Public Sector Management (Redeployment and Redundancy) Regulations 2014 (Western Australia)

Creates a detailed, step‑by‑step system for managing public sector job changes: who must be told when posts are abolished, how employees can be registered for redeployment, offers of voluntary severance, redeployment directions, termination and redundancy/transition payments, and limits on returning to public employment after a payout. It names the decision‑makers (employing authorities and the Commissioner), sets payment formulas and caps, and lists excluded employee categories.

This matters because employing authorities bear the cash costs (severance, transition, relocation, retraining), the Commissioner and authorities wield administrative discretion over offers and directions, and employees face financial and career incentives to accept or resist redeployment offers.

These regulations establish a uniform statutory framework for managing redeployment, voluntary severance, redundancies, privatisations and contracting‑out within Western Australia’s Public Sector. They set out who may be designated registrable and registered, the processes for consultation and notice, the mechanics and timing of offers of transfer, redeployment and voluntary severance, the formulae for severance, transition and redundancy payments, and the interaction between public‑sector redeployment and offers of employment in the private sector. Key decision‑makers under the instrument are employing authorities, the Commissioner (for Public Sector Management), and the Minister in narrow circumstances (for targeted separation schemes). The regulations also list limited exclusions from Parts 2-6 and provide transitional provisions on repeal of the 1994 Regulations (regs 5(2), 45-46).

Mechanically, the instrument does the following (selection of principal mechanics with primary citations):

Defines terms and how pay is calculated for purposes of payments (reg 3, reg 6 for tally/piece‑rate workers).
Requires employing authorities to notify and consult employees who may become registrable (regs 8-9).
Authorises transfers within an employing authority to same or equivalent classification (reg 10).
Governs voluntary severance offers (reg 11) and substituted severance arrangements (reg 12), fixing severance calculations at generally 3 weeks’ pay per completed year of continuous Public Sector service, subject to a cap of 52 weeks and some minimums/exceptions (reg 13).
Permits a Minister‑approved targeted separation scheme which may exceed the 52‑week cap (reg 16).
Provides for registration of employees who cannot be transferred, triggers a redeployment period (generally 6 months) and prescribes managing registered employees including special leave, retraining and Commissioner instructions (regs 18-21, 28).
Enables the Commissioner to direct a registered employee to accept suitable employment, and to direct employing authorities to make offers where an appropriate post exists (regs 23-24).
Prescribes benefits when a registered employee accepts public or private employment (regs 25-26, 40).
Sets out termination mechanics: redeployment period suspension or revocation (reg 29), automatic termination at the end of redeployment period (reg 30), notice obligations (reg 31), and redundancy pay rules (regs 32-35, including minimums at reg 34).
Requires employing authorities to report payment information to the Commissioner (reg 41) and preserves pay while an abolished post remains paid until final arrangement (reg 42).

The instrument centralises several discretionary levers: employing authorities decide on notices, transfers, offers and some payment quantum (eg transition payment under reg 26(1)(b) is determined by the employing authority within statutory bounds); the Commissioner issues directions to employees or employing authorities (regs 23-24), and the Minister may authorise targeted schemes (reg 16). It also places obligations on employing authorities to consult and to provide written offers in specified form (regs 8, 9, 22, 38(1)).

The regulations therefore change how employing authorities manage workforce exits and redeployment by standardising notice, payment formulas, and administrative controls, while embedding limited discretion in the Commissioner and employing authorities. Those mechanics create incentives for employing authorities to manage transfers and offers to limit severance liabilities, and for employees to consider voluntary severance options (including substituted severance) under specified timeframes; the text also creates re‑employment restrictions tied to the duration of payments (regs 17, 36).

The regulatory architecture rests on a small set of recurring statutory concepts: registrable/registered employees, redeployment period, suitable employment, voluntary severance, severance/transition/redundancy payments, and restrictions on subsequent Public Sector employment.

Registrable and registered employees. The definitions of registrable employee and registered employee refer back to s 94(1A) of the Public Sector Management Act 1994, and regs 8-10 and 18 set out the process. An employing authority may determine that an employee may become registrable and must notify and consult the employee (reg 8). A formal notice under reg 9 is required when an office, post or position is or will be abolished or the employee is surplus, and the employee may then be transferred or registered (reg 9). Registration requires a further written notice at least 14 days before registration and occurs where transfer within the department/organisation is not possible (reg 18).

Redeployment period and suitable employment. The redeployment period is generally 6 months from registration (reg 28). The regulations adopt the s 94(6) definition of suitable office, post or position, but prescribe criteria: the position must be the most suitable actually available and its maximum pay must be as close as reasonably practicable to the former classification, and within 80-110% of that classification’s maximum pay (reg 7). If a registered employee accepts suitable employment in the Public Sector, benefits include credited accrued and accruing leave, reimbursement for reasonable relocation costs, and a 6‑month pay protection if the new post pays less (reg 25).

Payment categories and formulas. Several payment categories are defined with specific formulae:

Voluntary severance: generally 3 weeks’ pay per completed year of continuous Public Sector service, with a special rule for >1 but <2 years being 4 weeks, and an overall cap at 52 weeks (reg 13). The regulation also defines what counts as pay for the calculation and special rules for non‑standard hours (reg 13(1), (5)).
Incentive for early resignation: additional weeks depending on the gap between acceptance and resignation day (12, 8, or 4 weeks) where resignation occurs earlier than the standard window (reg 15).
Transition payments on accepting private employment or upon privatisation: between 4 and 12 weeks’ pay, determined by the employing authority or Commissioner as applicable (regs 26(1)(b), 40(1)(b)).
Redundancy pay when employment terminates at end of redeployment: generally 3 weeks’ pay per year up to 52 weeks less 26 weeks’ pay, with minimum entitlements set out in a table (regs 33-34). There are special calculations for termination at employee request (reg 32(4)).

The regulations apply to employees of Western Australian departments and organisations and to employing authorities acting in that capacity (reg 4). Application is expressly limited for Parts 2-6 by regulation 5(2), but the rest of the instrument applies to all employing authorities (reg 4(2)). The practical universe of affected individuals and entities is therefore:

Employees in departments and organisations who are not excluded by reg 5(2). Exclusions include chief executives/health executives (as modified by Health Services Act 2016 Pt 12 reading), ministerial officers, casual employees and seasonal employees, employees retiring or retiring for ill health, those terminated for substandard performance, and those dismissed under certain statutory provisions (reg 5(2) and the Health Services modifications in the Compilation Notes, regs 16-18 of the modifications). The regulations also note ministerial offices and the Public Sector more broadly in definitions (reg 3(1), definitions drawn from the Act).
Employing authorities of departments and organisations, who must make determinations, serve prescribed notices, consult employees, extend offers, make payments and report to the Commissioner (regs 8-12, 20, 25, 41). Employing authorities therefore bear most administrative and financial obligations under the instrument.
The Commissioner, who issues instructions for consultation and management of registered employees (reg 8(1), reg 21), may issue directions to employees (reg 23) and to employing authorities (reg 24), and may grant exemptions to re‑employment restrictions (regs 17(2), 36(2)).
The Minister, who may approve targeted separation schemes that specify eligible classes of employees and may authorise payment amounts above the statutory cap (reg 16).
Private sector employers or purchasers involved in privatisation or contracting out. When a department’s undertaking, functions or services are sold or replaced by a person outside the Public Sector, affected employees must be notified and may receive offers from the private sector; employing authorities may direct employees to accept suitable offers and have obligations to make transition payments where accepted (regs 37-40).

Subgroups within employees with different rights:

Full‑time versus part‑time or variable hours employees: pay calculations use definitions such as full‑time weekly pay and potential full‑time weekly hours and include formulae for averaging where weekly hours vary (reg 3(1), regs 13(5), 26(2), 40(2)). Part‑time employees’ maximum pay comparisons for suitability use proportional calculation (reg 7(2)).

The regulations allocate specific duties to employing authorities, rights to employees, and powers to the Commissioner and Minister. Below are the principal obligations, rights and procedural requirements, with direct references.

Duties on employing authorities

Notification and consultation: If an employing authority determines an employee may become registrable, it must promptly give written notice of relevant information (reg 8(2)-(3)) and consult about the matters set out (reg 8(4)). A separate written notice is required when an office/post is or will be abolished or an employee is surplus, setting out possible transfer or registration (reg 9(1)).
Transfer within department/organisation: The employing authority may transfer a registrable employee to a same or equivalent level office/post/position; pay for the new post must apply from transfer date (reg 10(1)-(2)). For fixed‑term employees, transfers must be on same/equivalent terms and not extend beyond the original term (reg 10(3)-(4)).
Voluntary severance offers: If unable to transfer a notified employee, the employing authority may offer voluntary severance, but the offer must specify an acceptance window of at least 8 weeks and permit resignation up to 4 weeks after acceptance; the offer must include the specified severance payment (reg 11(2)-(3)). The offer must warn that refusal may lead to registration and possible termination (reg 11(4)).
Payments: The employing authority must make severance (reg 13), pay cash in lieu of accrued long service leave on voluntary severance (reg 14), pay transition payments when a registered employee accepts private sector employment (reg 26(1)), and pay redundancy and accrued long service leave on termination (regs 33-35). The employing authority must also reimburse specified relocation expenses when a registered employee must change residence because of accepted suitable employment (reg 25(3)).
Manage registered employees as instructed: The employing authority must manage registered employees in accordance with the Commissioner’s instructions (reg 21), grant reasonable special leave without loss of pay for interviews, counselling and meet certain interview costs (reg 19), and may arrange retraining and bear the cost unless otherwise agreed (reg 20).

Rights and entitlements of employees

Notice and consultation rights: Employees who may become registrable are entitled to written notice of reasons, alternatives, likely period and number of affected employees (reg 8(3)) and consultation (reg 8(4)).

The regulations primarily establish procedural obligations and entitlements rather than creating criminal offences or pecuniary penalties. Enforcement mechanisms and the effective sanctions arising from non‑compliance are administrative, indirect, and embedded in the operational controls of employing authorities, the Commissioner, and relevant employment instruments.

Direct enforcement provisions within these regulations

The regulations do not create explicit penalty provisions or fines for breaching notice, consultation or payment obligations (there is no schedule of penalties in the text). Where an employing authority fails to give notice, the legal consequence is limited: for example, failure to give the 4 weeks’ notice of impending termination under reg 31(1) does not prevent termination under reg 30 (reg 31(2)). That indicates some statutory tolerance for procedural lapses without automatic invalidity of termination.
Employing authorities are under express duties to comply with directions from the Commissioner to offer employment (reg 24(2)). The instrument does not specify a statutory penalty for non‑compliance but the instruction is framed as mandatory.

Administrative levers and remedial pathways

Internal administrative enforcement is effected through the Commissioner’s powers. The Commissioner can direct employees to accept offers (reg 23) and direct employing authorities to offer suitable positions where they have refused (reg 24). These directions operate as administrative remedies that can compel action within the Public Sector management system.
Employing authorities must give the Commissioner information about payments (reg 41). This reporting requirement creates an audit trail that can be used for oversight, inquiry, or corrective administrative action, though the regulations do not specify the consequences of false or absent reports.

Civil and employment law remedies outside these regulations

The regulations operate alongside the Public Sector Management Act 1994 and employment instruments. Where employing authorities or the Commissioner contravene statutory duties or procedural fairness obligations under the Act or common law employment standards, affected employees may have remedies available under those broader legal frameworks, including industrial tribunals or courts. The regulations themselves do not displace such remedies; they set process and entitlement but do not state that those processes are exclusive remedies. For example, employees dismissed under specified sections of the Act are excluded from certain payments (reg 43), indicating interplay with dismissal mechanisms under the Act.

The regulations operate as subsidiary legislation under the Public Sector Management Act 1994 and must be read alongside that Act. They also interact explicitly with Commonwealth industrial instruments and, by modification, with the Health Services Act 2016. The text contains several points of legal interaction and carve‑outs; these define priority, variation and limits on entitlements.

Interaction with the Public Sector Management Act 1994

Definitions and powers: The terms registrable employee and registered employee are defined by reference to s 94(1A) of the Act (reg 3(1)). The regulations implement procedures contemplated by the Act for redeployment and redundancy; registration, directions by the Commissioner, and termination by operation of reg 30 rest on the framework established by the Act.
Dismissal cross‑references: Regulation 43 excludes employees dismissed under specified sections of the Act from receiving certain payments under these regulations. The Health Services modifications alter the referenced Act sections for health services employees (see Compilation Notes, reg 18). This cross‑reference aligns dismissal consequences under the Act with the financial outcomes under these regulations.

Interaction with Commonwealth industrial law and awards

Multiple provisions exclude employees whose conditions are governed by Commonwealth awards from statutory entitlements under these regulations (eg regs 13(6)-(7), 25(6)-(7), 26(5)-(6), 40(4)-(5)). In those cases, the employing authority determines comparable payments not exceeding the statutory maximums. This mechanism preserves the primacy of Commonwealth industrial instruments where they apply and prevents duplication or conflict between State statutory entitlements and Commonwealth award entitlements.
The definition of award includes instruments under the Industrial Relations Act 1979 (WA) or a Commonwealth award (reg 3(1)), so the regulations deliberately acknowledge concurrent industrial regimes.

Interaction with the Health Services Act 2016

The compilation notes include a Part 5 of modifications enacted under the Health Services Act 2016 (Compilation Notes, 1M). These modifications change definitions (reg 16) and modify exclusions in regulation 5 so that references to executive officers, section 59 of the Act and Part 5 Division 3 of the Act are replaced by corresponding health services provisions (Compilation Notes, regs 16-18). For health sector employing authorities and employees, the practical effect is that the regulations are read with those modifications, so that senior health executives and particular health service dismissal provisions are treated as special categories under regs 5 and 43. Practitioners must therefore read the regulations together with the Health Services Act when they apply to health sector employees.

The instrument is the Public Sector Management (Redeployment and Redundancy) Regulations 2014. The compilation table records the Gazette details and commencement: regs 1-2 commenced on 30 December 2014 and the remainder commenced on 1 May 2015 (Compilation table). The regulations repeal the 1994 Regulations (reg 45) and include transitional provisions (reg 46) that carry existing notices and registrations across into the new instrument.

Specific amendment or modification recorded within the provided text arises from the Health Services (General) Regulations 2019, implemented through the Health Services Act 2016 Part 12 modifications in the Compilation Notes (marked 1M). These modifications operate as follows (Compilation Notes, Part 5):

Definitions modified: Reg 3(1) as applied by the Health Services modifications inserts definitions from the Health Services Act 2016 for Department, Department CEO, employee and employing authority (Compilation Notes, reg 16). That means for the health services context, the terms are read in accordance with the health legislation.
Regulation 5 modified: The exclusion list for Parts 2-6 is tailored for health services. Specifically, the modification substitutes “an executive officer” with “a chief executive or a health executive” (Compilation Notes, reg 17(1)(a)), replaces the reference to s 59 of the Act with the Health Services Act 2016 s 133 (Compilation Notes, reg 17(1)(b)), and adjusts the cross‑reference to dismissals to the Health Services Act 2016 Part 11 Division 3 (Compilation Notes, reg 17(1)(c)). It also replaces a cross‑reference to section 58(5) of the Act with the Health Services Act 2016 s 132(7) (Compilation Notes, reg 17(2)).
Regulation 43 modified: The cross‑reference to specified dismissal sections of the Act is replaced with Health Services Act 2016 sections 150, 163(3) or 166 for the purposes of excluding certain dismissals from payment entitlements (Compilation Notes, reg 18).

The compilation note marked 1M indicates these health‑sector modifications were made by the Health Services (General) Regulations 2019. The presence of these modifications in the compilation notes means that when advising in relation to health services employees the regulations should be read with those specified changes.

Other than the repeal of the 1994 Regulations and the health sector modifications, the provided text does not show any other substantive amendments, schedules or legislative instruments altering the core provisions since the 2014 instrument’s commencement. The transitional provisions (reg 46) provide limited carryover for notices and registrations made under the repealed 1994 Regulations, converting them into the equivalent regime under the 2014 Regulations and fixing commencement day effects for registered employees.

The provided text does not include any judicial decisions, case law, or dispute outcomes arising from these regulations. The compilation notes and the regulations themselves do not name cases or provide litigation examples. Therefore, as the instrument stands, there is no litigation history recorded in the source material supplied.

Practical implications given the absence of recorded cases in the text

Because the regulations interact with employment instruments, the Public Sector Management Act and Commonwealth awards, litigation risk in practice will arise in areas where statutory procedures intersect with contractual obligations, administrative law principles (eg procedural fairness in registration or redeployment processes), and industrial relations law. The regulations set out specific administrative duties (notice, consultation, written offers, payment formulas) which, if not complied with, could give rise to claims under contract, award provisions, or judicial review of administrative action, even though such potential claims are not recorded in the regulations text.
Key factual disputes likely to generate litigation in practice include: whether a post is “suitable employment” under reg 7 and s 94(6) of the Act (pay comparison and “most suitable actually available” tests), whether an employing authority complied with consultation obligations (reg 8) and notice requirements (reg 9, reg 18(1)(b)), whether pay calculations for severance/transition/redundancy have been correctly applied (regs 13, 26, 33-34) particularly for part‑time or variable hours employees, and whether the Commissioner or employing authority lawfully exercised direction powers (regs 23-24).
Employees covered by Commonwealth awards may bring disputes to Fair Work or corresponding industrial tribunals concerning how overlapping entitlements are to be reconciled, as the regulations expressly carve out certain payments for those employees (regs 13(6)-(7), 25(6)-(7), 26(5)-(6), 40(4)-(5)). Disagreements about the employing authority’s discretion to determine amounts within statutory caps could be a source of claims.

Given the lack of recorded litigation in the supplied instrument, practitioners should search authoritative case law databases and tribunal decisions for any decisions interpreting reg 7’s “suitable employment” criteria, the Commissioner’s direction powers, redemption of payments, or disputes over pay calculations. The absence of precedent in the text means that interpretation of key phrases (for example “most suitable actually available” in reg 7(1)(a)) is likely to be fact‑sensitive and ripe for contestation in the industrial and administrative law forums.

This instrument contains several non‑obvious traps and operational points that can create legal and practical pitfalls. These “gotchas” are matters of statutory detail that frequently cause disputes or compliance errors.

Exclusions and modified application for health services

Parts 2-6 do not apply to certain categories (reg 5(2)), and the Health Services Act 2016 modifications alter those categories for the health sector (Compilation Notes 1M, regs 16-18). Practitioners must not assume blanket application across the Public Sector; check whether an employee is excluded (chief executives/health executives, ministerial officers, casuals/seasonal employees, ill‑health retirements, substandard performance, or specified dismissals). Misapplying the protections to excluded employees can produce incorrect financial or procedural advice (reg 5(2)).

Commonwealth award carve‑outs

The regulations repeatedly exclude employees whose conditions are determined by Commonwealth awards from automatic entitlement to payments under regs 13, 25, 26 and 40 (eg reg 13(6)). Instead, the employing authority may determine amounts not greater than the statutory amounts. This dual regime can produce inconsistent outcomes and requires careful reconciliation with Fair Work entitlements. Do not assume statutory minima apply where a Commonwealth award applies; instead, check the employment instrument and the employing authority’s determination.

Timing windows and early acceptance incentives

Voluntary severance offers must provide at least 8 weeks for acceptance and permit resignation up to 4 weeks after acceptance (reg 11(3)). But reg 15 grants substantial additional payments for resignations occurring earlier than the 4‑week window (12/8/4 weeks). Employers and employees often miscalculate these windows, leading to disputes about entitlement to the incentive payment. Ensure written acceptance dates and resignation dates are documented.

Pay calculations for part‑time and variable hours

For employees with varying weekly hours, the regulations prescribe formulae that can materially adjust pay for severance, transition and redundancy calculations (regs 13(5), 26(2), 40(2)). The A = B × C style formulae require precise inputs for full‑time weekly pay and average weekly hours; small errors can change entitlement. Keep accurate records of hours and apply the formula correctly.

This section sets out a practical, step‑by‑step checklist for employing authorities, HR and legal teams, and for employees and their advisers. It focuses on procedural compliance, documentation, calculations and reporting required by the regulations. Citations to specific regulations are included so teams can cross‑check.

For employing authorities (departments, organisations)

Identify applicable employees and exclusions

Review roles against reg 5(2) to determine whether Parts 2-6 apply. For health services, apply the Health Services Act modifications in the Compilation Notes (1M) (reg 5 modified). Track which employees are covered by Commonwealth awards , different entitlement rules apply (regs 13(6), 25(6), 26(5), 40(4)).

Correctly give preliminary determinations and notices

If an employing authority determines an employee may become registrable, provide written notice promptly with the reasons, measures to avoid registrability, likely period, and number of other employees affected (reg 8(2)-(3)). Consult the employee on the matters in the notice (reg 8(4)); retain records of consultation (minutes, dated correspondence).
When an office/post is abolished or an employee is surplus, give the written notice required by reg 9(1). Keep copies of the notice and any revocations (reg 9(2)-(3)).

Transfer and fixed‑term contract rules

If transferring a registrable employee within the department/organisation, ensure the new post is at the same or equivalent classification and that pay is adjusted on transfer date (reg 10(1)-(2)). For fixed‑term employees, ensure new fixed‑term contracts are on the same or equivalent terms and do not extend beyond the original contract term (reg 10(3)-(4)).

Voluntary severance offers: form and timing

When offering voluntary severance, ensure the offer is in writing, specifies an acceptance window of at least 8 weeks, and allows the employee to resign no later than 4 weeks after acceptance (reg 11(3)). Include the severance payment terms under reg 13 and the warning that refusal may lead to registration and possible termination (reg 11(4)). Maintain signed acceptances (reg 11(5)).

Calculating severance, transition and redundancy payments

Apply the statutory formulae carefully:

CrestWestern Australia

Public Sector Management Act 1994

Public Sector Management (Redeployment and Redundancy) Regulations 2014

Western Australia

Public Sector Management (Redeployment and Redundancy) Regulations 2014

Contents

Part 1 — Preliminary

Citation 1
Commencement 1
Terms used 1
Application 4
Limits on application of regulations 5
Calculation of rate of pay of tally or piece rate worker 5
Criteria for suitable office, post or position or suitable employment 6

Part 2 — Registrable employees

Consultation with employees who may become registrable 7
Employee must be notified if registrable or to become registrable 8
Transfer of registrable employees 8

Part 3 — Voluntary severance

Registrable employees may be offered voluntary severance 10
Substituted voluntary severance for registrable employees 10
Amount of severance payment 11
Other benefits payable on voluntary severance 13
Incentive payment for early resignation 13
Targeted separation scheme 13
Restriction on employment in Public Sector 14

Part 4 — Registered employees

Registration of registrable employee 15
Special leave for registered employees 15
Retraining of registered employees 16
Management of registered employees 17

Part 5 — Redeployment

Form of offer of employment 18
Registered employee may be directed to accept offer of employment 18
Employing authority may be directed to offer employment 18
Benefits to which registered employee accepting Public Sector employment is entitled 19
Benefits to which registered employee accepting private sector employment is entitled 21
Registration ceases on redeployment 22

Part 6 — Termination of employment

Terms used 23
Employing authority may suspend redeployment period or revoke registration 23
Employment terminates at end of redeployment period 24
Notice of impending termination 24
Earlier termination of employment at request of employee 24
Redundancy pay at end of redeployment period 25
Minimum amount of redundancy pay 25
Other benefits payable on termination 26
Restriction on employment in Public Sector 27

Part 7 — Privatisation and contracting out

Notification to employee of privatisation or contracting out 28
Private sector offers of offices, posts or positions on privatisation or contracting out 28
Employee may be directed not to hinder selection process 29
Benefits to which employees accepting offers of employment are entitled 29

Part 8 — Miscellaneous

Information to be given to Commissioner 32
Rate of pay of employee whose office, post or position is abolished 32
Employees dismissed under certain sections of Act not entitled to certain payments 32
Prescribed period for certain references 32

Part 9 — Repeal and transitional

Public Sector Management (Redeployment and Redundancy) Regulations 1994 repealed 33
Transitional provisions 33

Notes

Compilation table 34

Defined terms

Western Australia

Public Sector Management Act 1994

Public Sector Management (Redeployment and Redundancy) Regulations 2014

Part 1 — Preliminary

1. Citation

	These regulations are the *Public Sector Management (Redeployment and Redundancy) Regulations 2014* 1.

2. Commencement

These regulations come into operation as follows —

(a) regulations 1 and 2 — on the day on which these regulations are published in the Gazette;

(b) the rest of the regulations — on 1 May 2015 1.

3. Terms used

(1) In these regulations —

accrued long service leave means each of the following —

(a) long service leave entitlements that have actually become due;

(b) pro rata long service leave for any period during which rights to long service leave have been accruing as if a pro rata entitlement had actually become due in respect of that period;

average weekly hours, in relation to an employee, means the average number of hours (not including overtime) that the employee worked each week during the employee’s period of continuous service;

award means —

(a) an award, industrial agreement or order under the Industrial Relations Act 1979; or

(b) a Commonwealth award;

Commonwealth award means —

(a) a modern award, enterprise agreement or workplace determination made under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Commonwealth); or

(b) a transitional instrument as defined in the Fair Work (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Act 2009 (Commonwealth) Schedule 2 item 2;

continuous service has the same meaning as it has in the Wages Employees Long Service Leave General Order of the Industrial Commission;

employment instrument means —

(a) a contract of employment; or

(b) an award;

enterprise bargaining allowance means a payment that —

(a) does not come within paragraph (a) of the definition of pay in this subregulation; and

(b) is paid on a regular basis; and

(i) an enterprise agreement made under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Commonwealth); or

(ii) an agreement‑based transitional instrument as defined in the Fair Work (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Act 2009 (Commonwealth) Schedule 2 item 2; or

(iii) an agreement registered as an industrial agreement under the Industrial Relations Act 1979;

full‑time weekly pay, in relation to an employee, means —

(a) if the employee is employed on a full‑time basis, the employee’s weekly pay; or

(b) if the employee is employed on a part‑time basis, the amount that would be the employee’s weekly pay if the employee were employed on a full‑time basis;

pay means the sum of the following —

(a) the award rate of pay, excluding allowances, applicable to the substantive classification of the recipient of the pay or, if the recipient does not have a substantive classification, the rate of pay, excluding allowances, under his or her contract of employment;

(b) an allowance listed in subregulation (2);

period of continuous service, in relation to an employee, means the period of continuous service in the Public Sector (including a ministerial office) served by the employee —

(a) in any period greater than 10 years for which, in the opinion of the employing authority of the employee, there are reliable records of the hours worked each week by the employee; and

(b) if paragraph (a) does not apply, in the period of 10 years,

ending on the day of acceptance by the employee of —

(d) an offer of severance payment referred to in regulation 13(2);

potential full‑time weekly hours, in relation to an employee, means the number of hours (not including overtime) that the employee would have worked each week during the employee’s period of continuous service if the employee had been employed on a full‑time basis during that period;

registered employee has the meaning given in section 94(1A) of the Act;

registrable employee has the meaning given in section 94(1A) of the Act;

suitable office, post or position or suitable employment has the meaning given in section 94(6) of the Act as read with regulation 7.

(2) The following allowances are listed for the purposes of paragraph (b) of the definition of pay in subregulation (1) —

(a) an allowance —

(i) that is always paid with the award rate of pay applicable to the substantive classification of the recipient of the pay or, where the recipient does not have a substantive classification, with the rate of pay under his or her contract of employment; and

(ii) the payment of which is not subject to any condition relating to the time, place or circumstances at or in which the recipient of the pay is employed or to any other condition;

(b) an enterprise bargaining allowance;

(d) any other allowance that the Commissioner has approved for the purposes of this subregulation.

[Modified by the Health Services (General) Regulations 2019 r. 16 1M.]

4. Application

(1) Except as provided in regulation 5, these regulations apply to all employees in departments and organisations.

(2) Despite regulation 5, these regulations apply to all employing authorities of departments and organisations in their capacity as employing authorities.

5. Limits on application of regulations

(1) In this regulation —

seasonal employee means an employee who is employed to work for limited periods during a season of the year.

(2) Parts 2 to 6 do not apply to the following employees —

(a) an executive officer;

(b) an employee to whom section 59 of the Act applies;

(d) an employee who is a casual employee or a seasonal employee;

(e) an employee who is to retire or is called on to retire from employment on the grounds of ill health, whether under section 39 of the Act or otherwise;

(f) an employee whose employment in the Public Sector is to be terminated because of substandard performance;

(g) an employee who is to be dismissed under Part 5 Division 3 of the Act.

(3) Subregulation (2)(a) does not limit the operation of section 58(5) of the Act.

[Modified by the Health Services (General) Regulations 2019 r. 17 1M.]

6. Calculation of rate of pay of tally or piece rate worker

For the purposes of these regulations, the rate of pay of an employee who was, immediately before accepting an offer of voluntary severance, a tally or piece rate worker must be calculated by reference to the average periodic rate of pay received by that employee for each period worked during the 12 months ending on the day of that acceptance.

7. Criteria for suitable office, post or position or suitable employment

(1) For the purposes of paragraph (c) of the definition of suitable office, post or position or suitable employment in section 94(6) of the Act, the prescribed criteria to be satisfied by an office, post, position or employment, as the case requires, are that —

(a) it is the most suitable actually available; and

(b) the maximum pay applicable to the office, post, position or employment is —

(i) as close to that applicable to the former office, post, position or employment as is reasonably practicable; and

(ii) in any case, subject to subregulation (2), not less than 80%, nor more than 110%, of the maximum pay applicable to the range of classification within which the office, post or position or employment occupied or formerly occupied by the employee in question is or was situated.

(2) For the purposes of subregulation (1) the maximum pay of a part‑time employee must be the same proportion of the maximum full‑time pay as the number of hours worked each week bears to the number of hours provided for in the employment instrument as constituting a week’s work.

Part 2 — Registrable employees

8. Consultation with employees who may become registrable

(1) An employing authority may, in accordance with the Commissioner’s instructions, make a determination that an employee may become a registrable employee.

(2) As soon as practicable after making the determination, the employing authority must give the employee written notice of all relevant information relating to the determination.

(3) Without limiting subregulation (2), the notice must include the following —

(a) the reasons why the employee may become a registrable employee;

(b) any measures the employing authority considers could be taken that would avoid the employee becoming a registrable employee;

(d) if other employees in the same department or organisation are the subject of a determination of the kind referred to in subregulation (1) that was made at the same time as the determination in respect of the employee, the number of those employees.

(4) The employing authority of an employee given a notice under subregulation (2) must consult the employee in relation to the matters set out in the notice.

(5) Nothing in this regulation requires an employing authority to disclose confidential information that the employing authority considers would be contrary to the interests of its department or organisation to disclose.

(6) Notice given to an employee under subregulation (2) does not constitute notice for the purposes of regulation 9(1).

(7) The determination may be revoked at any time.

(8) If the determination is revoked, the employing authority must give the employee written notice of the revocation.

9. Employee must be notified if registrable or to become registrable

(1) An employing authority must give an employee written notice that —

(a) the employee’s office, post or position is or is to be abolished and the employee may be —

(i) transferred under regulation 10; or

(ii) registered under regulation 18;

(b) the employee is, or will become, surplus to the requirements of the employee’s department or organisation and the employee may be —

(i) transferred under regulation 10; or

(ii) registered under regulation 18.

(2) The notice may be revoked at any time.

(3) If the notice is revoked, the employing authority must give the employee written notice of the revocation.

10. Transfer of registrable employees

(1) The employing authority of an employee who —

(a) has been given a notice under regulation 9(1); and

(b) is a registrable employee,

may transfer the employee to another office, post or position in the department or organisation (the new office, post or position) at the same or equivalent level of classification.

(2) An employee who is transferred under subregulation (1) must receive pay at the rate applicable to the new office, post or position on and from the date of that transfer.

(3) An employee who is on a fixed term contract —

(a) may be transferred under subregulation (1) to another office, post or position in the department or organisation under a new fixed term contract on the same or equivalent terms; and

(b) cannot be transferred under subregulation (1) to another office, post or position under a new fixed term contract on terms that are not the same or equivalent.

(4) The duration of the new fixed term contract of an employee to whom subregulation (3) applies must not extend beyond the duration of the fixed term contract under which the employee was previously employed.

Part 3 — Voluntary severance

11. Registrable employees may be offered voluntary severance

(1) In this regulation —

notified employee means an employee who has been given notice under regulation 9(1).

(2) The employing authority of a notified employee may offer voluntary severance to the employee if the employing authority is satisfied that the employee cannot be transferred within his or her department or organisation.

(3) The offer must —

(a) specify a period of not less than 8 weeks after the offer is made within which the employee may accept or refuse the offer; and

(b) provide for the employee to accept the offer and resign from his or her employment with effect on and from a day that is not later than 4 weeks after the day on which the offer is accepted; and

(4) The offer must include a notification that refusal to accept the offer may result in the employing authority registering the employee under regulation 18 and that, if the employee is registered and not offered suitable employment, the employee’s employment may be terminated under Part 6.

(5) An acceptance of an offer must be in writing signed by the employee.

12. Substituted voluntary severance for registrable employees

(1) If —

(a) a registrable employee is willing to be transferred to the office, post or position of another employee in the same or another department or organisation who wishes to resign his or her office, post or position (the other employee); and

(b) the making of a severance payment under this Part to the other employee has been approved by the employing authority of that employee,

the other employee may, with the prior approval of the employing authority of his or her department or organisation, resign his or her office, post or position.

(2) On the resignation by the other employee of his or her office, post or position under subregulation (1), the employing authority of the department or organisation of the registrable employee must —

(a) transfer the registrable employee to that office, post or position; and

(b) make payments to the other employee under regulations 13, 14 and 15.

13. Amount of severance payment

(1) In this regulation —

pay means pay, as defined in regulation 3(1), at the time of acceptance of the offer of voluntary severance, except that it also includes the following —

(a) an allowance for temporarily undertaking duties other than those of the substantive office, post or position of the relevant employee that has been paid continuously to the employee for the preceding 12 months;

(b) a higher duties allowance that has been paid continuously to the employee for the preceding 12 months;

(2) Subject to subregulations (3), (4) and (5), a severance payment made to an employee is the payment of an amount equal to 3 weeks’ pay for each complete year of continuous service served by the employee in the Public Sector (including a ministerial office).

(3) A severance payment made to an employee who has completed more than one year of continuous service but less than 2 years of continuous service is the payment of an amount equal to 4 weeks’ pay.

(4) The amount of a severance payment must not exceed the amount of 52 weeks’ pay.

(5) For the purposes of subregulations (2), (3) and (4), the weekly pay of an employee who, during the employee’s period of continuous service, worked a different number of hours in different weeks must be calculated as follows —

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where —

A is the employee’s weekly pay;

B is the employee’s full‑time weekly pay;

C is the employee’s average weekly hours expressed as a percentage of the employee’s potential full‑time weekly hours.

(6) Despite subregulations (2) to (5), an employee in respect of whom all or some of the conditions of employment are determined under a Commonwealth award is not entitled to any payment provided for by those subregulations.

(7) An employee mentioned in subregulation (6) is entitled to such payment as is determined by the employee’s employing authority, being an amount not greater than the amount that would be payable under this regulation to the employee if none of his or her conditions of employment were covered by a Commonwealth award.

14. Other benefits payable on voluntary severance

The employing authority of an employee who accepts an offer of voluntary severance and resigns his or her office, post or position or employment must, in addition to paying any amount payable to that employee under any relevant employment instrument, pay to the employee cash in lieu of all accrued long service leave of the employee (calculated for each completed year of service) to the extent, if any, not provided for by that instrument.

15. Incentive payment for early resignation

An employee who accepts an offer of voluntary severance under regulation 11 and resigns with effect on and from a day (resignation day) that is earlier than 4 weeks after the day on which the offer is accepted (acceptance day) is entitled to the following payment in addition to the payments under regulations 13 and 14 —

(a) if the resignation day is less than one week after acceptance day — 12 weeks’ pay;

(b) if the resignation day is more than one week and less than 2 weeks after acceptance day — 8 weeks’ pay;

16. Targeted separation scheme

(1) The Minister may approve a scheme under which employees are invited to apply to be offered voluntary severance.

(2) The approval must specify —

(a) the employees, or class or description of employees, to whom the scheme applies; and

(b) the period within which an application under the scheme may be made.

(3) Notice of an approval under subregulation (1) must be published in the Gazette.

(4) Failure to comply with subregulation (3) does not invalidate the approval.

(5) The amount of severance pay payable under the scheme may exceed the amount of 52 weeks’ pay, according to the terms of the scheme.

17. Restriction on employment in Public Sector

(1) Subject to subregulation (2), a person to whom a severance payment is made under regulation 13 or under a scheme approved under regulation 16 must not subsequently be employed in the Public Sector before the expiry of the number of weeks (the period of restriction) after the day on which the severance payment is made that is equal to the number of weeks in respect of which the person received a severance payment (the severance pay period).

(2) The Commissioner may, in writing, as from a specified day, exempt from subregulation (1) a person to whose employment that subregulation would otherwise apply.

(3) If the person’s severance pay period exceeds the portion of the period of restriction up to the specified day, the exemption is subject to the person repaying to the employing authority an amount that bears to the severance payment the same proportion as the excess bears to the severance pay period.

Part 4 — Registered employees

18. Registration of registrable employee

(1) The employing authority of an employee may register the employee in accordance with the Commissioner’s instructions if —

(a) the employee —

(i) has been given a notice under regulation 9(1); and

(ii) is a registrable employee; and

(iii) cannot be transferred within his or her department or organisation;

and

(b) at least 14 days before the day of registration, the employing authority has given the employee written notice of the employing authority’s intention to register the employee.

(2) The notice referred to in subregulation (1)(b) must not be given to the employee before the employee is given notice under regulation 9(1).

19. Special leave for registered employees

(1) The employing authority of a registered employee must grant the registered employee reasonable leave without loss of pay to attend the following —

(a) employment interviews with other employing authorities and with employers outside the Public Sector;

(b) career counselling of a kind approved by the employing authority;

(2) If an employing authority or employer referred to in subregulation (1)(a) does not meet the costs incurred by a registered employee in attending an employment interview with that employing authority or employer, the employing authority of the registered employee must meet those costs.

(3) The costs referred to in subregulation (2) are such costs of travel to and from the employment interview concerned and of meals consumed, accommodation occupied and incidental expenses incurred during the course of that travel or at the place of that interview as the employing authority of the registered employee approves.

20. Retraining of registered employees

(1) The employing authority of a registered employee may arrange for the registered employee to be employed for retraining purposes inside or outside the Public Sector in an office, post or position other than the employee’s present or former office, post or position under that employing authority.

(2) Subject to subregulations (3) and (4), the arrangements for the retraining of a registered employee, and the terms and conditions that apply to the retraining, are to be as agreed between —

(a) the employee; and

(b) the employing authority of the employee; and

(3) A registered employee must not be employed for retraining purposes for a period that is greater than the employee’s redeployment period, as defined in regulation 28.

(4) An employing authority who arranges for a registered employee to be employed for retraining purposes must bear the whole cost of that arrangement, unless it is otherwise agreed between that employing authority and the employing authority or employer which employs the registered employee for training purposes.

(5) A period of employment of a registered employee for retraining purposes is, if regulation 25(4) applies to the registered employee, to be disregarded for the purposes of calculating the period of 6 months referred to in that provision.

21. Management of registered employees

The employing authority of a registered employee must manage the employee in accordance with the Commissioner’s instructions during the period of registration.

Part 5 — Redeployment

22. Form of offer of employment

An offer of employment given to a registered employee, whether in his or her own department or organisation or in another department or organisation, must —

(a) be in writing; and

(b) set out the terms and conditions (including pay) subject to which the offer is made.

23. Registered employee may be directed to accept offer of employment

The Commissioner may in writing direct a registered employee to accept an offer of employment within a time specified in the direction if the Commissioner is satisfied that —

(a) the offer is for suitable employment in a department or organisation; and

(b) the registered employee has —

(i) refused that offer; or

(ii) hindered or obstructed his or her redeployment to that suitable employment.

24. Employing authority may be directed to offer employment

(1) If the Commissioner is satisfied that —

(a) a suitable office, post or position in a department or organisation has been identified for a registered employee; and

(b) the employing authority of that department or organisation has refused to offer the registered employee employment in that office, post or position,

the Commissioner may direct that employing authority to offer the registered employee employment in that office, post or position as soon as is practicable.

(2) An employing authority to which a direction is given under subregulation (1) must comply with the direction.

25. Benefits to which registered employee accepting Public Sector employment is entitled

(1) An employing authority whose offer of an office, post or position is accepted by a registered employee must credit the registered employee with all accrued and accruing rights to annual leave, long service leave and personal leave, as calculated in accordance with the relevant employment instrument, up to the time of that acceptance, and, subject to the provisions of the instrument, allow the registered employee to take accrued leave at any reasonable time or, in the case of personal leave, during any period for which the leave is approved.

(2) A registered employee to whom annual leave, long service leave or personal leave is credited under subregulation (1) is not entitled to cash or any other benefit in respect of that leave under any relevant employment instrument because of the break in employment caused by the acceptance by that registered employee of the office, post or position referred to in that subregulation.

(3) If a person who was a registered employee referred to in subregulation (1) is required by the location of the suitable office, post or position that the person has accepted to change his or her place of residence, the new employing authority must reimburse the person —

(a) all reasonable expenses incurred by the person in moving the person’s household belongings to the new place of residence; or

(b) if an employment instrument or another written law that applies to the person provides for the payment of relocation expenses, relocation expenses in accordance with the employment instrument or written law.

(4) An employing authority whose offer of a suitable office, post or position —

(a) is accepted by a registered employee; and

(b) as so accepted, entitles the registered employee to a rate of pay less than that the registered employee was entitled to in respect of the office, post or position occupied by the registered employee immediately before he or she became a registered employee (the previous office, post or position),

must during the period of 6 months after the day on which the registered employee begins employment in the new office, post or position pay to the registered employee the rate of pay the registered employee received in respect of the previous office, post or position.

(5) After the expiry of the period of 6 months referred to in subregulation (4), the employee concerned is to receive pay at the rate applicable to the new office, post or position.

(6) Despite this regulation, an employee in respect of whom all or some of the conditions of employment are determined under a Commonwealth award is not entitled to the benefits and payments provided for by this regulation.

(7) An employee mentioned in subregulation (6) is entitled to such benefits and payments as are determined by the employing authority being not greater than the entitlements the employee would have under this regulation if none of the employee’s conditions of employment were covered by a Commonwealth award.

26. Benefits to which registered employee accepting private sector employment is entitled

(1) If an employing authority arranges for an offer of a suitable office, post or position outside the Public Sector to be made to a registered employee and the registered employee accepts that offer by resigning his or her employment, the employing authority of the registered employee must, in addition to paying any amount payable to the registered employee under any relevant employment instrument, pay to the registered employee —

(a) cash in lieu of all accrued long service leave of the registered employee (calculated for each completed year of service) to the extent, if any, not provided for by that instrument; and

(b) a transition payment of an amount —

(i) determined by the employing authority; and

(ii) not less than the amount of 4 weeks’ pay and not more than the amount of 12 weeks’ pay.

(2) For the purposes of subregulation (1)(b), the weekly pay of an employee who, during the employee’s period of continuous service, worked a different number of hours in different weeks is to be calculated as follows —

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where —

A is the employee’s weekly pay;

B is the employee’s full‑time weekly pay;

C is the employee’s average weekly hours expressed as a percentage of the employee’s potential full‑time weekly hours.

(3) In subregulation (1)(b) —

pay means pay, as defined in regulation 3(1), at the time of acceptance of the offer, except that it also includes —

(a) any allowance of the following kinds that has been paid continuously for the preceding 12 months —

(i) an allowance for temporarily undertaking duties other than those of the substantive office, post or position of the relevant employee;

(ii) a higher duties allowance;

and

(b) a shift allowance that is paid on a regular basis including during periods of annual leave.

(4) Where an organisation is abolished and its functions or some of its functions become vested in a body that is established by a written law and is owned by the State but is not within the Public Sector, any office, post or position in that body is not an office, post or position outside the Public Sector for the purposes of subregulation (1).

(5) Despite this regulation, an employee in respect of whom all or some of the conditions of service are determined under a Commonwealth award is not entitled to the payments provided for by this regulation.

(6) An employee mentioned in subregulation (5) is entitled to such payments as are determined by the employee’s employing authority, being an amount not greater than the amount that would be payable under this regulation to the employee if none of his or her conditions of employment were covered by a Commonwealth award.

27. Registration ceases on redeployment

A registered employee who accepts an offer of employment in a suitable office, post or position ceases to be registered on the day on which the employment commences.

Part 6 — Termination of employment

28. Terms used

In this Part —

pay, in relation to an employee, means the employee’s pay as at the day immediately before the day on which the employment of the employee is terminated under regulation 30 or 32;

redeployment period means —

(a) in relation to an employee other than a term employee — the period of 6 months commencing on the day on which the employee becomes a registered employee and not including any period of suspension under regulation 29; and

(b) in relation to a term employee —

(i) if the employee’s term of appointment will end before the end of the period referred to in subparagraph (ii), the period ending on the last day of the term of appointment; or

(ii) if subparagraph (i) does not apply, the period of 6 months commencing on the day on which the employee becomes a registered employee and not including any period of suspension under regulation 29.

29. Employing authority may suspend redeployment period or revoke registration

The employing authority of a registered employee may, in writing —

(a) suspend the continuance of the employee’s redeployment period; or

(b) revoke the registration of the employee.

30. Employment terminates at end of redeployment period

The employment of a registered employee terminates by operation of this regulation on the day after the last day of the employee’s redeployment period.

31. Notice of impending termination

(1) At least 4 weeks before the last day of a registered employee’s redeployment period, the employing authority of the employee must give written notice to the employee advising —

(a) the date of the last day of the employee’s redeployment period; and

(b) the effect of regulation 30; and

(c) the redundancy pay to which the employee will be entitled if the employee’s employment terminates under regulation 30.

(2) The failure of an employing authority to give notice under subregulation (1) does not prevent the termination of the employee’s employment under regulation 30.

32. Earlier termination of employment at request of employee

(1) A registered employee may, before the end of the employee’s redeployment period, request in writing the employing authority of the employee to terminate the employee’s employment.

(2) An employing authority may by written notice accept the request of a registered employee made under subregulation (1) and terminate the employee’s employment.

(3) The notice must set out —

(a) the date on which the termination takes effect; and

(b) the redundancy pay to which the employee is entitled.

(4) The amount of redundancy pay for an employee whose employment is terminated under this regulation is —

(a) an amount equal to 3 weeks’ pay for each complete year of continuous service served by the employee in the Public Sector (including a ministerial office) but not exceeding the amount of 52 weeks’ pay, less an amount equal to the employee’s pay for the number of weeks in the period commencing on the day on which the employee became a registered employee and ending on the day on which the employee’s employment is terminated; or

(b) if the amount specified in paragraph (a) is less than the minimum amount specified in regulation 34, that minimum amount.

33. Redundancy pay at end of redeployment period

(1) An employee whose employment is terminated under regulation 30 is entitled to be paid redundancy pay.

(2) The amount of redundancy pay for an employee is —

(b) if the amount specified in paragraph (a) is less than the minimum amount specified in regulation 34, that minimum amount.

34. Minimum amount of redundancy pay

The amount of redundancy pay must not be less than an amount equal to the employee’s pay for the number of weeks set out in column 2 of the Table that corresponds to the period of the employee’s continuous service calculated up to the end of the day on which the employee’s employment is terminated.

Table

Period of continuous service with the employer at termination of employment	Redundancy pay period
At least one year but less than 2 years	4 weeks
At least 2 years but less than 3 years	6 weeks
At least 3 years but less than 4 years	7 weeks
At least 4 years but less than 5 years	8 weeks
At least 5 years but less than 6 years	10 weeks
At least 6 years but less than 7 years	11 weeks
At least 7 years but less than 8 years	13 weeks
At least 8 years but less than 9 years	14 weeks
At least 9 years	16 weeks

35. Other benefits payable on termination

The employing authority of an employee whose employment is terminated must, in addition to paying any amount payable to the employee under any relevant employment instrument, pay to that employee cash in lieu of all accrued long service leave of the employee (calculated for each completed year of service) to the extent, if any, not provided for by that instrument.

36. Restriction on employment in Public Sector

(1) Subject to subregulation (2), a person to whom a redundancy payment is made under regulation 32 or 33 must not subsequently be employed in the Public Sector before the expiry of the number of weeks (the period of restriction) after the day on which the redundancy payment is made that is equal to the number of weeks of pay the person received as a redundancy payment (the redundancy pay period).

(2) The Commissioner may, in writing, as from a specified day, exempt from subregulation (1) a person to whose employment that subregulation would otherwise apply.

(3) If the person’s redundancy pay period exceeds the portion of the period of restriction up to the specified day, the exemption is subject to the person repaying to the employing authority an amount that bears to the redundancy payment the same proportion as the excess bears to the redundancy pay period.

Part 7 — Privatisation and contracting out

37. Notification to employee of privatisation or contracting out

(1) If the whole or any part of —

(a) the undertaking of a department or organisation is, or is to be, sold or otherwise disposed of to a person outside the Public Sector; or

(b) the production or provision of goods or services or both by a department or organisation is, or is to be, replaced by the production or provision of goods or services or both by a person outside the Public Sector,

the employing authority of the department or organisation must give written notice of the sale, disposal or replacement to each employee in the department or organisation who is or will be affected by the sale, disposal or replacement.

(2) The notice must specify the manner in which the employee is or will be affected.

(3) Where an organisation is abolished and its functions or some of its functions become vested in a body that is established by a written law and is owned by the State but is not within the Public Sector, that body is not a person outside the Public Sector for the purposes of this regulation.

38. Private sector offers of offices, posts or positions on privatisation or contracting out

(1) Any offer of an office, post or position made by a person outside the Public Sector referred to in regulation 37(1)(a) or (b) to an employee who is notified under regulation 37(1) must —

(a) be in writing; and

(b) set out the terms and conditions (including pay) subject to which the offer is made.

(2) Subject to subregulation (4), the employing authority of an employee to whom an offer referred to in subregulation (1) is made may, if that offer is an offer of a suitable office, post or position, direct the employee to accept the offer.

(3) The direction must be given —

(a) in writing; or

(b) orally, with written confirmation given to the recipient of the direction within 2 days after the oral direction is given.

(4) An employing authority must not give a direction under subregulation (2) unless the employing authority is satisfied that the employee to whom the direction is to be given has been offered suitable employment.

39. Employee may be directed not to hinder selection process

(1) If an employee in the department or organisation referred to in regulation 37 hinders or obstructs the process by which he or she, or any other employee, is selected for the making of an offer referred to in regulation 38(1), the employing authority of the first‑mentioned employee may direct that employee to refrain from that hindrance or obstruction.

(2) The direction must be given —

(a) in writing; or

(b) orally, with written confirmation given to the recipient of the direction within 2 days after the oral direction is given.

40. Benefits to which employees accepting offers of employment are entitled

(1) The employing authority of an employee who voluntarily accepts an offer referred to in regulation 38(1), or accepts an offer in compliance with a direction made under regulation 38(2), by resigning his or her office, post or position must, in addition to paying any amount payable to that employee under any relevant employment instrument, pay to that employee —

(a) cash in lieu of all accrued long service leave of that employee (calculated for each completed year of service) to the extent, if any, not provided for by that instrument; and

(b) a transition payment of an amount —

(i) determined by the Commissioner; and

(ii) not less than the amount of 4 weeks’ pay and not more than the amount of 12 weeks’ pay.

![]()

where —

A is the employee’s weekly pay;

B is the employee’s full‑time weekly pay;

C is the employee’s average weekly hours expressed as a percentage of the employee’s potential full‑time weekly hours.

(3) In subregulation (1)(b) —

pay means pay, as defined in regulation 3(1), at the time of acceptance of the offer, except that it also includes the following —

(a) any allowance of the following kinds that has been paid continuously for the preceding 12 months —

(i) an allowance for temporarily undertaking duties other than those of the substantive office, post or position of the relevant employee;

(ii) a higher duties allowance;

(b) a shift allowance that is paid on a regular basis including during periods of annual leave.

(4) Despite subregulations (1), (2) and (3), an employee in respect of whom all or some of the conditions of employment are determined under a Commonwealth award is not entitled to the payments provided for by this regulation.

(5) An employee mentioned in subregulation (4) is entitled to such payments as are determined by the Commissioner being an amount not greater than the amount that would be payable under this regulation to the employee if none of his or her conditions of employment were covered by a Commonwealth award.

Part 8 — Miscellaneous

41. Information to be given to Commissioner

An employing authority who makes a payment for the purposes of regulation 13, 14, 15, 26, 32, 33 or 35 or a scheme approved under regulation 16 must give the Commissioner any information about the payment that the Commissioner requires.

42. Rate of pay of employee whose office, post or position is abolished

The rate of pay of an employee, whether a registered employee or not —

(a) whose office, post or position has been abolished; but

(b) who is for the time being entitled to payment until his or her resignation, redeployment or other arrangement has effect under these regulations,

is the rate of pay to which the employee was entitled in respect of the office, post or position that has been abolished.

43. Employees dismissed under certain sections of Act not entitled to certain payments

An employee who is dismissed under section 82A(3)(a), 88(a) or 89(1) of the Act is not entitled to any payment under regulation 40 or to a severance payment or redundancy pay.

[Modified by the Health Services (General) Regulations 2019 r. 18 1M.]

44. Prescribed period for certain references

For the purposes of sections 95(3) and 96A(3) of the Act the prescribed period is 21 days.

Part 9 — Repeal and transitional

45. Public Sector Management (Redeployment and Redundancy) Regulations 1994 repealed

The Public Sector Management (Redeployment and Redundancy) Regulations 1994 are repealed.

46. Transitional provisions

(1) In this regulation —

commencement day means the day on which this regulation comes into operation;

repealed regulations means the regulations repealed by regulation 45.

(2) An employee who has been given notice and consulted under regulation 4AA of the repealed regulations is taken to have been given notice and consulted under regulation 8.

(3) An employee who has been given notice under regulation 4A of the repealed regulations is taken to have been given notice under regulation 9.

(4) If an employee is, immediately before commencement day, registered under regulation 11(3) of the repealed regulations —

(a) the employee is taken to be registered under regulation 18; and

(b) the employee’s redeployment period for the purposes of Part 6 commences on commencement day.

Notes

1 This is a compilation of the Public Sector Management (Redeployment and Redundancy) Regulations 2014. The following table contains information about those regulations 1M.

Compilation table

Citation	Gazettal	Commencement
Public Sector Management (Redeployment and Redundancy) Regulations 2014	30 Dec 2014 p. 5523‑63	r. 1 and 2: 30 Dec 2014 (see r. 2(a)); Regulations other than r. 1 and 2: 1 May 2015 (see r. 2(b))

1M Under the Health Services Act 2016 Pt. 12, these regulations are to be read with the modifications as set out in the Health Services (General) Regulations 2019 Pt. 5. Pt. 5 reads as follows:

Part 5 — Public Sector Management (Redeployment and Redundancy) Regulations 2014 modifications

Term used: applied regulations

In this Part —

applied regulations means the Public Sector Management (Redeployment and Redundancy) Regulations 2014 as applied under section 174 of the Act.

Modification of applied regulations: Act s. 174(3)

For the purposes of Part 12 of the Act, the applied regulations are to be read as set out in this Part.

Regulation 3 modified

Regulation 3(1) of the applied regulations is to be read as if the following were inserted:

Department has the meaning given in the Health Services Act 2016 section 6;

Department CEO has the meaning given in the Health Services Act 2016 section 6;

employee has the meaning given in the Health Services Act 2016 section 6;

employing authority has the meaning given in the Health Services Act 2016 section 6;

Regulation 5 modified

(1) In regulation 5(2) of the applied regulations —

(a) paragraph (a) is to be read as if “an executive officer” were deleted and the following inserted:

a chief executive or a health executive

(b) paragraph (b) is to be read as if “section 59 of the Act” were deleted and the following inserted:

the Health Services Act 2016 section 133

the Health Services Act 2016 Part 11 Division 3.

(2) Regulation 5(3) of the applied regulations is to be read as if “section 58(5) of the Act.” were deleted and the following inserted:

the Health Services Act 2016 section 132(7).

Regulation 43 modified

Regulation 43 of the applied regulations is to be read as if “section 82A(3)(a), 88(a) or 89(1) of the Act” were deleted and the following inserted:

the Health Services Act 2016 section 150, 163(3) or 166

Defined terms

[This is a list of terms defined and the provisions where they are defined. The list is not part of the law.]

Defined term Provision(s)

acceptance day 15

accrued long service leave 3(1)

average weekly hours 3(1)

award 3(1)

commencement day 46(1)

Commonwealth award 3(1)

continuous service 3(1)

employment instrument 3(1)

enterprise bargaining allowance 3(1)

full‑time weekly pay 3(1)

new office, post or position 10(1)

notified employee 11(1)

other employee 12(1)

pay 3(1), 13(1), 26(3), 28, 40(3)

period of continuous service 3(1)

period of restriction 17(1), 36(1)

potential full‑time weekly hours 3(1)

previous office, post or position 25(4)

redeployment period 28

redundancy pay period 36(1)

registered employee 3(1)

registrable employee 3(1)

repealed regulations 46(1)

resignation day 15

seasonal employee 5(1)

severance pay period 17(1)

suitable employment 3(1)

suitable office, post or position 3(1)

Western Australia

Public Sector Management Act 1994

Public Sector Management (Redeployment and Redundancy) Regulations 2014

Western Australia

Public Sector Management (Redeployment and Redundancy) Regulations 2014

Contents

Part 1 — Preliminary

Citation 1
Commencement 1
Terms used 1
Application 4
Limits on application of regulations 5
Calculation of rate of pay of tally or piece rate worker 5
Criteria for suitable office, post or position or suitable employment 6

Part 2 — Registrable employees

Consultation with employees who may become registrable 7
Employee must be notified if registrable or to become registrable 8
Transfer of registrable employees 8

Part 3 — Voluntary severance

Registrable employees may be offered voluntary severance 10
Substituted voluntary severance for registrable employees 10
Amount of severance payment 11
Other benefits payable on voluntary severance 13
Incentive payment for early resignation 13
Targeted separation scheme 13
Restriction on employment in Public Sector 14

Part 4 — Registered employees

Registration of registrable employee 15
Special leave for registered employees 15
Retraining of registered employees 16
Management of registered employees 17

Part 5 — Redeployment

Form of offer of employment 18
Registered employee may be directed to accept offer of employment 18
Employing authority may be directed to offer employment 18
Benefits to which registered employee accepting Public Sector employment is entitled 19
Benefits to which registered employee accepting private sector employment is entitled 21
Registration ceases on redeployment 22

Part 6 — Termination of employment

Terms used 23
Employing authority may suspend redeployment period or revoke registration 23
Employment terminates at end of redeployment period 24
Notice of impending termination 24
Earlier termination of employment at request of employee 24
Redundancy pay at end of redeployment period 25
Minimum amount of redundancy pay 25
Other benefits payable on termination 26
Restriction on employment in Public Sector 27

Part 7 — Privatisation and contracting out

Notification to employee of privatisation or contracting out 28
Private sector offers of offices, posts or positions on privatisation or contracting out 28
Employee may be directed not to hinder selection process 29
Benefits to which employees accepting offers of employment are entitled 29

Part 8 — Miscellaneous

Information to be given to Commissioner 32
Rate of pay of employee whose office, post or position is abolished 32
Employees dismissed under certain sections of Act not entitled to certain payments 32
Prescribed period for certain references 32

Part 9 — Repeal and transitional

Public Sector Management (Redeployment and Redundancy) Regulations 1994 repealed 33
Transitional provisions 33

Notes

Compilation table 34

Defined terms

Western Australia

Public Sector Management Act 1994

Public Sector Management (Redeployment and Redundancy) Regulations 2014

Part 1 — Preliminary

1. Citation

	These regulations are the *Public Sector Management (Redeployment and Redundancy) Regulations 2014* 1.

2. Commencement

These regulations come into operation as follows —

(a) regulations 1 and 2 — on the day on which these regulations are published in the Gazette;

(b) the rest of the regulations — on 1 May 2015 1.

3. Terms used

(1) In these regulations —

accrued long service leave means each of the following —

(a) long service leave entitlements that have actually become due;

(b) pro rata long service leave for any period during which rights to long service leave have been accruing as if a pro rata entitlement had actually become due in respect of that period;

average weekly hours, in relation to an employee, means the average number of hours (not including overtime) that the employee worked each week during the employee’s period of continuous service;

award means —

(a) an award, industrial agreement or order under the Industrial Relations Act 1979; or

(b) a Commonwealth award;

Commonwealth award means —

(a) a modern award, enterprise agreement or workplace determination made under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Commonwealth); or

(b) a transitional instrument as defined in the Fair Work (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Act 2009 (Commonwealth) Schedule 2 item 2;

continuous service has the same meaning as it has in the Wages Employees Long Service Leave General Order of the Industrial Commission;

employment instrument means —

(a) a contract of employment; or

(b) an award;

enterprise bargaining allowance means a payment that —

(a) does not come within paragraph (a) of the definition of pay in this subregulation; and

(b) is paid on a regular basis; and

(i) an enterprise agreement made under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Commonwealth); or

(ii) an agreement‑based transitional instrument as defined in the Fair Work (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Act 2009 (Commonwealth) Schedule 2 item 2; or

(iii) an agreement registered as an industrial agreement under the Industrial Relations Act 1979;

full‑time weekly pay, in relation to an employee, means —

(a) if the employee is employed on a full‑time basis, the employee’s weekly pay; or

(b) if the employee is employed on a part‑time basis, the amount that would be the employee’s weekly pay if the employee were employed on a full‑time basis;

pay means the sum of the following —

(b) an allowance listed in subregulation (2);

period of continuous service, in relation to an employee, means the period of continuous service in the Public Sector (including a ministerial office) served by the employee —

(a) in any period greater than 10 years for which, in the opinion of the employing authority of the employee, there are reliable records of the hours worked each week by the employee; and

(b) if paragraph (a) does not apply, in the period of 10 years,

ending on the day of acceptance by the employee of —

(d) an offer of severance payment referred to in regulation 13(2);

registered employee has the meaning given in section 94(1A) of the Act;

registrable employee has the meaning given in section 94(1A) of the Act;

suitable office, post or position or suitable employment has the meaning given in section 94(6) of the Act as read with regulation 7.

(2) The following allowances are listed for the purposes of paragraph (b) of the definition of pay in subregulation (1) —

(a) an allowance —

(ii) the payment of which is not subject to any condition relating to the time, place or circumstances at or in which the recipient of the pay is employed or to any other condition;

(b) an enterprise bargaining allowance;

(d) any other allowance that the Commissioner has approved for the purposes of this subregulation.

[Modified by the Health Services (General) Regulations 2019 r. 16 1M.]

4. Application

(1) Except as provided in regulation 5, these regulations apply to all employees in departments and organisations.

(2) Despite regulation 5, these regulations apply to all employing authorities of departments and organisations in their capacity as employing authorities.

5. Limits on application of regulations

(1) In this regulation —

seasonal employee means an employee who is employed to work for limited periods during a season of the year.

(2) Parts 2 to 6 do not apply to the following employees —

(a) an executive officer;

(b) an employee to whom section 59 of the Act applies;

(d) an employee who is a casual employee or a seasonal employee;

(e) an employee who is to retire or is called on to retire from employment on the grounds of ill health, whether under section 39 of the Act or otherwise;

(f) an employee whose employment in the Public Sector is to be terminated because of substandard performance;

(g) an employee who is to be dismissed under Part 5 Division 3 of the Act.

(3) Subregulation (2)(a) does not limit the operation of section 58(5) of the Act.

[Modified by the Health Services (General) Regulations 2019 r. 17 1M.]

6. Calculation of rate of pay of tally or piece rate worker

7. Criteria for suitable office, post or position or suitable employment

(a) it is the most suitable actually available; and

(b) the maximum pay applicable to the office, post, position or employment is —

(i) as close to that applicable to the former office, post, position or employment as is reasonably practicable; and

Part 2 — Registrable employees

8. Consultation with employees who may become registrable

(1) An employing authority may, in accordance with the Commissioner’s instructions, make a determination that an employee may become a registrable employee.

(2) As soon as practicable after making the determination, the employing authority must give the employee written notice of all relevant information relating to the determination.

(3) Without limiting subregulation (2), the notice must include the following —

(a) the reasons why the employee may become a registrable employee;

(b) any measures the employing authority considers could be taken that would avoid the employee becoming a registrable employee;

(4) The employing authority of an employee given a notice under subregulation (2) must consult the employee in relation to the matters set out in the notice.

(6) Notice given to an employee under subregulation (2) does not constitute notice for the purposes of regulation 9(1).

(7) The determination may be revoked at any time.

(8) If the determination is revoked, the employing authority must give the employee written notice of the revocation.

9. Employee must be notified if registrable or to become registrable

(1) An employing authority must give an employee written notice that —

(a) the employee’s office, post or position is or is to be abolished and the employee may be —

(i) transferred under regulation 10; or

(ii) registered under regulation 18;

(b) the employee is, or will become, surplus to the requirements of the employee’s department or organisation and the employee may be —

(i) transferred under regulation 10; or

(ii) registered under regulation 18.

(2) The notice may be revoked at any time.

(3) If the notice is revoked, the employing authority must give the employee written notice of the revocation.

10. Transfer of registrable employees

(1) The employing authority of an employee who —

(a) has been given a notice under regulation 9(1); and

(b) is a registrable employee,

may transfer the employee to another office, post or position in the department or organisation (the new office, post or position) at the same or equivalent level of classification.

(2) An employee who is transferred under subregulation (1) must receive pay at the rate applicable to the new office, post or position on and from the date of that transfer.

(3) An employee who is on a fixed term contract —

(a) may be transferred under subregulation (1) to another office, post or position in the department or organisation under a new fixed term contract on the same or equivalent terms; and

(b) cannot be transferred under subregulation (1) to another office, post or position under a new fixed term contract on terms that are not the same or equivalent.

Part 3 — Voluntary severance

11. Registrable employees may be offered voluntary severance

(1) In this regulation —

notified employee means an employee who has been given notice under regulation 9(1).

(3) The offer must —

(a) specify a period of not less than 8 weeks after the offer is made within which the employee may accept or refuse the offer; and

(b) provide for the employee to accept the offer and resign from his or her employment with effect on and from a day that is not later than 4 weeks after the day on which the offer is accepted; and

(5) An acceptance of an offer must be in writing signed by the employee.

12. Substituted voluntary severance for registrable employees

(1) If —

(a) a registrable employee is willing to be transferred to the office, post or position of another employee in the same or another department or organisation who wishes t

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