting jointly, by this Act in respect of members of the Department of the Parliamentary Library referred to in section 5(2)(b); and\n\n(c) the Executive Officer of the Joint House Department the exercise or performance of any power or duty conferred or imposed on them, acting jointly, by this Act in respect of members of the Joint House Department referred to in section 5(2)(c),\n\nincluding this power of delegation.\n\n##### 7. Representation of employers for purposes of *Industrial Relations Act 1979*\n\n(1) For the purposes of any matter or proceeding under the *Industrial Relations Act 1979* affecting —\n\n(a) a member of the Department of the Legislative Council referred to in section 4(1)(a), the President shall be represented by the Clerk of the Legislative Council;\n\n(b) an electorate officer referred to in section 4(1)(b), the President shall be represented by the Director‑General;\n\n(c) a member of the Department of the Legislative Assembly referred to in section 4(2)(a), the Speaker shall be represented by the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly;\n\n(d) an electorate officer referred to in section 4(2)(b), the Speaker shall be represented by the Director‑General;\n\n(e) a member of the Department of the Parliamentary Reporting Staff referred to in section 5(2)(a), the President and the Speaker shall be represented by the Chief Hansard Reporter;\n\n(f) a member of the Department of the Parliamentary Library referred to in section 5(2)(b), the President and the Speaker shall be represented by the Parliamentary Librarian; or\n\n(g) a member of the Joint House Department referred to in section 5(2)(c), the President and the Speaker shall be represented by the Executive Officer of the Joint House Department.\n\n(2) Nothing in subsection (1) prevents a person representing the President or the Speaker or the President and the Speaker from appearing in any manner provided for by section 31 of the *Industrial Relations Act 1979*, and that section applies to any such person accordingly.\n\nNotes\n\n1 This is a reprint as at 23 April 2004 of the *Parliamentary and Electorate Staff (Employment) Act 1992*. The following table contains information about that Act and any reprint.\n\nCompilation table\n\n| **Short title** | **Number and year** | **Assent** | **Commencement** |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| *Parliamentary and Electorate Staff (Employment) Act 1992* | 38 of 1992 | 2 Oct 1992 | 3 Nov 1992 (see s. 2 and *Gazette* 3 Nov 1992 p. 5389) |\n| **Reprint 1: The *Parliamentary and Electorate Staff (Employment) Act 1992* as at 23 Apr 2004** | | | |\n\n\nDefined terms\n\n*[This is a list of terms defined and the provisions where they are defined. The list is not part of the law.]*\n\n**Defined term Provision(s)**\n\ndepartment of the staff of Parliament 3(1)\n\nelectorate officer 3(1)\n\nthe Director‑General 3(1)\n\nthe President 3(1)\n\nthe Speaker 3(1)\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose of establishing the employment framework for parliamentary and electorate staff. The scope has not expanded beyond the core function of designating employers and delegation mechanisms as originally enacted in 1992."},"complexity_factors":["Short statute with only 7 operative sections","5 defined terms in the interpretation section","Simple conditional logic limited to 'acting on recommendation of' requirements","Clear structural division between Part 1 (definitions) and Part 2 (employment arrangements)","No nested exceptions or complex cross-referencing beyond basic references to the Industrial Relations Act 1979 and Interpretation Act 1984","Straightforward delegation provisions in section 6 with symmetrical structure for President, Speaker, and joint powers","Single layer of representation rules in section 7 without contingencies"],"plain_english_summary":"This Western Australian law sets out who employs the people who work for the State Parliament and for individual politicians.\n\n**What it does:**\n- **Creates a special employment structure** for parliamentary staff that keeps them separate from the regular public service. Instead of being employed by government departments, these workers are employed directly by the President of the Legislative Council (the upper house) or the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly (the lower house), or sometimes both acting together.\n\n**Who it covers:**\n- **Parliamentary staff** working in the Legislative Council, Legislative Assembly, Hansard (the official record of debates), the Parliamentary Library, and joint services like catering and security\n- **Electorate officers** — the staff who help MPs deal with local constituency issues or assist party secretaries\n\n**Key points:**\n- The President employs Legislative Council staff (except the Clerk and Deputy Clerk)\n- The Speaker employs Legislative Assembly staff (except the Clerk and Deputy Clerk)\n- The President and Speaker jointly employ heads of departments like the Chief Hansard Reporter and Parliamentary Librarian\n- These heads then recommend hiring for their own departments\n- **Electorate officers** are employed by the President or Speaker but only on the recommendation of the Director‑General (a senior public servant)\n- The President and Speaker can **delegate** their powers to senior officers like the Clerks or the Director‑General\n- For industrial relations matters (like disputes or awards), specific officers represent the employers\n\n**Why it matters:**\nThis law ensures parliamentary staff remain independent of the executive government. By having the President and Speaker (who are MPs) as employers rather than government ministers, it protects the separation of powers — ensuring the Parliament can operate independently from the government of the day."},"summary":{"complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Scope cannot be assessed as the legislative content was not available in the provided text. The page retrieved was a system error notice, not the Act itself."},"complexity_factors":["No actual legislative text was provided — only a website error/redirect page","Cannot assess definitional complexity, operative provisions, schedules, or cross-references","Score of 1 reflects the absence of analysable content, not the likely complexity of the Act itself"],"plain_english_summary":"**⚠️ Content Unavailable**\n\nThe text provided does not contain the actual content of the *Parliamentary and Electorate Staff (Employment) Act 1992* (WA). Instead, it shows an error page from the Western Australian legislation website, indicating that the page has been moved or is temporarily unavailable due to system upgrades.\n\n**What we can infer from the title alone:**\nThis Act likely governs the employment conditions of staff who work for Members of Parliament and their electorate (local) offices in Western Australia — covering things like hiring, pay, leave, and termination rights for those workers.\n\n**What you should do:**\n- Visit the [Western Australian Legislation website](https://www.legislation.wa.gov.au) and search for the Act directly\n- Contact the Parliamentary Counsel's Office Helpdesk as suggested on the error page\n\n*No substantive legal analysis can be reliably provided based on a broken webpage redirect.*"},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The text provided is a reprint (as at 23 April 2004) of the Act as enacted. There is no indication within this reprint that the statutory scope — who is the employer, delegation and representation arrangements — has been altered from the original enactment."},"complexity_factors":["Defined office‑holder and departmental terms that determine employer identity (s 3)","Different employer arrangements depending on office and unit (individual President/Speaker v. President+Speaker) (ss 4–5)","Delegation framework allowing powers to be passed to clerks, Director‑General or senior officers (s 6)","Representation rules for Industrial Relations Act proceedings tying specific representatives to each employer category (s 7)","Cross‑references to other statutes (Constitution Act 1889 for limits (s 4) and Industrial Relations Act 1979 for dispute processes (s 7))","Commencement dependent on provision in another Act, adding a timing linkage (s 2)","Provision granting employers appointment and statutory powers subject to awards/agreements (s 3(4))"],"plain_english_summary":"This Act names who is legally the employer of Western Australian parliamentary staff and electorate officers: the President of the Legislative Council, the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, or both acting jointly, with some appointments made on recommendations from clerks or the Director‑General. It matters because it fixes which offices appoint, delegate and represent these employees for industrial relations purposes, concentrating employment decision‑making and procedural responsibilities in those specified roles."},"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"}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/parliamentary-and-electorate-staff-employment-act-1992","history":"/api/acts/parliamentary-and-electorate-staff-employment-act-1992/history","analysis":"/api/acts/parliamentary-and-electorate-staff-employment-act-1992/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/parliamentary-and-electorate-staff-employment-act-1992/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/parliamentary-and-electorate-staff-employment-act-1992/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/parliamentary-and-electorate-staff-employment-act-1992/documents"}}