Circular 2024/03: Commencement of amendments to the Australian Public Service Commissioner’s Directions 2022

Purpose

1. The purpose of this Circular is to inform agencies that the Australian Public Service Commissioner’s Directions 2022 (the Directions) have been amended. 
2. These amendments will position the APS workforce for the future by providing additional flexibility for agencies in undertaking recruitment processes and supporting fair access to secure work. These amendments also support the introduction of the new APS value Stewardship.
3. The amendments to the Directions are:

Stewardship

4. The Directions have been amended to set out the standards and outcomes that are required of APS employees and Agency Heads to uphold the new Value of Stewardship in accordance with the Value statement being included through recent amendments at section 10(6) of the PS Act. 
5. The APS Values are enforceable under the PS Act through the APS Code of Conduct (section 13(11)). 
6. The proposed scope and application requirements in the Directions are intended to be clear and consistent with the Value statement, and provide sufficient detail to enable APS employees, managers, HR practitioners and Agency Heads to understand the expectations for upholding and demonstrating the Value, commensurate with an individual’s role and responsibilities.

Amendments relating to casual employees

7. To ensure all casual employees in the APS have the opportunity to access the employee choice provisions in the FW Act, amendments have been made to the Directions.
8. The amendments to the Directions relating to casual employees:
   • recognise that merit is a fundamental principle of the APS, while also
   • supporting the APS to be a model employer.
9. The Directions’ amendments include provisions that require an Agency to complete a merit-based selection process in certain circumstances where an employee submits an employee choice notification and otherwise meets the criteria to convert to permanent employment.
10. Agencies will not be required to undertake a recruitment process or accept the employee choice notification where a casual employee submits an employee choice notification but has been found unsuitable for the same or a similar vacancy in the preceding 6 months. 
11. Agencies that engage a large number of casual employees are encouraged to consider the work conducted in their agencies more holistically, using workforce planning to strategically consider the future needs across the entire agency. In addition, agencies should consider conducting regular recruitment processes to provide casual employees with an opportunity to be assessed through a merit-based recruitment process. 
12. These amendments will commence on the 26 August 2024 to align with the introduction of the employee choice provisions in the FW Act.
13. It is the Commission’s expectation that agencies’ employment practices are consistent with the Government’s intention to facilitate more secure work and position the APS as a model employer.

Removal of similar location from similar vacancy definition

14. To ensure flexibility in the use of merit lists/pools, reduce inefficiencies and provide candidates with greater transparency on the location of vacancies, the Directions have been amended to remove similar location from the definition of similar vacancy.
15. From 1 November 2024, when advertising a role, agencies will be required to specify where the vacancy being advertised is located, whether remote working arrangements will be considered and how the merit list/pool will be used in the future. 
16. The other criteria in the definition of similar vacancy will still apply, including being for the same category of employment – (ongoing and non-ongoing), similar work-related qualities, same classification and agreement that the vacancies are similar.
17. These changes are designed to clarify the intent of the provisions and ensure integrity of APS recruitment. 

Clarification to definition of promotion

18. The amendments to the Directions in section 6(2) are intended to clarify that:
    • where the allocation of a higher classification within a broadband is the result of a merit-based selection process that was notified in the Public Service Gazette, the allocation to a higher classification is a promotion.
    • a movement out of the training classification is only excluded from the definition of promotion where the movement is to the applicable operational classification in column 3 of schedule 2 of the classification rules.
19. These amendments do not impact movements through the broadband in accordance with an agency’s enterprise agreement or broadbanding policy where this movement is not as a result of a gazetted external merit-based selection process.
20. These amendments do not impact a trainee’s movement from a training classification to a corresponding operational classification where the trainee has completed all requirements of the training program.

What should agencies do next?

21. Agencies should review and update internal policies, procedures and agency delegations instruments to ensure that they appropriately reflect any changes in the Directions.
22. Agencies should consider how to incorporate the changes to casual conversion into their recruitment processes.

Further information

23. The Commission is developing new guidance to support the amendments to the Directions, including guidance on:
    • the new Value of Stewardship, to be available on or before 11 December 2024
    • casual employment, to be available on or before 26 August 2024
    • advertising vacancies and sharing merit lists, to be available on or before 1 November 2024.
24. The guidance will be published on the Commission’s Website as soon as it is available. 
25. The Fair Work Ombudsman has published information about the Casual employment changes and further information is also available on the DEWR website. 
26. Agencies seeking further information can contact:
    1. the Integrity and Ethics Team at ethics@apsc.gov.au for information on Stewardship
    2. the Employment Policy Team at employmentpolicy@apsc.gov.au for information on the other changes in the Directions amendment.