Public Sector Employment Legislation Amendment Bill 2006

Public Sector Employment Legislation
Amendment Bill 2006

Explanatory note
This explanatory note relates to this Bill as introduced into Parliament.
This Bill is cognate with the Industrial Relations Amendment Bill 2006.

Overview of Bill
The principal object of this Bill is to change the basis on which certain public sector
staff (including staff in the public health system) are employed. In particular, the Bill:
(a) removes the employment functions of certain statutory corporations that
currently employ their own staff (such as the RTA, STA and the TAFE
Commission) and provides instead for the staff to be employed by the
Government of New South Wales in the service of the Crown, and
(b) creates the Government Service of New South Wales (which will also include
the Public Service) to facilitate the employment of staff in the public sector,
and
(c) provides for the employment of staff in Divisions of the Government Service
(which will include Public Service Departments whose staff will continue to
be employed subject to Chapter 2 of the Public Sector Employment and
Management Act 2002 (the PSE&M Act) as well as other Divisions in which
staff will be employed to enable statutory corporations to exercise their
functions), and
(d) removes the employment functions of public health organisations (such as
area health services) that currently employ staff in the public health system
and the employment-related functions of the Health Administration
Corporation, and provides instead for that staff to be employed in the NSW
Health Service (as created by the Health Services Act 1997) by the
Government of New South Wales in the service of the Crown, and
(e) abolishes the Ambulance Service as a statutory corporation and provides
instead for its functions to be exercised by the Director-General of the
Department of Health and for its staff to be employed in the Ambulance
Service of NSW as part of the NSW Health Service, and
(f) makes a number of other miscellaneous and consequential amendments to the
PSE&M Act, the Health Services Act 1997, the Health Administration Act
1982 and a number of other Acts in connection with the employment of staff
in the public sector and the public health system.
Outline of provisions
Clause 1 sets out the name (also called the short title) of the proposed Act.
Clause 2 provides for the commencement of the proposed Act on a day or days to be
appointed by proclamation.
Clause 3 is a formal provision that gives effect to the amendments to the Public
Sector Employment and Management Act 2002 set out in Schedule 1.
Clause 4 is a formal provision that gives effect to the amendments to the Health
Services Act 1997 set out in Schedule 2.
Clause 5 is a formal provision that gives effect to the amendments to the Health
Administration Act 1982 set out in Schedule 3.
Clause 6 is a formal provision that gives effect the amendments to other Acts set out
in Schedule 4 in relation to the employment of staff by or in connection with various
statutory corporations.
Clause 7 is a formal provision that gives effect to the Schedule containing
consequential amendments to certain Acts and instruments.
Clause 8 repeals the Ambulance Services Act 1990.
Schedule 1 Amendment of Public Sector
Employment and Management Act 2002
Schedule 1 creates the Government Service of New South Wales which will consist
of persons employed under proposed Chapter 1A of the PSE&M Act by the
Government of New South Wales. Staff are to be in the Divisions of the Government
Service as set out in the new Schedule 1 to the PSE&M Act (including in Divisions
to enable statutory corporations to exercise their functions). Some Divisions will
continue to be specified as Departments of the Public Service (see Part 1 of the new
Schedule), with the employment of staff in those Departments continuing to be
subject to Chapter 2 of the PSE&M Act. Other Divisions (as set out in Parts 2 and 3
of the new Schedule 1 to the PSE&M Act) generally comprise the staff who are
currently employed by various statutory corporations or who are employed in
connection with Departments but are employed outside of the Public Service. Each
Division will have a Division Head who exercises, on behalf of the Government, the
employer functions of the Government in relation to the members of staff of the
Division. Proposed Chapter 1A also contains a number of miscellaneous provisions
relating to the employment of staff in the Government Service.
Schedule 1 also contains amendments to replace the Public Employment Office with
a new office to be known as the Director of Public Employment who essentially has
the same functions as the previous Office.
The remainder of Schedule 1 contains amendments to the PSE&M Act that are
mainly consequential on the creation of the Government Service of New South
Wales. Provision is made for the continuation of employment of existing staff of
statutory corporations (including their existing terms and conditions of employment)
and for other transitional arrangements.
Schedule 2 Amendment of Health Services Act 1997
Schedule 2 mainly removes the power of public health organisations (i.e. area health
services, statutory health corporations and certain affiliated health organisations that
are declared by the regulations) to employ staff and provides instead for the staff to
be employed by the Government Service of New South Wales in the NSW Health
Service (as referred to in Chapter 9 of the Act). The NSW Health Service will also
consist of the staff currently employed by the Health Administration Corporation and
the statutory corporation known as the Ambulance Service (the staff of the latter will
comprise the Ambulance Service of NSW within the NSW Health Service). The
Director-General of the Department of Health will exercise, on behalf of the
Government, the employer functions of the Government in relation to the members
of the NSW Health Service.
On the whole, the provisions under the Act relating to employment of staff in the
public health system are not affected except to the extent that the staff will be no
longer be employed by a public health organisation but will be employed by the
Government in the NSW Health Service. The remainder of Schedule 2 contains
amendments that are mainly consequential on the removal of employment functions
of public health organisations and the transfer of existing staff to the NSW Health
Service as well as amendments that are consequential on the abolition of the
Ambulance Service as a statutory corporation.
Schedule 3 Amendment of Health Administration
Act 1982
Schedule 3 contains amendments to the Health Administration Act 1982 that are
mainly consequential on the removal of the power of the Health Administration
Corporation to employ staff and the creation of the modified NSW Health Service
under the Health Services Act 1997.
Schedule 4 Amendments to other Acts relating to
employment of staff
Schedule 4 amends a number of Acts to remove existing powers of statutory
corporations to employ staff (and, in the case of those statutory corporations that do
not have direct employment powers, to expressly provide that they cannot employ
staff). Staff to enable the affected statutory corporations to exercise their functions
may be employed under proposed Chapter 1A of the PSE&M Act. In removing
existing powers to employ (and in expressly preventing statutory corporations to
employ), existing ancillary provisions, such as those relating to arranging for the use
of services of other agencies, have also been removed in most cases. However, the
removal of these ancillary provisions does not prevent a statutory corporation, under
its general powers, from arranging for the use of the services or facilities of other
agencies (e.g. by way of secondment of staff).
Schedule 5 Consequential amendment of other Acts
and instruments
Schedule 5 amends a number of Acts and other instruments mainly as a consequence
of the creation of the Government Service and the removal of employment powers
under the other Schedules to the proposed Act. The Independent Commission Against
Corruption Act 1988 is also amended to provide for the employment of staff by the
Commissioner for the ICAC. The staff of the ICAC will be employed in the service
of the Crown and existing provisions relating to arrangements for other staff are
retained.

Note: If this Bill is not modified, these Explanatory Notes would reflect the Bill as passed in the House. If the Bill has been amended by Committee, these Explanatory Notes may not necessarily reflect the Bill as passed.