Commissioner’s Direction No.1 – A Guide

Index

1 / INTRODUCTION
2 / WHAT IS A COMMISSIONER’S DIRECTION?
3 / WHO DOES COMMISSIONER’S DIRECTION NO. 1 APPLY TO?
4 / WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF COMMISSIONER’S DIRECTION NO. 1?
5 / BINDING LEGISLATION
6 / RESOURCES
1 / INTRODUCTION

This guide has been developed to provide managers with information regarding Commissioner’s Direction No. 1 – Employment in the State Service (CD. 1) and how it applies to the Agency’s employment processes.

Key Stakeholders

  • All Agency employees

2 / WHAT IS A COMMISSIONER’S DIRECTION?

As per Section 18 of the State Service Act 2000, one of the functions of the State Service Commissioner is to determine the practices, procedures and standards in relation to management of, and employment in, the State Service and to evaluate their application within Agencies.

Under Section 20 of the State Service Act 2000 the State Service Commissioner may issue directions in relation to his functions, which include employment practices, procedures and standards.

CD.1 is a legislative direction that has been issued by the State Service Commissioner in regards to the procedures and minimum requirements for the employment of employees.

3 / WHO DOES IT APPLY TO?

CD. 1 is applicable to all State Service employees and officers who are responsible for a function covered by the direction.

CD.1 is not applicable to:

  • a person as a State Service employee under of the State Service Act 2000 (13); or
  • Heads of Agencies, holders of prescribes offices, senior executives and equivalent specialists.

4 / WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF CD. 1?

The purpose of CD. 1 is to detail the procedures and set out the minimum requirement in relation to:

  • advertising duties to be filled by permanent appointment or promotion
  • fixed-term employment, including advertising, selecting and appointment
  • vocational education and training (VET) placements
  • casual employment
  • subsequent selections from a selection process
  • requests(by the Head of Agency or a fixed-term employee) to change the employment status of a fixed-term employee to a permanent employee
  • employment requirements for persons other than Australian citizens and permanent residents
  • advertising requirements for higher duties allowance
  • essential requirements
  • promotion without advertising
  • probation
  • secondment of a person or employee.

The State Service Commissioner has set out the minimum requirements to ensure that:

  • the State Service provides a reasonable opportunity to members of the community to apply for State Service employment
  • an employment assessment is made of the relative suitability of the candidates for the duties
  • the assessment is based on the relationship between the candidates' work-related qualities and the work-related qualities genuinely required for the duties
  • the assessment focuses on the relative capacity of the candidates to achieve outcomes related to the duties
  • the assessment is the primary consideration in making the decision.

It should be noted that the procedures and minimum requirements with regard to employment in the State Service are not set out by Human Resources and Workplace Safety but are legislative directions prescribed by the State Service Commissioner.

5 / BINDING LEGISLATION

Heads of Agency are to ensure that all employment decisions they make are based on merit in accordance with the State Service Act 2000 and Commissioner’s Direction No. 1.

6 / RESOURCES
  • Commissioner’s Direction No. 1
  • State Service Act 2000
  • State Service Principles
  • State Service Commissioner
  • Public Sector Management Office

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