Part 6.3 Public Service industrial relations functions

129   Role of the Director-General in industrial proceedings

(1988 Act, s 62)

The Director-General is, for the purposes of any proceedings relating to officers, temporary employees or casual employees held before a competent tribunal having jurisdiction to deal with industrial matters, taken to be the employer of the staff of the Public Service.

130   Director-General may determine employment conditions

(1988 Act, s 63)

(1)  The Director-General may from time to time make determinations fixing the conditions and benefits of employment of officers, temporary employees or casual employees (or any group or class of officers, temporary employees or casual employees) and their salary, wages and other remuneration. Such a determination can provide for redundancy and severance payments and for remuneration packaging.

(2)  The conditions, benefits, salary, wages and other remuneration of an officer, temporary employee or casual employee is, except in so far as provision is otherwise made by law, such as may be fixed by a determination made under this section.

(3)  This section does not prevent the appropriate Department Head from determining conditions of employment of officers, temporary employees and casual employees under section 14 or under any other law. However, a determination by the Director-General under this section prevails to the extent of any inconsistency with a determination of a Department Head, unless the Director-General approves of the Department Head’s determination.

(4)  An officer, temporary employee or casual employee may sue for and recover the amount of remuneration of the officer or employee that is determined under this section. For that purpose, the determination is taken to be a State industrial instrument.

(5)  This section does not apply in relation to remuneration or allowances fixed under Part 3.1 or under the Statutory and Other Offices Remuneration Act 1975.

131   Director-General may enter into agreements

(1988 Act, s 64)

(1)  The Director-General may enter into an agreement with any association or organisation representing a group or class of officers, temporary employees or casual employees with respect to industrial matters.

(2)  Any such agreement binds all officers, temporary employees and casual employees in the class or group affected by the agreement, and no such officer or employee (whether a member of the association or organisation with which the agreement was entered into or not) has any right of appeal against the terms of the agreement.

(3)  This section does not apply in relation to remuneration or allowances fixed under Part 3.1 or under the Statutory and Other Offices Remuneration Act 1975.

(4)  An agreement under this section is not an enterprise agreement within the meaning of the Industrial Relations Act 1996. However, the Director-General (or any delegate of the Director-General) may enter into such an enterprise agreement as the employer of the officers, temporary employees or casual employees concerned.

132   Authorised officer may enter Department’s premises etc

(1)  An authorised officer may:

(a)  enter the premises of any Department, and

(b)  require the production of and examine any documents in the custody of any member of the staff of any Department, and

(c)  require any member of the staff of any Department to answer questions,

      for the purposes of enabling the Director-General to exercise the Director-General’s functions under this Part.

(2)  In this section:

authorised officer means:

(a)  the Director-General, or

(b)  any member of staff of a Department who is appointed by the Director-General as an authorised officer for the purposes of this section.