Division 5A Special temporary employees

38B   Meaning of “political office holder”

In this Division:

political office holder means:

(a)  a Minister, or

(b)  a Parliamentary Secretary, or

(c)  the Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly.

38C   Employment of special temporary employees

(1)  The Director-General of the Premier’s Department may, if of the opinion that it is necessary to do so, employ temporarily a person who has appropriate qualifications to carry out work for a political office holder.

(2)  Persons employed under this section are special temporary employees.

(3)  The instrument of employment of a special temporary employee must specify the name of the political office holder concerned.

(4)  This section does not prevent the appointment or employment of staff to or in an office of a political office holder in any other manner.

38D   Period of employment of special temporary employees

(1)  A person may be employed as a special temporary employee for an indefinite term or for a term specified in the instrument of employment.

(2)  However, the employment of a special temporary employee terminates:

(a)  if the political office holder concerned dies, or

(b)  if the political office holder concerned ceases to hold the office by reason of which he or she was a political office holder (even if he or she immediately or subsequently becomes a political office holder after ceasing to hold that office), or

(c)  on the day appointed for the taking of the poll for the next general election, or

(d)  if the employee resigns by letter addressed to the Director-General of the Premier’s Department, or

(e)  if the services of the employee are dispensed with.

(3)  The Director-General of the Premier’s Department may direct in a particular case that the employment of a special temporary employee that would otherwise terminate because of the operation of subsection (2) (a), (b) or (c) does not terminate.

(4)  The Director-General of the Premier’s Department may dispense with the services of a special temporary employee at any time.

38E   Industrial arbitration or legal proceedings excluded

(1)  In this section, a reference to the employment of a special temporary employee is a reference to:

(a)  the employment of, or failure to employ, a person as a special temporary employee, or

(b)  dispensing with the services of, or other termination of the employment of, a special temporary employee, or

(c)  any disciplinary proceedings or disciplinary action taken against a special temporary employee, or

(d)  the remuneration or conditions of employment of a special temporary employee.

(2)  The employment of a special temporary employee, or any matter, question or dispute relating to any such employment, is not an industrial matter for the purposes of the Industrial Relations Act 1996. This subsection applies whether or not any person has been appointed to a vacant position of special temporary employee.

(3)  Part 6 (Unfair dismissals) of Chapter 2 of the Industrial Relations Act 1996 does not apply to the employment of a special temporary employee.

(4)  Any State industrial instrument (whether made before or after the commencement of this section) does not have effect in so far as it relates to the employment of special temporary employees.

(5)  Subsection (4) does not prevent the regulations or other statutory instruments under this Act from applying the provisions of a State industrial instrument to the employment of a special temporary employee.

(6)  This section does not affect the operation of any determination under section 63 or agreement under section 64, in its application to special temporary employees.

(7)  An appeal does not lie to the Tribunal in relation to the employment of a special temporary employee.

(8)  No proceedings for an order in the nature of prohibition, certiorari or mandamus or for a declaration or injunction or for any other relief, lie in respect of the employment of or failure to employ a person as a special temporary employee, the entitlement or non-entitlement of a person to be so employed or the validity or invalidity of any such employment.

38F   Delegation by Director-General

(1)  The Director-General of the Premier’s Department may delegate any function of the Director-General under this Division (other than this power of delegation) to any other Department Head.

(2)  The power of delegation conferred by this section is in addition to and does not limit the power conferred by section 12 (Delegation by Department Head).

38G   Status of special temporary employees

(1)  All special temporary employees are taken to constitute a branch of the Premier’s Department, except any who are employed by a Department Head as delegate of the Director-General of the Premier’s Department.

(2)  Special temporary employees employed by a Department Head as delegate of the Director-General of the Premier’s Department are taken to constitute a branch of the Department concerned.

(3)  Accordingly, the Director-General of the Premier’s Department has the functions of Department Head in relation to those special temporary employees who constitute a branch of the Premier’s Department, and the relevant Department Head has the functions of Department Head in relation to those special temporary employees who constitute a branch of the Department concerned.

38H   Regulations

The employment of a person under this Division is subject to the regulations (if any) concerning the employment of special temporary employees.