Summary of common conditions

Parental leave is paid leave that you can take if you:

• give birth
• your partner gives birth
• adopt a child under the age of 16
• become a long term foster care for a child.

• The paid leave entitlements are available to both primary and secondary caregivers up to 24 months after your baby is born or your child is placed with you. This opens up this leave entitlement to parents who have had a baby or become an adoptive or foster parent in the last 2 years.
• Primary caregivers can get 18 weeks paid leave and the ability to take it at half pay.
• Secondary carers can get 8 weeks paid parental leave from the start of the enterprise agreements for secondary caregivers. This will rise in increments:
  • March 2025: 11 weeks
  • March 2026: 14 weeks
  • February 2027: 18 weeks
• Where a parent has already had some parental leave, their leave will be ‘topped up’ to these amounts.
• Paid premature birth leave is available from the date of birth to what would have been 37 weeks gestation.
• A secondary caregiver who has lost their child through stillbirth can access 2 weeks paid leave. A pregnant employee who experiences stillbirth retains access to full parental leave.
• Parents can access one week paid pregnancy loss leave if they lose a child from 12 to 19 weeks’ gestation.
• qualifying periods for paid parental leave.

• Your agency will genuinely consider your flexible work requests and approve these where possible.
• Flexibility applies to all roles in the agency, and different types of flexible working arrangements may be suitable for different types of roles or circumstances. This could include job sharing or part-time work for example.
• There are no caps on the number of days you can request to work from home and your agency will consider your request based on its merits and business requirements.
• Consideration must be given to connection to country and cultural obligations when reviewing First Nations flexible work requests and change of location requests.
• While it is not the agency’s responsibility to set up your home office, agencies may provide equipment or reimbursement of costs associated with working from home arrangements.

• are sick or injured
• manage a chronic illness
• care or support a family or household member who is:
  • sick or injured
  • dealing with an unexpected emergency

• You’ll get at least 18 days personal/carers leave across the service. If you currently have access to more days you’ll keep them.
• You have locked in rights to use personal/carers leave for preventative health appointments such as going to the dentist.
• You may be asked to provide evidence after you take 3 days in a row of personal/carers leave, or
• after 8 days per year. Your agency may have more relaxed evidence requirements and can keep these.
• Evidence can include a medical certificate, statutory declaration or other evidence approved by your agency.
• If you have, or care for someone with a chronic illness, you can provide a medical certificate to cover up to 12 months.
• By the end of the enterprise agreement, personal/carers leave will accrue daily across the service with protections in place to ensure no employee is disadvantaged.

• Employees experiencing family and domestic violence will get support during this time, based on their individual circumstances.
• Employees can access paid leave as needed for their circumstances, recognising other support will be provided as appropriate. This includes a commitment to protect your privacy.

• If you work at a higher classification for 2 or more weeks, you will get paid at the higher classification rate.
• You’ll still get paid higher duties if it is part of a job sharing arrangement for 2 or more weeks.
• You’ll progress through your salary band in your acting and normal role if you meet all requirements.
• If you have a lower higher duties qualifying period, you’ll keep it.

• If you are engaged on a full-time basis, you can’t be compelled to work part-time.
• If you are engaged on a part-time basis, you can’t be compelled to work full-time.
• The flexible working arrangements clause continues to apply to you.

• It is important to balance your work and personal life.
• At times you may need to work some extra hours, but this is an exception rather than the rule.
• Your agency will need to consider workloads and strike a balance between work and personal life.
• If you or a group raise significant workload pressure over a prolonged period of time, you and your agency must review your workloads and priorities. Strategies to manage this impact will be developed through consultation.
• The APSC may provide guidance to help agencies implement this clause.

• To move up a salary increment, you’ll need to:
  • meet satisfactory performance measures
  • work at least 6 months of service at your level during the performance management cycle.
• You’ll progress through your salary increments in your acting and normal role if you meet all requirements.
• You’ll progress through your salary increments:
  • During paid and unpaid parental leave for 1 increment
  • working in a non-ongoing role.

• If you need to give evidence before a court, tribunal or royal commission on behalf of the Commonwealthor or in relation to your duties, you will be paid for this time.

• First Nations employees can access 6 days leave over 2 years for ceremonial or cultural purposes.
• First Nations employees can access 1 day NAIDOC leave. This can be taken as part days.
• Cultural competence training will be mandatory to hold all EL2 positions.
• Community Language Allowances of $26.53 per week if you are required to use a First Nations language in your role. If you use language for higher level skills such interpreting, you can get more.
• If you have a higher Community Language Allowance, you can keep it.

• Your agency may approve up to 3 days paid cultural leave per year for essential religious or cultural obligations.

• Public holidays as listed in the National Employment Standards - external site
• If you currently get the APS holiday, you can keep it.
• You can swap days on cultural or religious grounds on agreement with your manager.
• You can swap it for other reasons on agreement with your manager.
• You’ll get any other public holidays recognised by your usual location of work.

• You’ll get 20 days paid annual leave per year of service. If you get more annual leave you will keep it.
• You may take annual leave at half pay, if you don’t have an excessive leave balance.
• If your leave is cancelled or you are asked to come back to work while you are on leave, you’ll be reimbursed travel costs.
• You get your annual leave paid out if you leave the APS.

This sets procedures to settle a dispute that relations to:

• a matter under the enterprise agreement
• the National Employment Standards.

• You or your union can start or be part of a dispute.
• You can appoint a representative and they will be dealt with in good faith.
• You’ll need to try and resolve a dispute at the workplace level through discussions. Both parties must give genuine consideration to proposals to resolve the dispute.
• If you can’t resolve it, you can refer your dispute to the Fair Work Commission.

• Your agency understands the importance of procedural fairness to build and maintain trust and it requires fair and impartial processes for employees impacted by service-wide or agency decisions.
• You’re encouraged to give frank, honest, timely advice based on the best available evidence. This extends to scientific and engineering advice.
• You won’t be discriminated against because you have given advice in line with your expertise.
• You can access an APS-wide ethics advisory service or something similar
• You’ll need to attend agency mandated training.
• The APSC will develop guidance on effective decision making and record keeping.

• You’ll get full pay for the period required, without the need to apply for extra leave.
• You’ll need to inform your manager in advance and provide evidence.
• You’ll need to repay any payment you get from the court, apart from money for expenses.

• The agency must tell you in writing if they overpaid you.
• If you want to dispute it, you need to tell the agency in 28 days.
• If it’s verified, you’ll need to repay it.
• You can discuss repayment arrangements with the agency and the agency must consider your circumstances.
• No interest will be charged.

• You need to give at least 14 days’ notice.
• If the Agency requests you not work out the remainder of your notice period, you will get paid compensation for the notice period you don’t work.
• You can reach agreement with the agency for a shorter notice period.

• It includes reasonable travel time.
• You will be considered on duty.
• You need to inform your manager when you’ll be away from work.

• You’ll be offered annual influenza vaccinations at no cost.
• If your agency requires you to have other vaccinations, you’ll be offered this at no cost.

• You, your spouse or partner, and dependents or children will have access to the EAP.
• When agencies contract EAP providers they will regard the diversity of their employees and location of workers.

• The minimum period you can take long service leave is 7 calendar days, at half or full pay.
• Requirements are in line with the Long Service Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Act 1976.

• If you move to a different APS agency, your annual and personal carers leave will go with you.
• If you move from a Parliamentary Services role or the ACT public service to an APS agency your annual and personal carers leave will come with you.
• An agency may recognise your personal carer’s leave from a non-APS agency, state or territory government on engagement.

You can take compassionate leave if an immediate family member, member of your household, or someone you have a close personal relationship with:

• develops a life threatening illness or injury
• you or your spouse lose a child through miscarriage.

• You’ll get 3 days paid compassionate leave on each occasion.
• This is on top of the above changes to parental leave.

Bereavement leave is available if:

• you, a member of your immediate family or household lose a child through stillbirth
• a member of your immediate family, household or someone you have a close personal relationship with, dies.

• You’ll get 3 days paid bereavement leave on each occasion.
• This is on top of the above changes to parental leave.

If you engage in eligible community service activities you will get leave to volunteer in emergency management duties.

Eligible community service activities is per section 108 of the Fair Work Act 2009.

• You get up to 20 days paid leave to participate in the activity, reasonable travel time and reasonable recovery time.
• Your agency may approve more paid leave.
• Your agency may refuse paid leave if you’re essential to the emergency response in your agency.
• You may get reasonable paid or unpaid leave for ceremonial duties or training.

• The clause makes sure your NES entitlements are maintained.

• Agencies recognise that preventing sexual harassment, sex discrimination, sex-based harassment and victimisation in the workplace is a priority.
• Agencies recognise that approaches to prevent sexual harassment, sex-discrimination, sex-based harassment and victimisation in the workplace should be holistic and consistent with Australian Human Rights Commission guidance.
• Agencies will need to consult with you to develop, review, and evaluate approaches to prevent sexual harassment, sex discrimination, sex-based harassment, and victimisation in the workplace.

• In an official emergency or natural disaster, your agency may support you through:
• • flexible working arrangements
  • paid miscellaneous leave.

• You’ll get 9 weeks defence service sick leave where the Department of Veterans’ Affairs has certified you have a medical condition is a result of operational service.
• You’ll also get an annual 3 weeks credit built up to a maximum of 9 weeks.
• If you have more generous entitlements, you can keep it.

• You’ll get 4 weeks paid defence reservist leave per financial year.
• You’ll get an extra 2 weeks for first year of ADF Reserve service.
• Officers and instructors of cadets can also get 3 weeks paid leave each year.
• If you have more, you can keep it.