7Roles of parliamentarians, office‑holders and Prime Minister under this Act

#### 7 Roles of parliamentarians, office‑holders and Prime Minister under this Act (1) This section describes the role of parliamentarians, office‑holders and the Prime Minister under this Act. Parliamentarians and office‑holders (2) Parliamentarians and office‑holders have powers to employ people on behalf of the Commonwealth, to assist them in carrying out their duties (see section 11). (3) Parliamentarians and office‑holders are responsible for the day‑to‑day management of their employees. Among other things they: (a) make decisions about who to employ and enter into employment agreements (see section 11); and (b) have powers to terminate or suspend employment or take other employment actions (see sections 16, 18 and 20). The Prime Minister (4) The Prime Minister can: (a) make determinations that affect what kind of employees a parliamentarian may employ (see section 4); and (b) approve arrangements and determine conditions that affect how parliamentarians and office‑holders can exercise their powers to employ (including determining how many employees parliamentarians and office‑holders may have) (see section 12); and (c) make determinations that vary some terms and conditions of employment (see section 13). > Note: The Parliamentary Workplace Support Service Act 2023 establishes the PWSS and the IPSC, which also have functions in relation to employment under this Act. > Note: The PWSS: (a) provides human resources support to parliamentarians, office‑holders and their employees and has functions in the areas of policy development, training, advice, and education; and (b) can exercise the powers of an employer in relation to persons employed under this Act in certain circumstances; and (c) has some powers to suspend employees. > Note: A Commissioner of the IPSC can, in certain circumstances, recommend that a parliamentarian or office‑holder: (a) terminate or suspend employees; and (b) take other employment actions in relation to employees.