CMCD > Industrial Relations & Public Sector Management > Commissioner

Commissioner for Public Administration

Andrew Kefford - A/g Commissioner

Phone: +61 2 620 50358

On this page:

About the Commissioner

Commissioner's Responsibilities

Commissioner's Powers and Functions

Information about the ACTPS

Commissioner's Annual Reports

Agency Surveys - Commissioner for Public Administration

About the Commissioner

The office of the Commissioner for Public Administration (Commissioner) is established under section 18 of the
Public Sector Management Act 1994 (the PSM Act). The Chief Minister has responsibility for appointing a
Commissioner.

Division 3.2 of the PSM Act outlines the central functions of the Commissioner, which are to:

advise the Chief Minister on the management of the service as a whole (section 20)
implement administrative rearrangements at the direction of the Chief Minister (section 20)
conduct management reviews in relation to the service or functions of the service, in whole or in part (section 21)
inspect, or make inquiries or investigations into the operations of, government agencies (section 22)
exercise any other functions given to the Commissioner by law (section 20).

To assist in the management of the service as a whole, the Commissioner holds other powers and functions under the
PSM Act and Public Sector Management Standards (Standards). These powers and functions relate to the operation of
the public service. Among other things, these include the power to:

transfer offices, officers, employees and unattached employees between administrative units
reclassify an office
notify appointments, transfers, promotions, retirements or dismissals in the Gazette
approve the re-engagement of officers and employees who have received a voluntary redundancy within two years
of the redundancy
enter into arrangements with other jurisdictions to second staff to and from the ACT Public Service (ACTPS)
make PSM Standards
waive the requirement for an independent job evaluation where a person is to perform a short term executive office
recognise prior service not recognised elsewhere.

In addition to the powers of the Commissioner under the PSM Act and Standards, the Commissioner has functions under
the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1994, the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 (Cth), the Commissioner
for the Environment Act 1993, the Freedom of Information Act 1989, and the Legal Aid Act 1977.

The Commissioner also has powers under agency collective agreements made under the Commonwealth's Workplace
Relations Act 1996 or enterprise agreements made under the Fair Work Act 2009.

The powers of the Commissioner under such Agreements include the power to:

issue guidelines on salary packaging
approve independent reviewers to sit on appeal panels or undertake reviews into agency decisions.

As Collective Agreements, Enterprise Agreements, Australian Workplace Agreements and Awards are made under
Commonwealth legislation, their terms and conditions prevail over ACT legislation to the extent of any inconsistency.
This means that in some instances, they may impact on the powers of the Commissioner provided under the PSM Act
and Standards.

The office of Commissioner has historically been characterised as a part time office. On 3 July 2006 Ms Catherine
Hudson was appointed as Commissioner and concurrently holds that office and the position of the Deputy Chief
Executive, Governance Division of the Chief Minister’s Department. This concurrent arrangement has been in place since
February 2006 and replicates the model used between 1995 and 1999 where a senior executive with departmental
responsibilities also held the office of Commissioner.

The Commissioner does not have staff with discrete responsibility for supporting the office. Instead, the Commissioner
relies on the capacity of the staff of the Governance Division, and in particular the Public Sector Management Group, to
support her office.

Commissioner's Responsibilities

Employment responsibilities

The Commissioner is also responsible for maintaining the core employment rules for the ACTPS through the PSM Act
and Standards. The Commissioner is authorised to make Standards under Section 251 of the PSM Act, subject to the
agreement of the Chief Minister.

However, through the process of enterprise bargaining, ACTPS agencies negotiate local employment terms that wholly or
partially override the terms of employment given in the PSM Act and Standards.

While general employment terms and conditions are regulated by the PSM Act and Standards, Industrial Agreements and
Awards made under the Commonwealth's Workplace Relations Act 1996 or Fair Work Act 2009 may also provide for terms
and conditions of employment. Such Agreements override the PSM Act and PSM Standards to the extent of any
inconsistency.

Public Interest Disclosures

The Commissioner is defined as a government agency under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1994 and is
therefore authorised to receive Public Interest Disclosures.

The Public Interest Disclosure Act 1994, a general Guide to the Public Interest Disclosure Act and a Procedural Guide to
actioning Public Interest Disclosures are all available from our Publications page.

Other responsibilities

The Commissioner has a number of other responsibilities including

coordinating strategic public service training initiatives
approving the reappointment or re-engagement of former officers, within prescribed time frames, who retired from
the ACTPS as excess officers
approving payments to officers and employees other than in the way of normal salary, allowances or expenses
issuing ACT Public Service salary packaging guidelines
conducting investigations and inquiries into the operation of Government agencies at the request of the Chief
Minister.
Delegations