Public Service (Terms and Conditions of Employment) (Department of Employment and Workplace Relations) Determination 2023

The Determination rests on a small set of organising concepts derived directly from the text: continuation by force, modification by schedule, non-SES coverage, interaction with enterprise agreements, preservation of the NES, displacement of the APS Award, and ministerial/regulatory interplay with other PS Act determinations.

Continuation by force and modification: Section 6 states that the 2022 and 2023 Determinations continue to apply in relation to non-SES employees in the Department by force of this instrument, but subject to Schedule 1 modifications. The Schedule lists discrete textual deletions and substitutions. Thus the main legal mechanism is not a wholesale new instrument replacing prior determinations but a statutory continuation with precise edits. The instrument therefore functions as a layered set of texts: original determinations as the base, this Determination as the modifying overlay (s6; Schedule 1).

Coverage and exclusion rules: The instrument applies to non-SES employees in the Department (defined in s4 by cross-reference to the defined terms for the earlier determinations). It will cease to apply to an individual employee once an enterprise agreement under the FW Act that covers that employee commences operation (s5). This creates a per-employee conditionality: applicability is not solely cohort-wide but terminates for individuals when enterprise bargaining outcomes take effect.

Interaction with award and NES: The instrument expressly states it has no effect to the extent it would exclude the NES (s8(1)). Conversely, while in force, the APS Award does not apply to non-SES employees in the Department (s8(2)). The instrument includes a note that its effect is to interact with the APS Award in the same way as an enterprise agreement, referencing s57 of the FW Act in that note (s8 Note). The Schedule removes several clauses from the 2022 Determination that previously referenced or protected APS Award entitlements (see Schedule 1 items 2, 6, 14, etc.).

Hours and span changes: Schedule 1 item 8 replaces Annexure A clauses 122-124 to set ordinary hours for full-time employees at 150 hours per four-week settlement period (that is, 7 hours 30 minutes per day). It sets a default span of hours (bandwidth) for non-shiftworkers of 7:00 am to 7:00 pm, Monday to Friday, and allows variation to another 12-hour period where employee and manager agree in writing. Several related clauses referencing "additional time" above 147 hours, and the treatment of that additional time for flex credits/debits and flex leave, are omitted (Schedule 1 items 9-13). The definition of "Shiftworker" is also narrowed by removing a clause that had included employees who chose to work between 6:00 pm and 7:00 pm (Schedule 1 item 14).

Ministerial and regulatory interaction: The instrument is made under subsection 24(3) of the Public Service Act 1999 (s3). Section 7 directs that, to the extent possible, this Determination is to operate concurrently with determinations made under subsection 24(1) of the PS Act, including the 2022 and 2023 Determinations to the extent they remain in force. Subsection 7(2) clarifies that a s24(1) determination may increase salaries, allowances or other monetary entitlements provided under this instrument.

Textual deletions and omissions: Schedule 1 is primarily deletions and limited substitutions. Examples include omission of Clause 3 and Clause 4 (Schedule 1 items 1-2); deletion of Annexure A clauses 33, 52, 83 (partial), 92, 122-124 (substituted), 133 amendment, and others (Schedule 1 items 3-14). For the 2023 Determination the Schedule adds a clarifying phrase and omits section 7 and subsection 8(3) (Schedule 1 items 15-17). The combined effect is to refine hours and bandwidth provisions, to remove specific protections or references to APS Award benefits in the 2022 Determination, and to reposition the earlier determinations within the Departmental framework.

Operational fallbacks: The instrument contains a limited savings clause: it does not prevent a s24(1) determination from increasing monetary entitlements provided under this instrument (s7(2)). It also provides that NES protections cannot be excluded by this instrument (s8(1)). No express enforcement or penalty clauses are included in the text of this Determination.

Primary affected cohort: The Determination applies to non-SES employees in the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations. The instrument’s terms and the Schedule refer repeatedly to "non-SES employees in the Department" (s5, s6, s8(2)). The definitions section (s4) establishes the textual anchors: the "2022 Determination" and "2023 Determination" are defined as those instruments in force immediately prior to commencement, and "Department" is defined as the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations. The Determination therefore operates on a specified public service cohort, not on SES employees, contractors or staff in other agencies, at least on its face.

Timing and per-employee cessation: Applicability terminates for an employee where an enterprise agreement made under the FW Act that covers that employee commences operation (s5). That makes the Determination’s coverage dynamic and individualised: different employees may cease to be covered at different times depending on whether they become covered by an enterprise agreement. The instrument also notes it may be revoked or affected by a further determination under s24(3) of the PS Act (s5 Note), which means the Minister can later change applicability or coverage.

Who decides and who implements: The instrument is made by the Minister for the Public Service (the face page identifies Katy Gallagher and the dated signature) under statutory authority (s3). The Department as employer is the implementing entity for workplace arrangements and for operational changes required by Schedule 1 (for example, changes to ordinary hours and bandwidth in Annexure A clauses 122-124 as substituted by Schedule 1 item 8). The instrument contemplates manager-level agreement with employees for bandwidth changes (Schedule 1 item 8: "where an employee and the employee’s manager agree in writing").

Excluded groups and awards: While the Determination applies to non-SES employees in the Department, it displaces application of the APS Award to those employees while it is in force (s8(2)). The instrument also states it has no effect to the extent that it would exclude the NES (s8(1)), which preserves baseline entitlements for employees covered.

Indirectly affected parties: Although the Determination directly governs Department employees, employers that interact with the Department (including private sector entities that transact with the Department) may experience changes in operational hours and availability of officials because the instrument sets a default span for ordinary hours (Schedule 1 item 8). The text itself does not address private sector obligations or rights, and it does not purport to regulate non-Department employers.

Per-employee contractual consequences: The Schedule deletes and substitutes particular provisions that previously affected flex time accounting and shiftworker definitions (Schedule 1 items 9-14). For affected employees, those textual changes will change the contractual treatment of ordinary hours, flex credits/debits and the classification of "shiftworker" for pay and rostering purposes as set out in the antecedent determinations.

Bureaucratic decision nodes: Manager consent for bandwidth variation is required in writing (Schedule 1 item 8). The Department, in implementing payroll and rostering systems and deciding whether to enter into enterprise bargaining covering particular employees, will determine the persistence of the Determination’s application to individuals (s5; s6).

Duties and rights in the instrument are instantiated primarily by continuation and modification of the underlying determinations, by protection of the NES, and by specific roster and hours rules introduced or confirmed in Schedule 1. The Determination itself does not list a long catalogue of new duties; rather it operates by amendment and continuation of existing instruments. The following are the key duties, rights and operational requirements that the text establishes or preserves.

Right to NES entitlements: The instrument expressly provides that it has no effect to the extent it would exclude the NES (s8(1)). This is a non-derogation clause: employees retain the statutory National Employment Standards rights irrespective of the modifications made to the 2022 and 2023 Determinations by this instrument.

Exclusion of APS Award application: While the Determination is in force, the APS Award does not apply to non-SES employees in the Department (s8(2)). That creates a right for the employer to operate outside the APS Award for those employees, and removes a potential contractual or statutory claim by employees under that Award for as long as this Determination applies to them.

Ordinary hours and span obligations: Schedule 1 item 8 substitutes Annexure A clauses 122-124, creating a concrete roster baseline for full-time employees: ordinary hours are 150 hours per four-week settlement period (equivalent to 7 hours 30 minutes per day), and the default span (bandwidth) for non-shiftworkers is 7:00 am to 7:00 pm Monday to Friday. This establishes an employer right to roster within that bandwidth and an employee duty to be available to work ordinary hours within that bandwidth, subject to individual agreements. The substitution also permits variation to another 12-hour period where the employee and the employee’s manager agree in writing, creating a formal manager-employee consent duty for bandwidth changes (Schedule 1 item 8).

Managerial discretion with written consent: The instrument creates an explicit managerial decision point: where the default bandwidth is varied, that variation must be in writing and agreed between the employee and manager (Schedule 1 item 8). The text therefore imposes a documentary requirement on changes to ordinary hours span.

Treatment of additional time and flex arrangements: Several Schedule 1 items omit prior clauses that treated "additional time" for flex credits, flex debits and flex leave (Schedule 1 items 9-13). The effect is to alter or remove prior detailed rules about how extra minutes or hours above a previous 147-hour baseline were accounted for in flex systems. Those operational duties and entitlements will be governed by the modified text of the underlying determinations as continued by this instrument.

Enterprise agreement exit right: An individual employee’s coverage under this Determination ceases when an enterprise agreement that covers the employee and commences operation is made under the FW Act (s5). This gives employees and bargaining representatives the contractual route to alter the terms applicable to the employee, and it creates a duty on the Department to observe the new enterprise agreement once it commences.

Monetary entitlements: Section 7(2) provides that the instrument does not prevent a s24(1) determination from increasing salaries, allowances or other monetary entitlements provided under this instrument. That preserves the capacity for other determinations to improve pay and allowances for employees. The instrument itself does not set particular salary amounts; it preserves the existing salary frameworks as continued from the antecedent determinations.

No expressed penalty regime: The Determination does not set out fines, imprisonment, or express civil penalty provisions (the instrument contains no penalty sections). Duties, rights and disputes arising from the Determination would therefore be enforced under other legislative or contractual mechanisms outside the text of this instrument, or by compliance with the continued underlying determinations as modified here.

Documentation and administration duties: By requiring written managerial agreement for bandwidth changes (Schedule 1 item 8) and by continuing other determinations subject to deletions and substitutions, the instrument imposes an administrative duty on the Department to update contracts, payroll, rostering and employee records to reflect the continued-but-amended texts.

This Determination does not include express enforcement mechanisms or civil or criminal penalties within its text. The instrument is made under subsection 24(3) of the Public Service Act 1999 (s3), and it continues earlier determinations (s6). It identifies cessation triggers and interaction rules (s5, s7, s8), but it contains no provision specifying fines, pecuniary penalties, administrative sanctions or specified dispute resolution or enforcement processes unique to this instrument.

Consequences of that absence: Because no penalties or express enforcement clauses are contained, compliance and enforcement will necessarily be exercised through:

• the employer’s internal administrative and contractual mechanisms to ensure staff are rostered, paid and treated in accordance with the continued and modified determinations; and
• any statutory or contractual enforcement regimes that apply to public service employment generally, which are not detailed in this instrument.

Statutory authority and potential enforcement context: The Determination is made under the Public Service Act 1999 (s3). Enforcement of duties arising from determinations under the PS Act frequently occurs through administrative processes in the employer agency, internal grievance and review arrangements, and potentially through remedies available under broader industrial or employment legislation. The instrument itself, however, does not describe those processes nor does it tie specific sanctions to particular breaches.

Interaction with enterprise agreements and the FW Act: Section 5 provides that the instrument ceases to apply to an employee if an enterprise agreement under the FW Act that covers the employee commences operation. That creates a legal displacement mechanism rather than a penalty: the legal terms that govern an employee shift to the enterprise agreement when it commences. The instrument also includes a note that it may be revoked or have its operation affected by further determinations under s24(3) of the PS Act (s5 Note). Those mechanisms are procedural and structural rather than punitive.

APS Award displacement and dispute framing: While the instrument displaces the APS Award for non-SES Department employees while it is in force (s8(2)), the Determination does not itself provide a complaints or dispute resolution framework arising from that displacement. The instrument’s note states the effect is to interact with the APS Award in the same way as an enterprise agreement (s8 Note). Enforcement of rights arising from the NES or from an enterprise agreement, in contrast, would follow the mechanisms of the FW Act or the remedies available under the NES, but those mechanisms are not established in this Determination.

Practical enforcement levers for the Department: In practice, enforcement of rostering and ordinary hours reforms (Schedule 1 item 8) will be administered by the Department through payroll adjustments, roster management, written agreements for bandwidth changes and internal compliance processes. The Determination imposes written agreement requirements for bandwidth variation, which create a documentary trail that can be used in internal compliance monitoring.

Absence of bespoke dispute mechanisms: The Determination does not create bespoke dispute resolution processes (for example, a dedicated clause requiring mediation or referral to an external tribunal). Therefore, disputes triggered by these modified terms will rely on the dispute resolution processes that apply by reference to the continued 2022 and 2023 Determinations, applicable departmental policies, enterprise agreements once in place, and the NES or FW Act frameworks where relevant.

The Determination expressly interacts with other instruments and statutory regimes. The text provides specific rules and notes on its relationship with the NES, the APS Award, other determinations under the Public Service Act, and enterprise agreements under the Fair Work Act 2009.

Interaction with the National Employment Standards: Section 8(1) states this instrument has no effect to the extent that it would exclude the NES. That is an express non-derogation clause: statutory minimum entitlements in Part 2-2 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (described in the Definitions s4 as "NES") continue to apply even where the continued determinations or their modifications might otherwise have attempted to operate differently. The instrument therefore accepts the NES as a floor.

Interaction with the APS Award: Section 8(2) declares that while the Determination is in force, the APS Award does not apply to non-SES employees in the Department. The instrument includes a Note explaining that the effect of subsection 8(2) is that the instrument will interact with the APS Award in the same way as an enterprise agreement, citing s57 of the FW Act (s8 Note). Practically, the Determination removes APS Award application for covered employees and replaces award terms with the continued and modified determinations, subject to the NES floor.

Interaction with other PS Act determinations: Section 7(1) states that, to the extent possible, this instrument is to operate concurrently with any determination made under subsection 24(1) of the PS Act, including the 2022 and 2023 Determinations to the extent they remain in force after commencement. Section 7(2) clarifies the instrument does not prevent a s24(1) determination increasing salaries, allowances or other monetary entitlements provided under this instrument. That establishes a non-exclusionary relationship with other s24(1) determinations and preserves executive flexibility to increase monetary terms.

Relation to enterprise agreements under the FW Act: Section 5 provides that the instrument will cease to apply to a non-SES employee if an enterprise agreement under the FW Act that covers the employee commences operation. This creates a statutory priority rule: an enterprise agreement, once operative and covering the employee, displaces this Determination for that employee. The instrument’s Note in s5 acknowledges it may also be revoked or affected by further determinations under s24(3) of the PS Act.

Amendment and textual layering: Schedule 1 directly amends the 2022 Determination and the 2023 Determination by omission and substitution. The instrument therefore interacts with those prior instruments by continuing them and imposing Schedule 1 changes. Where the Schedule omits references to the APS Award or particular flex-time treatments in the antecedent text, those sections of the antecedent determinations no longer operate in relation to covered non-SES employees, but the NES remains.

No additional statutory references or tribunal powers: The Determination does not create new statutory powers beyond the authority conferred by s24(3) of the PS Act. It does not add references to other enforcement statutes nor create new tribunal jurisdictional hooks. Any disputes or enforcement related to NES entitlements or to enterprise agreements will proceed under the FW Act and its dispute resolution frameworks or the PS Act’s existing administrative mechanisms, but those are not elaborated in this text.

Note on external legal references: The instrument contains a Note referring to section 57 of the FW Act. The Determination itself does not reproduce FW Act provisions, and the Note should be read as an explanatory reference: it describes the intended interaction treatment with the APS Award but does not itself extend or limit external statutes beyond the explicit clauses in this instrument.

This Determination is itself an amending and continuing instrument for two antecedent Departmental determinations: the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations Determination 2022/2 (Non-SES employees) and the Public Service (Section 24(1),Department of Employment and Workplace Relations Non-SES Employees) Determination 2023/1. The instrument was made and dated 7 December 2023 on its face, and it commences the day after registration (s2; face page).

Mechanism of amendment and continuance: Section 6 operates as the primary continuity provision. It states that, "By force of this instrument, the 2022 Determination and the 2023 Determination continue to apply in relation to non-SES employees in the Department, subject to the modifications specified in Schedule 1 to this instrument." Schedule 1 then lists discrete modifications that amend, omit or substitute clauses in the 2022 and 2023 Determinations.

Schedule 1 amendments to the 2022 Determination: The Schedule makes multiple precise textual changes to the 2022 Determination. Key items include:

• Item 1: Omission of Clause 3.
• Item 2: Omission of Clause 4, which previously stated a no-effect-to-reduce-benefit provision regarding the NES and APS Award.
• Item 3: Omission of Annexure A subclause 30(b).
• Item 4: Omission of Annexure A Clause 33.
• Item 5: Omission of Annexure A Clause 52.
• Item 6: Partial omission in Annexure A Clause 83, removing a reference to payment for similar entitlements payable under the APS Award.
• Item 7: Omission of Annexure A Clause 92.
• Item 8: Omission and substitution of Annexure A Clauses 122, 123 and 124, replacing them with a new ordinary hours framework (150 hours per four-week period) and default bandwidth details.
• Items 9-14: Additional specific omissions and additions to Annexure A (including removal of references to additional time above 147 ordinary hours, changes to clause 133, clause 141 amendment, omission of clauses treating additional time in flex calculations, and deletion of part of the "Shiftworker" definition).

Schedule 1 amendments to the 2023 Determination: The Schedule also amends the 2023 Determination:

• Item 15: Adds a phrase to Section 5 at the end of the definition of 'DEWR Determination 2022/2 (Non-SES Employees)' to clarify that it continues to apply by force of this Determination 2023.
• Item 16: Omits Section 7.
• Item 17: Omits subsection 8(3).

Temporal operation and cessation: Section 5 provides that the instrument ceases to apply in relation to a non-SES employee if an enterprise agreement made under the FW Act that covers the employee commences operation. The s5 Note adds that the instrument may be revoked or have its operation affected by a further determination under subsection 24(3) of the PS Act. Those clauses set the amendment lifecycle and show the instrument is not permanently fixed: it can be superseded by enterprise bargaining outcomes or later ministerial determinations.

No earlier amendment chronology in the instrument: The text of the Determination itself does not provide a history of prior amendments to the 2022 or 2023 Determinations beyond the Schedule’s current cumulative changes. The instrument does not cite past ministerial determinations or their dates other than the defined references to the 2022 and 2023 Determinations as in force immediately before commencement.

Practical implication of the amendment method: The technique of continuing earlier determinations by force while listing specific deletions and substitutions concentrates change in the Schedule and leaves unaffected text of the antecedent determinations in place. Practitioners should therefore consult the original 2022 and 2023 Determinations together with Schedule 1 to construct the operative terms for non-SES Department employees.

The text of this Determination contains no references to case law, tribunal decisions, previous litigation, or judicial review outcomes. It names no court decisions and cites no litigation or dispute outcomes relevant to its operation. The instrument therefore presents no internal litigation history and does not summarise prior disputes about the antecedent determinations.

Consequences for legal research and dispute handling: Because the Determination itself does not have a litigation history section or citations to cases, practitioners must look outside the Determination for any judicial interpretations of the 2022 or 2023 Determinations, or for decisions bearing on the interaction of ministerial determinations under the PS Act with the FW Act and the NES. However, such external searching is beyond the scope of this instrument’s text, which provides only the statutory and textual modifications enacted by the Minister.

Implication of absence of litigated interpretation: The absence of cited cases in the text means there is no binding or persuasive judicial guidance contained in the Determination document itself about how its clauses are to be interpreted. Any ambiguity in the continued or modified clauses would therefore be resolved through standard interpretive routes, including reference to the Public Service Act 1999, the FW Act, and possibly disputes under the FW Act or administrative law review, none of which are discussed in the Determination.

Record of ministerial action: The instrument records ministerial action and a date (7 December 2023) which may be relevant evidence of timing for any administrative law challenge, but the Determination does not discuss grounds for review or historical contestation. The Determination’s silence on litigation means that, for litigation history purposes, the text provides no primary material beyond the instrument itself.

This instrument contains a number of specific textual changes and structural features that can create operational or legal pitfalls if unrecognised. These "gotchas" are concrete consequences of particular clauses, omissions or cross-references in the text; they do not rely on external law being applied but rather arise from the instrument’s mechanics.

1. Per-employee cessation on enterprise agreement commencement (s5): Coverage for each employee ends when an enterprise agreement that covers them commences operation. This creates staggered applicability across a workforce. Employers and payroll must identify and track which employees are covered by the Determination at any point and which have been transitioned to an enterprise agreement. Failure to track could produce inconsistent application of pay, hours and entitlements.

2. APS Award displacement (s8(2)): While in force, the APS Award does not apply to non-SES Department employees. The instrument’s Schedule also removes clauses in the 2022 Determination that had preserved or referenced APS Award benefits (Schedule 1 items 2, 6, 14). Practitioners should not assume APS Award terms remain available to treated employees while the Determination applies.

3. NES non-derogation remains (s8(1)): Although the APS Award is displaced, the instrument explicitly preserves NES entitlements. Any attempt to rely on the modified determinations to reduce NES protections will contravene s8(1). That creates a compliance boundary: modifications can alter Award-based benefits but cannot displace the NES.

4. Ordinary hours increase to 150 hours per four-week period (Schedule 1 item 8): The substitution in Annexure A increases standard ordinary hours to 150 hours per four-week settlement period, equivalent to 7.5 hours per day. This is an operational change from prior clause wording (which referred to 147 hours plus additional time in earlier text). Employers must reconcile payroll, leave accruals and flex accounting systems with the new baseline.

5. Removal of "additional time" treatments (Schedule 1 items 9-13): Clauses that explicitly treated extra time above a 147-hour baseline for the purposes of flex credits, flex debits and flex leave are omitted. If departmental systems or employee contracts relied on those precise flex accounting rules, administrators must update policy and systems to reflect the deletions. Legacy records predicated on the old accounting may not map directly to the new ordinary hours framework.

6. Default bandwidth 7:00 am to 7:00 pm (Schedule 1 item 8): The default operational span for non-shiftworkers is now broad. Departments should be clear whether rostering within this 12-hour bandwidth will be routine and how it interacts with existing workplace health and safety or family responsibilities considerations. The instrument permits a differing 12-hour period only by written agreement between the employee and manager; thus unilateral roster imposition remains constrained by the prior determinations and general employment law obligations even though the Determination sets a default.

7. Managerial agreement must be in writing for bandwidth changes (Schedule 1 item 8): Changes to the span require written agreement between the employee and manager. Failure to document bandwidth variations could create disputes as to what hours the employee agreed to work.

8. Shiftworker definition narrowed (Schedule 1 item 14): The definition of "Shiftworker" is amended to remove employees who chose to work ordinary hours between 6:00 pm and 7:00 pm. That may change pay or rostering entitlements for employees who previously elected that hour; agencies must audit classifications to ensure affected staff are re-categorised appropriately.

9. The instrument contains no penalty clauses (Penalties and enforcement section above): There are no express penalties in this Determination. Enforcement and disputes will rely on other statutory or contractual pathways, which should be considered when designing compliance and grievance processes.

10. Layered text risk (s6; Schedule 1): Because the Determination continues prior texts with deletions and substitutions, operational readers must assemble the operative conditions by reading the antecedent determinations together with this instrument. Missing a deleted clause or misreading substitutions may lead to incorrect application of entitlements.

11. Omission of Clause 4 from 2022 Determination (Schedule 1 item 2): Clause 4 (as it stood in 2022) had stated the Determination was of no effect to the extent it reduced benefit to an Employee under NES or APS Award. Removing this clause, while s8(1) of the current Determination preserves NES, means any residual protective language specifically referencing the APS Award in the 2022 Determination is gone. Practitioners should not rely on the ±wording of the former protective clause.

12. Interaction with s24(1) determinations (s7): The instrument is to operate concurrently with other s24(1) determinations to the extent possible, and it does not prevent a s24(1) determination from increasing monetary entitlements (s7(1)-(2)). That means subsequent determinations may layer further monetary changes on top of this Determination; tracking these is a practical necessity.

Practical compliance with this Determination requires accurate textual assembly of the operative terms, payroll and rostering adjustments, documentation of managerial agreements, and policy updates to reflect deleted clauses and the new ordinary hours and bandwidth arrangements. The following step-by-step checklist is grounded in the Determination’s operative clauses.

1. Assemble the operative text: Combine the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations Determination 2022/2 and the Public Service (Section 24(1),DEWR Non-SES Employees) Determination 2023/1 as they stood immediately before this instrument, then apply the Schedule 1 deletions and substitutions listed in this Determination (s6; Schedule 1). Confirm that Clause 3 and Clause 4 are omitted from the 2022 Determination (Schedule 1 items 1-2) and that other specified clauses are removed or edited.

2. Update employee coverage records: For each non-SES employee, record whether they remain covered by this Determination or have become covered by an enterprise agreement under the FW Act. Section 5 mandates that the instrument ceases to apply to an individual once an enterprise agreement that covers them commences operation (s5). Create an individualised coverage register linked to enterprise agreement commencement dates.

3. Revise ordinary hours and payroll settings: Apply the new ordinary hours baseline for full-time employees: 150 hours per four-week settlement period (equivalent to 7 hours 30 minutes per day) as substituted in Annexure A clause 122 (Schedule 1 item 8). Adjust payroll, leave accrual and overtime algorithms to reflect the 150-hour baseline rather than prior calculations that referenced 147 hours plus additional time.

4. Reconfigure rostering bandwidths: Set the default span for non-shiftworkers to 7:00 am to 7:00 pm, Monday to Friday (Schedule 1 item 8). Where a different 12-hour bandwidth is desired, obtain a written agreement between the employee and the employee's manager; maintain that written record in employee files (Schedule 1 item 8). Build rostering and time-and-attendance systems to recognise the default and to attach manager-consented bandwidths to individual profiles.

5. Review flex arrangements and remove legacy treatments: Several clauses dealing with "additional time" and its treatment in flex credits, flex debits and flex leave have been omitted (Schedule 1 items 9-13). Audit flex-time policies and systems to identify where legacy references to clause 122(b) or similar may remain, and update the policy text and system calculations to align with the substituted clauses.

6. Reclassify shiftworkers where needed: The definition of Shiftworker was amended to omit employees who chose to work between 6:00 pm and 7:00 pm (Schedule 1 item 14). Review employee classifications and pay rates to determine whether any staff fall out of or into shiftworker status as a result of the deletion, and adjust entitlements and rosters accordingly.

7. Communicate changes and obtain written agreements: Where bandwidth changes are proposed, secure written agreements with employees and place signed agreements in personnel records (Schedule 1 item 8). Communicate the changes to ordinary hours, the shiftworker definition adjustments and the APS Award displacement (s8(2)) to affected employees and their representatives.

8. Ensure NES compliance: Despite changes and APS Award displacement, ensure NES entitlements remain fully honoured (s8(1)). Update policies and compliance checks to ensure no modified term attempts to reduce a statutory NES entitlement.

9. Track subsequent determinations and enterprise agreements: Monitor for any further s24(1) or s24(3) determinations that affect monetary entitlements or operational terms (s7; s5 Note). Maintain a process to update employee entitlements and payroll when such determinations or enterprise agreements commence.

10. Document managerial decisions and administrative processes: The Determination places managerial agreement at the centre of bandwidth variations and requires written consent (Schedule 1 item 8). Create or adapt forms, approval workflows and filing protocols to ensure compliance with the documentary requirement and to provide audit trails.

11. Coordinate industrial relations and bargaining teams: Because coverage ends on the commencement of an enterprise agreement (s5), coordinate with bargaining teams and employee representatives to understand which employees are likely to transition, and ensure transition processes for entitlements, pay and rostering are in place.

12. Review departmental policies and templates: Amend employment contracts, staff handbooks and rostering policy templates to remove references to omitted clauses (for example, Clause 4 of the 2022 Determination and other Annexure A clauses removed by Schedule 1) and to reflect the substituted ordinary hours and bandwidth provisions.

13. Audit legacy payroll and leave records: Since amendments alter the basis for ordinary hours and flex treatment, conduct an audit of past flex balances and payroll calculations to identify discrepancies that require correction or explanation to employees. Develop a remediation plan where prior balances were calculated under the now-omitted clauses.

14. Legal and compliance check: Although the Determination contains no penalties, have legal or industrial relations counsel review the assembled operative instrument and proposed administrative changes to ensure that they align with NES obligations and that the Department is prepared for disputes or questions arising from deleted or modified clauses.

Following these steps will align Departmental operational practices with the text of the Determination, ensure documentary compliance where manager-employee agreements are required, preserve NES rights, and facilitate smooth transition for employees moving onto enterprise agreements.