Role, function and structure

The office of the Merit Protection Commissioner, established under section 49 of the Public Service Act 1999 (the Act), is an independent office located with the Australian Public Service Commission.

The Merit Protection Commissioner helps agencies meet the requirements of the APS Values and Code of Conduct through administering the statutory review of actions scheme and performing other statutory functions.

Function

The Merit Protection Commissioner’s functions are set out in section 50 of the Public Service Act and include:

inquiring into reports alleging breaches of the APS Code of Conduct made to the Merit Protection Commissioner, or to a person authorised by the Merit Protection Commissioner (whistleblowing reports)
inquiring into alleged breaches of the Code of Conduct by the Public Service Commissioner and reporting to the Presiding Officers on the results of such inquiries including, where relevant, recommendations for sanctions
inquiring into an APS action, at the request of the Public Service Minister, and to report to the Public Service Minister on the results of the inquiry
such functions as are prescribed by regulations made for the purposes of section 33 (review of actions, including review of certain promotion decisions)
such other functions as are prescribed by the regulations.

In relation to paragraph (e) above, the Public Service Regulations enable the Merit Protection Commissioner to:

establish Independent Selection Advisory Committees to make recommendations to an agency head about the suitability of candidates for engagement, promotion or assignment to duties included in APS Classification Groups 1–6
perform employment-related functions where the Merit Protection Commissioner is not required by a law of the Commonwealth to perform the function
review an action of a statutory office holder who is not an agency head that affects an APS employee in their employment
investigate complaints by former APS employees concerning separation entitlements.

The Merit Protection Commissioner charges a fee for establishing Independent Selection Advisory Committees and for performing employment-related functions.

Organisational structure

In accordance with section 49 of the Act, the staff necessary to assist the Merit Protection Commissioner are made available by the Public Service Commissioner. They are accountable to the Merit Protection Commissioner for the functions they perform on behalf of the Merit Protection Commissioner.

The staff involved are members of the Commission’s Regional Services Group who are located in the Commission’s six regional offices and comprise both ongoing and non-ongoing employees. Each regional office maintains a register of appropriately trained and qualified people who are available, as required, for non-ongoing employment. This is in addition to a separate register of APS employees approved to act as members of Promotion Review Committees (PRCs) and Independent Selection Advisory Committees (ISACs).

Applications for review are generally lodged and dealt with in the office of the state or territory in which the applicant resides. In addition, the Victorian office deals with cases arising in Tasmania and the South Australian office deals with cases arising in the Northern Territory. With support from other offices as needed, the Australian Capital Territory office also provides coordination and policy support for the Merit Protection Commissioner.

A new strategy to support the focus on improvement of quality has been implemented in July 2007. A dedicated review team, drawing on regional office employees with the appropriate skills and capabilities, has been established to manage the casework. There will be an emphasis on further development of these employees and developing appropriate resources to assist them in performing their roles.

This report and further information about the Merit Protection Commissioner’s role and services are available on the Commission’s web site at: : http://www.apsc.gov.au/merit/.