{"id":"F2025L01039","name":"Public Service (Terms and Conditions of Employment) (Defence and Veterans’ Services Commission) Determination 2025","slug":"public-service-terms-and-conditions-of-employment-defence-and-veterans-services-commission-determina","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":106768,"registerId":"commonwealth-F2025L01039-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 Public Service (Terms and Conditions of Employment) (Defence and Veterans’ Services Commission) Determination 2025.","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"2","sectionType":"section","heading":"Commencement","content":"#### 2 Commencement\n\n  This instrument commences on the day after it is registered.","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"3","sectionType":"section","heading":"Authority","content":"#### 3 Authority\n\n  This instrument is made under subsection 24(3) of the Public Service Act 1999.","sortOrder":2},{"sectionNumber":"4","sectionType":"section","heading":"Definitions","content":"#### 1 Name\n\n  This instrument is the Public Service (Terms and Conditions of Employment) (Defence and Veterans’ Services Commission) Determination 2025.\n\n#### 2 Commencement\n\n  This instrument commences on the day after it is registered.\n\n#### 3 Authority\n\n  This instrument is made under subsection 24(3) of the Public Service Act 1999.\n\n#### 4 Definitions\n\n#### In this instrument:\n\n  APS Award means the Australian Public Service Enterprise Award 2015.\n  Commissioner means the Commissioner of the Defence and Veterans’ Services Commission.\n  Covered Employee means a non-SES employee employed in the Defence and Veterans’ Services Commission to whom this Instrument applies in accordance with section 5.\n  Defence and Veterans’ Services Commission means the statutory agency of that name established under section 110ZKA of the Defence Act 1903.\n  Instrument means the Public Service (Terms and Conditions of Employment)\n  (Defence and Veterans’ Services Commission) Determination 2025.\n  Enterprise Agreement means the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet Enterprise Agreement 2024-2027, as in operation immediately before the commencement of this Instrument.\n  Note: The Enterprise Agreement could in 2025 be viewed on the Fair Work Commission’s website (https://www.fwc.gov.au).\n  FW Act means the Fair Work Act 2009.\n  NES means the National Employment Standards in Part 2-2 of the FW Act.\n  PS Act means the Public Service Act 1999.\n\n#### 5 Application of this Instrument\n\n  This Instrument applies to all non-SES employees employed in the Defence and Veterans’ Services Commission pursuant to the PS Act.\n\n#### 6 When this Instrument ceases to apply to Covered Employees\n\n  This Instrument ceases to apply to a Covered Employee if:\n  (a) an enterprise agreement starts to apply to the Covered Employee (for the\n  purposes of the FW Act); or\n  (b) a workplace determination is made that covers the Covered Employee (for\n  the purposes of the FW Act).\n  Note: A workplace determination operates from the day on which it is made  \n  (see section 276 of the FW Act).\n\n#### 7 Terms and conditions of employment\n\n  (1) The terms and conditions of employment applying to a Covered Employee:\n  (a) are the terms and conditions of employment set out in the Enterprise\n  Agreement, as amended by this Instrument; and\n  (b) are not any of the terms and conditions of employment set out in the APS\n  Award.\n  (2) The terms and conditions set out in the Enterprise Agreement (as applied by\n  operation of subsection (1)) are amended as follows:\n  (a) where the Enterprise Agreement uses the term \"Agreement\" to refer to the\n  Enterprise Agreement, the reference to \"Agreement\" is a reference to the\n  Enterprise Agreement as applied by this Instrument (unless context provides\n  otherwise);\n  (b) a reference in the Enterprise Agreement to \"the Secretary of the Department\n  of the Prime Minister and Cabinet\" is a reference to the Commissioner;\n  (c) a reference in the Enterprise Agreement to \"Secretary\" is a reference to the\n  Commissioner;\n  (d) a reference in the Enterprise Agreement to \"the Department of the Prime  \n  Minster and Cabinet\" or “PM&C” is a reference to the Defence and Veterans’  \n  Services Commission (unless context provides otherwise);\n  (e) a reference in the Enterprise Agreement to \"Department\" or \"Departmental\"\n  is a reference to the Defence and Veterans’ Services Commission (unless  \n\n  context provides otherwise);\n  (f) a reference in the Enterprise Agreement to an \"employee\" is a reference to a\n  Covered Employee (unless context provides otherwise);\n  (g) a reference to “commencement of this Agreement” or \"commencement of the  \n  Agreement\" is a reference to the commencement of this Instrument;\n  (h) clause 4 of the Enterprise Agreement (which specifies the nominal expiry\n  date of the Enterprise Agreement) is omitted;\n  (i) clauses 11 – 16 of the Enterprise Agreement (which sets out the procedures  \n  for individual flexibility arrangements) are omitted;\n  (j) clause 18(a) and (b) of the Enterprise Agreement (which provides that the  \n  base salaries in Attachment A of the Enterprise Agreement include a 4.0 per  \n  cent increase from the first full pay period on or after 1 March 2024 (14  \n  March 2024)) and 3.8 per cent from the first full pay period on or after 1  \n  March 2025 (13 March 2025)) are omitted;\n  (k) the sentence in clause 82 of the Enterprise Agreement (which provides for  \n  payment of airline lounge membership fees for employees) stating  \n  “Employees may also purchase a membership at PM&C's discounted  \n  corporate rate.” is omitted.\n  (l) the references to \"PM&C Consultative Committee\" in clauses 128, 342 and  \n  369 of the Enterprise Agreement are omitted and substituted with \"Defence  \n  and Veterans’ Services Commission Consultative Committee, where one is  \n  in place\";\n  (m) Clause 414 of the Enterprise Agreement (which deals with the maintenance  \n  of disputes notified under the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet  \n  Enterprise Agreement 2021-2024) is omitted.\n\n#### 8 Procedure for dealing with disputes\n\n(1) For the avoidance of doubt, clauses 406 to 415 (which is the term that provides for the dispute resolution procedure) of the Enterprise Agreement (as modified by section 7 of this Instrument) is:\n\n    a term or condition of employment applying to a Covered Employee; and\n    for the purposes of paragraph 738(d) of the FW Act, a term that provides for a procedure or dealing with disputes arising under this Instrument.\n\n#### 9 Interaction with other determinations made under the PS Act\n\n(1) To the extent possible, this Instrument is to operate concurrently with any\n\ndetermination made under subsection 24(1) of the PS Act.  \n\n(2) Without limiting subsection (1), this Instrument does not prevent a  \ndetermination made under subsection 24(1) of the PS Act increasing the  \namount of salaries, allowances or other monetary entitlements provided under  \nthis Instrument.\n\n#### 10 Interaction with the NES and the APS Award\n\n(1) This Instrument has no effect to the extent that it would exclude the NES or  \nany provision of the NES.\n\n(2) While this Instrument is in force, the APS Award does not apply to Covered\n\n    Employees.\n    Note: The effect of this subsection is that this instrument will interact with the APS Award in\n    the same way as an enterprise agreement. See section 57 of the FW Act.","sortOrder":3},{"sectionNumber":"In this instrument:","sectionType":"section","heading":"In this instrument:","content":"#### In this instrument:\n\n  APS Award means the Australian Public Service Enterprise Award 2015.\n  Commissioner means the Commissioner of the Defence and Veterans’ Services Commission.\n  Covered Employee means a non-SES employee employed in the Defence and Veterans’ Services Commission to whom this Instrument applies in accordance with section 5.\n  Defence and Veterans’ Services Commission means the statutory agency of that name established under section 110ZKA of the Defence Act 1903.\n  Instrument means the Public Service (Terms and Conditions of Employment)\n  (Defence and Veterans’ Services Commission) Determination 2025.\n  Enterprise Agreement means the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet Enterprise Agreement 2024-2027, as in operation immediately before the commencement of this Instrument.\n  Note: The Enterprise Agreement could in 2025 be viewed on the Fair Work Commission’s website (https://www.fwc.gov.au).\n  FW Act means the Fair Work Act 2009.\n  NES means the National Employment Standards in Part 2-2 of the FW Act.\n  PS Act means the Public Service Act 1999.","sortOrder":4},{"sectionNumber":"5","sectionType":"section","heading":"Application of this Instrument","content":"#### 5 Application of this Instrument\n\n  This Instrument applies to all non-SES employees employed in the Defence and Veterans’ Services Commission pursuant to the PS Act.","sortOrder":5},{"sectionNumber":"6","sectionType":"section","heading":"When this Instrument ceases to apply to Covered Employees","content":"#### 6 When this Instrument ceases to apply to Covered Employees\n\n  This Instrument ceases to apply to a Covered Employee if:\n  (a) an enterprise agreement starts to apply to the Covered Employee (for the\n  purposes of the FW Act); or\n  (b) a workplace determination is made that covers the Covered Employee (for\n  the purposes of the FW Act).\n  Note: A workplace determination operates from the day on which it is made  \n  (see section 276 of the FW Act).","sortOrder":6},{"sectionNumber":"7","sectionType":"section","heading":"Terms and conditions of employment","content":"#### 7 Terms and conditions of employment\n\n  (1) The terms and conditions of employment applying to a Covered Employee:\n  (a) are the terms and conditions of employment set out in the Enterprise\n  Agreement, as amended by this Instrument; and\n  (b) are not any of the terms and conditions of employment set out in the APS\n  Award.\n  (2) The terms and conditions set out in the Enterprise Agreement (as applied by\n  operation of subsection (1)) are amended as follows:\n  (a) where the Enterprise Agreement uses the term \"Agreement\" to refer to the\n  Enterprise Agreement, the reference to \"Agreement\" is a reference to the\n  Enterprise Agreement as applied by this Instrument (unless context provides\n  otherwise);\n  (b) a reference in the Enterprise Agreement to \"the Secretary of the Department\n  of the Prime Minister and Cabinet\" is a reference to the Commissioner;\n  (c) a reference in the Enterprise Agreement to \"Secretary\" is a reference to the\n  Commissioner;\n  (d) a reference in the Enterprise Agreement to \"the Department of the Prime  \n  Minster and Cabinet\" or “PM&C” is a reference to the Defence and Veterans’  \n  Services Commission (unless context provides otherwise);\n  (e) a reference in the Enterprise Agreement to \"Department\" or \"Departmental\"\n  is a reference to the Defence and Veterans’ Services Commission (unless  \n\n  context provides otherwise);\n  (f) a reference in the Enterprise Agreement to an \"employee\" is a reference to a\n  Covered Employee (unless context provides otherwise);\n  (g) a reference to “commencement of this Agreement” or \"commencement of the  \n  Agreement\" is a reference to the commencement of this Instrument;\n  (h) clause 4 of the Enterprise Agreement (which specifies the nominal expiry\n  date of the Enterprise Agreement) is omitted;\n  (i) clauses 11 – 16 of the Enterprise Agreement (which sets out the procedures  \n  for individual flexibility arrangements) are omitted;\n  (j) clause 18(a) and (b) of the Enterprise Agreement (which provides that the  \n  base salaries in Attachment A of the Enterprise Agreement include a 4.0 per  \n  cent increase from the first full pay period on or after 1 March 2024 (14  \n  March 2024)) and 3.8 per cent from the first full pay period on or after 1  \n  March 2025 (13 March 2025)) are omitted;\n  (k) the sentence in clause 82 of the Enterprise Agreement (which provides for  \n  payment of airline lounge membership fees for employees) stating  \n  “Employees may also purchase a membership at PM&C's discounted  \n  corporate rate.” is omitted.\n  (l) the references to \"PM&C Consultative Committee\" in clauses 128, 342 and  \n  369 of the Enterprise Agreement are omitted and substituted with \"Defence  \n  and Veterans’ Services Commission Consultative Committee, where one is  \n  in place\";\n  (m) Clause 414 of the Enterprise Agreement (which deals with the maintenance  \n  of disputes notified under the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet  \n  Enterprise Agreement 2021-2024) is omitted.","sortOrder":7},{"sectionNumber":"8","sectionType":"section","heading":"Procedure for dealing with disputes","content":"#### 8 Procedure for dealing with disputes\n\n(1) For the avoidance of doubt, clauses 406 to 415 (which is the term that provides for the dispute resolution procedure) of the Enterprise Agreement (as modified by section 7 of this Instrument) is:\n\n    a term or condition of employment applying to a Covered Employee; and\n    for the purposes of paragraph 738(d) of the FW Act, a term that provides for a procedure or dealing with disputes arising under this Instrument.","sortOrder":8},{"sectionNumber":"9","sectionType":"section","heading":"Interaction with other determinations made under the PS Act","content":"#### 9 Interaction with other determinations made under the PS Act\n\n(1) To the extent possible, this Instrument is to operate concurrently with any\n\ndetermination made under subsection 24(1) of the PS Act.  \n\n(2) Without limiting subsection (1), this Instrument does not prevent a  \ndetermination made under subsection 24(1) of the PS Act increasing the  \namount of salaries, allowances or other monetary entitlements provided under  \nthis Instrument.","sortOrder":9},{"sectionNumber":"10","sectionType":"section","heading":"Interaction with the NES and the APS Award","content":"#### 10 Interaction with the NES and the APS Award\n\n(1) This Instrument has no effect to the extent that it would exclude the NES or  \nany provision of the NES.\n\n(2) While this Instrument is in force, the APS Award does not apply to Covered\n\n    Employees.\n    Note: The effect of this subsection is that this instrument will interact with the APS Award in\n    the same way as an enterprise agreement. See section 57 of the FW Act.","sortOrder":10}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose: establishing interim employment terms for a newly created statutory agency. The amendments are purely mechanical (name substitutions, removal of inapplicable clauses) and do not expand the instrument beyond its intended transitional role."},"complexity_factors":["Extensive cross-referencing to an external document (PM&C Enterprise Agreement 2024-2027) which is not reproduced in full","13 specific textual amendments (section 7(2)) requiring readers to mentally map changes onto the source agreement","Conditional application logic (ceases to apply if enterprise agreement or workplace determination covers employees)","Interaction provisions with other legislative instruments (sections 9-10) creating layered legal effect","8 defined terms including nested definitions (e.g., 'Covered Employee' depends on 'Defence and Veterans' Services Commission')","Duplicate content in the provided text (sections 1-10 appear twice), though this appears to be a formatting error in the source rather than legislative complexity"],"plain_english_summary":"This Determination adapts the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet’s employment rules to set pay and working conditions for non‑SES staff at the new Defence and Veterans’ Services Commission, replacing agency and officer names and removing provisions that don’t fit a new agency. It’s a temporary measure so the DVSC can operate with clear minimum standards immediately, until its own enterprise agreement or workplace determination is made."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"This instrument changes the scope of the Enterprise Agreement by making it the governing terms for Defence and Veterans’ Services Commission non‑SES staff, with specific substitutions and omissions (notably expiry, individual flexibility and specified pay increases) and by excluding the APS Award while in force (s7(1)(a)–(b); s7(2)(h)–(j); s10(2)). It also makes application contingent on later enterprise agreements or workplace determinations (s6) and allows other PS Act determinations to augment monetary entitlements (s9(2))."},"complexity_factors":["Cross-referencing an external enterprise agreement as the primary source of terms (definition of Enterprise Agreement; s7(1)(a)).","Multiple textual substitutions required throughout the Enterprise Agreement (agency and officer references replaced with Commissioner/Commission) (s7(2)(b)–(g)).","Targeted omissions of operative clauses, including nominal expiry and individual flexibility procedures and specified pay increases, which change future interpretation and entitlements (s7(2)(h)–(j), (m)).","Preservation and qualification of the dispute-resolution procedure as a term of employment and as an FW Act dispute procedure (s8).","Interaction with other statutory instruments and industrial law: concurrent operation with other PS Act determinations and possible increases to pay by those determinations (s9(1)–(2)); interplay with the FW Act, NES and APS Award (s10).","Cessation triggers tied to industrial outcomes (when an enterprise agreement or workplace determination starts to apply) creating contingent scope and transitional complexity (s6).","Compliance and administrative burden on payroll/HR to interpret which Enterprise Agreement provisions apply, given substitutions and omissions (s7 generally).","Concentration of decision-making and discretionary naming decisions in the Commissioner role via substituted references (s7(2)(b)–(c))."],"plain_english_summary":"This Determination applies the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet Enterprise Agreement 2024–2027, as modified, as the terms and conditions for all non‑SES staff of the Defence and Veterans’ Services Commission. It replaces application of the APS Award while in force and takes effect the day after registration. Mechanically it substitutes Commission references for PM&C, omits specific clauses (including the nominal expiry, individual flexibility procedures and stated pay step increases), preserves the agreement’s dispute procedure, and allows other PS Act determinations to increase monetary entitlements."},"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/public-service-terms-and-conditions-of-employment-defence-and-veterans-services-commission-determina","history":"/api/acts/public-service-terms-and-conditions-of-employment-defence-and-veterans-services-commission-determina/history","analysis":"/api/acts/public-service-terms-and-conditions-of-employment-defence-and-veterans-services-commission-determina/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/public-service-terms-and-conditions-of-employment-defence-and-veterans-services-commission-determina/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/public-service-terms-and-conditions-of-employment-defence-and-veterans-services-commission-determina/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/public-service-terms-and-conditions-of-employment-defence-and-veterans-services-commission-determina/documents"}}