ACTPS Employment Framework

ACTPS Enterprise Agreements

The ACT Public Sector (ACTPS) enterprise agreements are made under the Fair Work Act 2009 (FW Act) and provide the majority of the terms and conditions of employment for all employees in the ACTPS. ACTPS enterprise agreements consist of common terms that apply to all employees in the ACTPS and other terms that typically apply to particular groups of employees or a particular agency.

Awards

The Awards are limited to providing minimum terms and conditions of employment and form part of the ‘safety net’ under the FW Act. When ACTPS enterprise agreements are approved by the Fair Work Commission they must pass the ‘Better of Overall Test’ under the FW Act which checks that enterprise agreement terms compare favourably against minimum standards in awards.

Fair Work Act 2009 and other relevant Commonwealth legislation

The terms and conditions of employment of all ACT Public Sector employees are also regulated by relevant Commonwealth legislation. For example, the FW Act regulates workplace relations arrangements in the National System which includes provisions relating to enterprise agreements, awards, the National Employment Standards and processes relating to industrial disputation.

Public Sector Management Act 1994 and Public Sector Management Standards 2016

The Public Sector  Management Act 1994 (the PSM Act) provides the legislative framework for sector-wide employment conditions, including the ACTPS values. All ACTPS employees are employed under the PSM Act. The PSM Act is supported by the Public Sector Management Standards (subordinate law) which are made by the Commissioner for Public Administration.

Relevant ACT legislation

The terms and conditions of employment of all ACT Public Sector employees are also regulated by relevant ACT legislation; for example, the Work Health and Safety Act 2011.

ACTPS Policy and relevant guidance material

Policies and related guidance material are created to further support employment arrangements which are provided in ACTPS enterprise agreements and relevant legislation.

Note: Commonwealth legislation prevails over ACT legislation to the extent of any inconsistency. This equally applies to industrial instruments made under Commonwealth law, for example, enterprise agreements and awards.  As such there is an authoritative hierarchy that applies to the ACTPS Employment Framework which is reflected above.