{"id":"public-employment-mobility-act-1989","name":"Public Employment (Mobility) Act 1989","slug":"public-employment-mobility-act-1989","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"nt","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":30527,"registerId":"nt-public-employment-mobility-act-1989-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-01","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Public Employment (Mobility) Act 1989","content":"NORTHERN TERRITORY OF AUSTRALIA\nPUBLIC EMPLOYMENT (MOBILITY) ACT 1989\nAs in force at 1 May 2016\nTable of provisions\n1 Short title ......................................................................................... 1\n2 Commencement .............................................................................. 1\n3 Interpretation ................................................................................... 1\n4 Date of commencement in public employment ................................ 2\n5 Terms of employment on transfer .................................................... 3\n6 Accrued conditions of employment .................................................. 3\n7 Return to previous public employer ................................................. 3\n8 Compulsory transferees .................................................................. 3\n9 Transitional provision in special case .............................................. 3\nENDNOTES\n\n\n\nNORTHERN TERRITORY OF AUSTRALIA\n____________________\nAs in force at 1 May 2016\n____________________\nPUBLIC EMPLOYMENT (MOBILITY) ACT 1989\nAn Act to enable mobility in employment between certain areas of public\nemployment in the Territory without loss of accrued conditions of\nemployment\n1 Short title\nThis Act may be cited as the Public Employment (Mobility)\nAct 1989.\n2 Commencement\nThis Act shall come into operation on a date to be fixed by the\nAdministrator by notice in the Gazette.\n3 Interpretation\n(1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears:\nconditions of employment, in relation to conditions that accrue to\nan employee by virtue of service with a public employer, means:\n(a) recreation leave, long service leave, or sick leave;\n(b) an allowance in the nature of a Northern Territory allowance\n(by whatever name called) or for living in or in a particular\nplace in the Territory;\n(c) an airfare entitlement or payment in lieu of an airfare\nentitlement; or\n(d) automatic increments of salary or wages.\nemployee means a person who is an employee within the meaning\nof the Public Sector Employment and Management Act 1993, a\nmember of the Police Force, a person otherwise employed by the\nTerritory, or a person employed in or by a body corporate (other\nthan a local government council, the Northern Territory Land\nCorporation established under the Northern Territory Land\nCorporation Act 1989, and the Conservation Land Corporation\nestablished under the Parks and Wildlife Commission Act 1980)\nestablished by a law of the Territory, whether the employee, officer,\n\nPublic Employment (Mobility) Act 1989 2\nmember, or person was appointed or engaged (or is or was\ndeemed under any Act, award, determination, or other instrument of\na legislative or administrative character to have been appointed or\nengaged) before or after the commencement of this Act, but does\nnot include the following:\n(a) a person employed on a casual or temporary basis or for a\nfixed term;\n(b) a Local Court Judge;\n(c) a Supreme Court Judge.\npublic employment means:\n(a) employment within the Public Sector of the Northern Territory\nor the Police Force;\n(b) any other employment by the Territory or in or by a body\ncorporate (other than a local government council, the Northern\nTerritory Land Corporation established under the Northern\nTerritory Land Corporation Act 1989, or the Conservation\nLand Corporation established under the Parks and Wildlife\nCommission Act 1980) established by a law of the Territory; or\n(c) employment within the Public Service of the Commonwealth\nor an authority of the Commonwealth where the\nCommonwealth or that authority granted an employee leave of\nabsence without pay from that employment in order to take up\npublic employment under paragraphs (a) or (b),\nand public employer has a corresponding meaning.\ntransfer means the movement of an employee from the\nemployment of one public employer to the employment of another\npublic employer.\n(2) The Minister may, by notice in the Gazette, declare a person, class,\nor category of persons to be a person, class, or category of persons\nto which this Act does, or does not, apply.\n4 Date of commencement in public employment\n(1) Subject to subsection (2), for the purpose of determining the length\nof service of a person in public employment the date upon which a\nperson first commenced duty with a public employer is the date\nupon which that person commenced in public employment.\n(2) Where a person has been employed by more than one public\nemployer, the date on which that person first commenced duty in\n\nPublic Employment (Mobility) Act 1989 3\npublic employment is the earliest date on which that person\ncommenced duty with a public employer if the period of service with\nwhich, taken with the periods of service with subsequent public\nemployers, is continuous.\n5 Terms of employment on transfer\n(1) An employee who applies for a transfer to a permanent vacancy\nwith a public employer (other than the public employer by which the\nemployee is currently employed), shall, for the purpose of\ndetermining the terms of employment which are to apply in relation\nto that application, be considered to be an employee of the public\nemployer with which the vacancy exists.\n(2) Where an employee transfers or is transferred to another public\nemployer, and that public employer allows or is required to allow a\nright of appeal by an employee against the promotion of another\nemployee, that right of appeal shall apply in respect of the\ntransferred employee if the transfer constituted a promotion.\n6 Accrued conditions of employment\n(1) All conditions of employment that have accrued to an employee at\nthe time the employee transfers or is transferred to the employment\nof another public employer shall accompany and be available to the\nemployee following that transfer.\n(2) All conditions of employment that accrue to an employee following\na transfer shall accrue under terms applicable to employment with\nthe new public employer.\n7 Return to previous public employer\nAn employee who transfers from one public employer to another\nshall have no automatic right to return to the employment of the\nprevious public employer.\n8 Compulsory transferees\nAn employee to whom Part VI of the Public Service Act 1976 or\nPart VI of the Teaching Service Act 1981 applies shall retain such\nrights, if any, as are conferred upon the employee by those Acts\nnotwithstanding that the employee may transfer from the Public\nService or from the Northern Territory Teaching Service to other\npublic employment.\n9 Transitional provision in special case\n(1) This section applies to a person who first commenced duty with a\npublic employer (other than the Power and Water Authority\n\nPublic Employment (Mobility) Act 1989 4\nestablished under the Power and Water Authority Act 1987 or the\nDarwin Institute of Technology established under the Advanced\nEducation and Darwin Institute of Technology Act 1985) between\n1 August 1987 and 24 October 1988 (both days inclusive).\n(2) Where a person to whom this section applies subsequently\ntransfers to the Power and Water Authority or to the Darwin Institute\nof Technology or, on or after 1 January 1989, the University of the\nNorthern Territory established under the University of the Northern\nTerritory Act 1985, then, for the purpose only of determining the\nconditions of employment specified in paragraphs (b) and (c) of the\ndefinition of that term in section 3(1), the date on which that person\nfirst commenced duty in public employment shall, notwithstanding\nsubsection (1) and section 4(2), be deemed to be 25 October 1988.\n\nENDNOTES\nPublic Employment (Mobility) Act 1989 5\nENDNOTES\n1 KEY\nKey to abbreviations\namd = amended od = order\napp = appendix om = omitted\nbl = by-law pt = Part\nch = Chapter r = regulation/rule\ncl = clause rem = remainder\ndiv = Division renum = renumbered\nexp = expires/expired rep = repealed\nf = forms s = section\nGaz = Gazette sch = Schedule\nhdg = heading sdiv = Subdivision\nins = inserted SL = Subordinate Legislation\nlt = long title sub = substituted\nnc = not commenced\n2 LIST OF LEGISLATION\nPublic Employment (Mobility) Act 1989 (Act No. 47, 1989)\nAssent date 20 September 1989\nCommenced 1 November 1989 (Gaz G43, 1 November 1989, p 7)\nLocal Government (Consequential Amendments) Act 1993 (Act No. 84, 1993)\nAssent date 31 December 1993\nCommenced 1 June 1994 (s 2, s 2 Local Government Act 1993 (Act\nNo. 83, 1993) and Gaz S35, 20 May 1994)\nStatute Law Revision Act (No. 2) 1995 (Act No. 42, 1995)\nAssent date 13 October 1995\nCommenced 13 October 1995\nStatute Law Revision Act (No. 2) 2004 (Act No. 54, 2004)\nAssent date 15 September 2004\nCommenced 27 October 2004 (Gaz G43, 27 October 2004, p 3)\nLocal Government (Consequential Amendments) Act 2008 (Act No. 28, 2008)\nAssent date 14 November 2008\nCommenced 1 July 2008 (s 2)\nLocal Government Amendment Act 2014 (Act No. 19, 2014)\nAssent date 2 June 2014\nCommenced s 16: 1 July 2014; s 18: 1 December 2014; rem: 2 June 2014\n(s 2)\nTerritory Insurance Office (Sale) Act 2014 (Act No. 41, 2014)\nAssent date 28 November 2014\nCommenced pt 6, divs 1 and 2: nc (exp without commencing);\npt 6, div 3: 00:01hrs 1 January 2015 (Gaz S131,\n19 December 2014, p 8); rem: 28 November 2014 (s 2)\n\nENDNOTES\nPublic Employment (Mobility) Act 1989 6\nLocal Court (Related Amendments) Act 2016 (Act No. 8, 2016)\nAssent date 6 April 2016\nCommenced 1 May 2016 (s 2, s 2 Local Court (Repeals and Related\nAmendments) Act 2016 (Act No. 9, 2016) and Gaz S34,\n29 April 2016)\n3 GENERAL AMENDMENTS\nGeneral amendments of a formal nature (which are not referred to in the table\nof amendments to this reprint) are made by the Interpretation Legislation\nAmendment Act 2018 (Act No. 22, 2018) to: ss 1, 3, 8 and 9\n4 LIST OF AMENDMENTS\ns 3 amd No. 84, 1993, s 6; No. 42, 1995, s 5; No. 54, 2004, s 7; No. 28, 2008,\ns 3; No. 19, 2014, s 26; No. 41, 2014, s 53; No. 8, 2016, s 45","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"Yes. Subsequent amendments altered who is covered and refined definitions. Section 3 has been amended multiple times (see endnotes listing 1993, 1995, 2004, 2008, 2014, 2016 amendments) and the Act now explicitly excludes certain bodies and categories and preserves rights under older public service/teaching Acts (s 3; s 8). Transitional provisions (s 9) also adjust scope for specified cohorts. These changes changed which employees and employing bodies fall within the Act's portability rules."},"complexity_factors":["Defined list of portable 'conditions of employment' (leave, allowances, airfare entitlements, automatic increments) creates precise portability rules (s 3(1); s 6)","Calculation of service date and continuity rules affecting entitlement accruals require factual assessment of prior service (s 4)","Interaction with other statutes and public employment schemes (references to Public Sector Employment and Management Act 1993; Public Service Act 1976; Teaching Service Act 1981) adds cross‑statutory complexity (s 3; s 8)","Ministerial discretion to declare classes of persons to which the Act does or does not apply introduces administrative scope decisions (s 3(2))","Different treatment of accrued versus post‑transfer accruals requires administrators to switch entitlement regimes on transfer (s 6(1)–(2))","Limited procedural rule about appeal rights on transfers that amount to promotion requires linkage to employers' promotion/appeal frameworks (s 5(2))","Transitional and special‑case date adjustments for particular employees introduce temporal exceptions (s 9)"],"plain_english_summary":"This Act makes certain public‑sector employment entitlements portable across Northern Territory public employers: accrued leave, specified allowances (including location/Northern Territory allowances), airfare entitlements and automatic salary increments move with an employee on transfer, and continuous service can count from first public employment (ss 3–6). It covers defined public employees (excluding casuals, temporary or fixed‑term staff and certain judges), allows the Minister to declare who is covered, removes any automatic right to return after transfer, and sets transitional rules (ss 3–9)."},"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"},"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 enabling mobility between public sector employers while preserving accrued employment conditions. The amendments shown in the endnotes are minor and consequential (updating references to renamed bodies, removing references to abolished entities like the Territory Insurance Office, and adjusting for court restructuring). There is no evidence of scope creep — the Act has not expanded to cover private sector employment, local government (explicitly excluded), or broader industrial relations matters."},"complexity_factors":["Short statute with only 9 operative sections","Single definition section with 4 defined terms (conditions of employment, employee, public employment, transfer) plus Ministerial discretion to declare applicability","Limited cross-referencing — primarily references to other NT Acts (Public Sector Employment and Management Act 1993, Public Service Act 1976, Teaching Service Act 1981, etc.)","One transitional provision (section 9) with specific date ranges (1 August 1987 to 24 October 1988) and entity-specific rules","Straightforward conditional logic — mainly 'if-then' provisions without nested exceptions","No subordinate legislation or regulations referenced in the provided text"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this law does:**\n\nThis law makes it easier for Northern Territory public servants to move between different government jobs without losing their hard-earned employment benefits.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n\n- **Public sector employees** in the Northern Territory — including people working for the Territory government, the Police Force, and certain government-owned corporations (but not local councils or specific excluded bodies like the Northern Territory Land Corporation)\n- **Commonwealth public servants** who take leave without pay to work for the NT\n- **Who is excluded:** Casual or temporary workers, fixed-term employees, Local Court Judges, and Supreme Court Judges\n\n**Key protections:**\n\n- **Portable leave:** When you transfer to a new public employer, your accrued recreation leave, long service leave, sick leave, and certain allowances move with you\n- **Continuous service:** Your start date for calculating benefits is your very first day with any public employer (not just your current one), provided your service has been continuous\n- **Promotion appeals:** If your transfer counts as a promotion, you get the same right to appeal as existing employees of your new employer\n- **No automatic return:** Once you leave, you can't automatically come back to your old job\n\n**Why it matters:**\n\nBefore this law, moving from one NT government department to another (or from the Commonwealth to the NT) could mean losing years of accumulated leave or starting from scratch on salary increments. This law treats public employment as one continuous career across different employers, encouraging mobility and career progression without penalising workers."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/public-employment-mobility-act-1989","history":"/api/acts/public-employment-mobility-act-1989/history","analysis":"/api/acts/public-employment-mobility-act-1989/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/public-employment-mobility-act-1989/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/public-employment-mobility-act-1989/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/public-employment-mobility-act-1989/documents"}}