AUSTRALIAN TRADE COMMISSION

ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT
2012 2014

Contents
SECTION 1
SCOPE OF THIS AGREEMENT ............................................................. 4
1.1
Coverage of the Agreement .................................................................................... 4
1.2
Operation of the Agreement .................................................................................... 4
1.3
Entitlements under Commonwealth Laws .............................................................. 4
1.4
Human Resources Management Policies ................................................................ 4
1.5
Authorisation ........................................................................................................... 5
1.6
Productivity Bonus Payment ................................................................................... 5
1.7
Individual Flexibility Arrangement ........................................................................ 5
1.8
Interpretations and Definitions................................................................................ 6
SECTION 2
STAFFING STRUCTURE AND REMUNERATION ............................. 7
2.1
Classification Structure ........................................................................................... 7
2.2
Work Value Statements ........................................................................................... 7
2.3
Salary Structure ....................................................................................................... 9
2.4
Salary Advancement ............................................................................................... 9
2.5
Salary Increases....................................................................................................... 9
2.6
Payment of Salary ................................................................................................... 9
2.7
Engagement for Duties that are Irregular or Intermittent ....................................... 9
2.8
Junior Rates ........................................................................................................... 10
2.9
Indigenous Cadet Rates ......................................................................................... 10
2.10
Trainees ................................................................................................................. 10
2.11
Supported Salary Payments for Employees with a Disability .............................. 10
2.12
Superannuation...................................................................................................... 10
SECTION 3
PEOPLE ..................................................................................................... 11
3.1
Austrade and APS Values and Codes of Conduct ................................................. 11
3.2
Review of Employment Related Actions .............................................................. 11
3.3
Valuing Diversity .................................................................................................. 12
3.4
Employee Assistance Program .............................................................................. 12
3.5
Family Care Link Service ..................................................................................... 12
3.6
Support to Employees on Overseas Assignment................................................... 12
3.7
Professional Relocation Assistance ....................................................................... 12
3.8
Pre-assignment and Return to Australia Workshops ............................................. 13
3.9
Recognition of Cultural and Religious Days of Significance ............................... 13
3.10
Capability Development ....................................................................................... 13
3.11
Study Assistance Scheme ...................................................................................... 13
3.12
Workplace Giving Program................................................................................... 13
SECTION 4
PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT ...................................................... 14
4.1
Encouraging High Performance ............................................................................ 14
4.2
Managing Under Performance .............................................................................. 14
4.3
Managing Misconduct........................................................................................... 14
4.4
Review of Decisions to Terminate Employment .................................................. 15
SECTION 5
EMPLOYMENT CONDITIONS ............................................................. 15
5.1
Overseas Assignments Conditions of Employment ........................................... 15
5.2
Travel .................................................................................................................... 15
5.3
Short Term Overseas Development Assignment................................................... 15
5.4
Short Term Overseas Operational Assignment ..................................................... 15
5.5
Ordinary Hours ..................................................................................................... 16
5.6
Span of Hours........................................................................................................ 16
5.7
Overtime................................................................................................................ 16
5.8
Emergency Duty ................................................................................................... 17
5.9
Shift Work ............................................................................................................. 17
5.10
Relocation Assistance ........................................................................................... 17
2

5.11
Change Management............................................................................................. 18
5.12
Redeployment and Retrenchment ......................................................................... 19
5.13
Allowances ............................................................................................................ 20
5.13.1 Temporary Duties
20
5.13.2 First Aid Allowance
20
5.13.3 Fire Warden Allowance
20
5.13.4 Liaison Officer Allowance
20
5.13.5 Motor Vehicle Allowance
20
5.13.6 Language Proficiency Allowance
21
5.14
Healthy Living Reimbursement ............................................................................ 21
5.15
Leave Provisions ................................................................................................... 21
5.15.1 Annual Leave
21
5.15.2 Christmas/New Year Leave Arrangements
23
5.15.3 Purchased Leave
23
5.15.4 Personal Leave
23
5.15.5 Compassionate Leave
24
5.15.6 Miscellaneous Leave
24
5.15.7 Maternity Leave
24
5.15.8 Parental Leave
25
5.15.9 Long Service Leave
26
5.15.10 Portability of Leave and Recognition of Prior Service
26
5.15.11 Public Holidays
26
SECTION 6
WORKING FLEXIBLY ........................................................................... 27
6.1
Flexible Working Arrangements ........................................................................... 28
6.2
Part-Time Employment ......................................................................................... 28
6.3
Working from home .............................................................................................. 29
6.3.1
Ad hoc working from home
29
6.4
Mature Age Employees ......................................................................................... 29
SECTION 7
CO-OPERATIVE WORKING ARRANGEMENTS ............................. 30
7.1
Commitment to Consultation ................................................................................ 30
7.2
Workplace Consultation ........................................................................................ 30
7.3
Consultation on Major Change ............................................................................. 30
7.4
Representation ....................................................................................................... 30
7.5
Consultative Committee ........................................................................................ 31
7.6
Dispute Resolution ................................................................................................ 31
Appendix A
AUSTRADE PERFORMANCE LEVELS .............................................. 33
Appendix B
SUPPORTED SALARY PAYMENTS FOR EMPLOYEES WITH A
DISABILITY.............................................................................................. 36
Appendix C
REDEPLOYMENT AND RETRENCHMENT PROVISIONS ............ 39
Appendix D
MISCELLANEOUS LEAVE .................................................................... 43
Appendix E
WORKPLACE RELATIONS COMMITTEE TERMS OF
REFERENCE AND ROLE ...................................................................... 45
Appendix F:
PRINCIPLES RELATING TO WORKPLACE DELEGATES ........... 48

SECTION 1
1.1

SCOPE OF THIS AGREEMENT

Coverage of the Agreement

(1)

In accordance with section 172 of the Fair Work Act 2009, this Agreement covers
the Chief Executive Officer of Austrade (on behalf of the Commonwealth) and all
Austrade APS employees employed under the Public Service Act 1999, except for
Senior Executive Service (SES) employees.

(2)

Where the Community and Public Sector Union gives notice in accordance with
subsection 183(1) of the Fair Work Act 2009, Fair Work Australia will note in its
decision to approve the Agreement that it covers that organisation.

1.2

Operation of the Agreement

(1)

This Agreement comes into operation 7 days after the date it is approved by Fair
Work Australia. The nominal expiry date of this Agreement will be 30 June 2014.

(2)

This Agreement comprehensively states the terms and conditions of employment of

the employees covered by this Agreement, other than implied terms of the contract
of employment and terms and conditions applying under a Commonwealth law.

(3)

From the commencement of this Agreement, a person or organisation covered by

the Agreement will not pursue further claims for terms and conditions of
employment that would have effect during the period of operation of this
Agreement, except where consistent with the terms of this Agreement.

1.3

Entitlements under Commonwealth Laws

(1)

Entitlements applying under Commonwealth law continue to apply. This includes,

but is not limited to, legislation relating to:

1.4

Long Service Leave

Parental Leave
Maternity Leave
Superannuation
Work Health and Safety
Workers Compensation
Review of Actions
Disability, Age, and Racial Discrimination
Human Rights and Equal Opportunity

Human Resources Management Policies

(1)

The application of this Agreement is supported by Austrade policies. This

Agreement prevails over the policies to the extent of any inconsistency. Policies
which relate to this Agreement will be developed or varied in consultation with the
Workplace Relations Committee and, where requested, with delegates. Policies will
be published on the Austrade intranet site.

(2)

The dispute resolution procedures at clause 7.6 of this Agreement apply to a

dispute relating to a particular policy, where that policy relates to a term or
condition in this Agreement.

1.5
(1)

1.6
(1)

1.7

Authorisation
The CEO may authorise a person, in writing, to exercise any of the powers or
functions of the CEO under this Agreement (other than this power of authorisation)
and may do so subject to conditions.
Productivity Bonus Payment
Over the next six months, Austrade will proactively reshape the organisation to
achieve a sustainable workforce in line with a 9 per cent reduction in appropriation.
Rebalancing workloads and actively managing vacancies, whilst reshaping, places
an added productivity demand on staff. In recognition of this productivity,
Austrade will provide staff with a one-off payment of $350 on 8 November 2012.
Individual Flexibility Arrangement

(1)

An employer and employee covered by this enterprise agreement may agree to

make an individual flexibility arrangement to vary the effect of terms of the
agreement if:
(a) the agreement deals with one or more of the following matters:
(i) arrangements about when work is performed;
(ii) overtime rates;
(iii) penalty rates;
(iv) allowances;
(v) remuneration; and/or
(vi) leave; and
(b) the arrangement meets the genuine needs of the employer and employee in
relation to 1 or more of the matters mentioned in paragraph (a); and
(c) the arrangement is genuinely agreed to by the employer and employee.

(2)

The employer must ensure that the terms of the individual flexibility arrangement:
(a) are about permitted matters under section 172 of the Fair Work Act 2009; and
(b) are not unlawful terms under section 194 of the Fair Work Act 2009; and
(c) result in the employee being better off overall than the employee would be if
no arrangement was made.

(3)

The employer must ensure that the individual flexibility arrangement:

(a) is in writing; and
(b) includes the name of the employer and employee; and
(c) is signed by the employer and employee and if the employee is under 18 years
of age, signed by a parent or guardian of the employee; and
(d) includes details of:
(i) the terms of the enterprise agreement that will be varied by the
arrangement; and
(ii) how the arrangement will vary the effect of the terms; and
(iii) how the employee will be better off overall in relation to the terms and
conditions of his or her employment as a result of the arrangement; and
(e) states the day on which the arrangement commences and, where applicable,
when the arrangement ceases.

(4)

The employer must give the employee a copy of the individual flexibility
arrangement within 14 days after it is agreed to.
5

(5)

1.8

The employer or employee may terminate the individual flexibility arrangement:

(a) by giving no more than 28 days written notice to the other party to the
arrangement; or
(b) if the employer and employee agree in writing at any time.
Interpretations and Definitions

Act

Means the Public Service Act 1999.

Action

Includes a refusal or failure to act.

Agreement

Means the Australian Trade Commission Enterprise Agreement

2012- 2014.

APS

Means the Australian Public Service.

APS Award

Means the Australian Public Service Award 1998.

Austrade

Means the body established under the Australian Trade

Commission Act 1985.

Casual Employee

Means a non-SES employee engaged by the CEO of Austrade

under section 22 (2) (c) or 72 of the Act for duties that are
irregular or intermittent.

CEO

Means the Chief Executive Officer of Austrade, being the Agency

Head for the purposes of the Act or the person for the time being
directed to perform the duties of the office of the CEO, including
a person authorised by the CEO for the purposes of the provision
in which the reference occurs.

Child

Means an adopted child, a step child, an ex-nuptial child or

otherwise as defined in the Family Law Act 1975 and may include
an adult child.

Consultation

Means the sharing of lawful information, and providing an

opportunity for employees and their representatives to put their
views to the appropriate decision maker, and for those views to be
considered and responded to when a decision is made.

Employee

Means a non-SES employee engaged by the CEO of Austrade

under section 22 (2) or 72 of the Act in either a full-time or parttime capacity including:
as an ongoing employee; or
as a non-ongoing employee engaged for a specified term or
for the duration of a specified task, unless otherwise
specified in this Agreement; or
as a non-ongoing employee engaged for duties that are
irregular or intermittent; or
as an ongoing employee on probation, unless otherwise
specified in this Agreement.
6

FW Act

Means the Fair Work Act 2009.

Immediate family
member

Means a spouse, child, parent, grandparent, grandchild or sibling

of the employee or the employees spouse.

NES

Means the National Employment Standards within the Fair Work

Act 2009.

Partner

Means a spouse, or a person who is living with the employee in a

same sex partnership on a bona fide domestic basis but not legally
married to the employee.

SES

Means an APS employee who is classified as a Senior Executive

Service employee under the APS Classification Rules.

Spouse

Includes former spouse, de facto spouse and former de facto

spouse.

Staff

Means an employee or employees (see above).

SECTION 2
2.1

STAFFING STRUCTURE AND REMUNERATION

Classification Structure

(1)

In accordance with the APS Classification Rules, each Austrade position has an
approved APS classification. Austrades staffing structure and remuneration
arrangements continue to evolve in line with changes in Austrades operating
requirements.

(2)

This Agreement retains the Austrade Performance Level (APL) local designations
for APL 1-5 employees. There is no salary advancement between local
designations. Payment of the APL 5 salary level is dependent on engagement or
assignment to an APL 5 designated position.

2.2

Work Value Statements

(1)

Work value statements for each Austrade Performance Level are set out in the
Human Resources Management Policy Austrade Performance Level Structure
(A-based APL 1-5 Employees).

(2)

These statements provide clear distinctions between work levels in terms of work
difficulty or complexity, responsibilities, accountability and the technical skills and
knowledge required at each level.

(3)

Alignment with the APS classification structure is as indicated by the table

overleaf.

APS Classification Structure and Austrade Local Designations

APS
classification

EL 2

Austrade Local
Designations

Salary rates at
30 June 2011

Salary rates at
date of
commencement*

Salary rates on
1 July 2013

APL 5

$137,042

$141,153

$145,388

APL 5

$122,712

$126,393

$130,185

APL 4

$117,992

$121,532

$125,178

APL 4

$101,248

$104,285

$107,414

APL 3

$97,355

$100,276

$103,284

APL 3

$86,548

$89,144

$91,818

APL 2

$81,266

$83,704

$86,215

$74,851
$71,850

$77,097
$74,006

$79,410
$76,226

APL 2

$66,318

$68,308

$70,357

APL 1

$63,768

$65,681

$67,651

Minimum
Maximum

$58,683
$56,426

$60,443
$58,119

$62,256
$59,863

Minimum
Maximum

$50,162
$48,232

$51,667
$49,679

$53,217
$51,169

Minimum

$46,378

$47,769

$49,202

APL 1

$44,594

$45,932

$47,310

Maximum

Minimum

Maximum

Minimum

EL 1

Maximum

Minimum

APS 6

Maximum

Minimum
Maximum

APS 5

APS 4

Minimum

Maximum

APS 3
APS 2

APS 1

* Salary rates take effect on date of commencement.

2.3

Salary Structure

(1)

The salary range for each of the Austrade Performance Levels 1-5 is provided at
Appendix A.

(2)

An employees salary on engagement, promotion and assignment of duties

(including movement from another APS agency) will generally be at the minimum
point of the salary range of the relevant APS classification. Engagement, promotion
and assignment above the minimum pay point may be authorised by the CEO, if
justified by the complexity and responsibility of the work and the experience,
qualifications and skills of the employee.

2.4

Salary Advancement

(1)

The assessment of performance takes into consideration all aspects of an

individuals performance, including achievement of both quantifiable targets and
qualitative objectives.

(2)

Adjustment from one pay point to the next is subject to a performance rating of
fully proficient or higher and is effective from 1 July each year.

(3)

There is no salary advancement from the APL 4 to APL 5 local designation within
the APS EL 2 classification. Advancement from APS 2 to APS 3 within the APL 1
designation is subject to a work availability barrier.

(4)

Details of these arrangements are contained in the Human Resources Management

Policy Austrade Performance Level Structure (A-based APL 1-5
Employees)".

2.5

Salary Increases

(1)

Salary increases over the next two years have been agreed in recognition of the
productivity improvements that will be implemented during the life of this
Agreement.

(2)

The salary increases will be paid in two instalments:

2.6
(1)

Payment of Salary
Employees will be paid fortnightly in arrears, based on the following formula:

(2)
2.7
(1)

3 per cent increase from the date of commencement of the Agreement

3 per cent increase on 1 July 2013.

fortnightly pay = Annual Salary x 12

313

Fortnightly salary will be paid by electronic funds transfer into a financial

institution account of the employees choice.
Engagement for Duties that are Irregular or Intermittent
A casual employee will be paid for a minimum of four hours work per shift,
regardless of the hours actually worked. Above this minimum, the employee will
be paid for each hour that she or he works.

(2)

Casual employees pay for each day of work will be subject to a 20 per cent
loading in lieu of recreation leave, personal leave, war service sick leave, jury
leave, and public holidays on which the employee is not rostered to work.

(3)

Casual employees are not entitled to flextime.

2.8

Junior Rates

(1)

Junior rates of pay apply to employees engaged at APS 1 (APL 1) classification

aged below 21 years of age. Adult rates apply on attainment of 21 years of age.

(2)

Junior rates as a percentage of the APS 1 (APL 1) equivalent adult rate of pay
apply as follows:

2.9
(1)

under 18 years
at 18 years
at 19 years
at 20 years

60%
70%
81%
91%.

Indigenous Cadet Rates

Austrades Indigenous Cadetship Program is run in conjunction with the
Commonwealth Government National Indigenous Cadetship Program (NICP).
Selection is managed by Austrade through the NICP. Cadet rates of pay as a
percentage of the APL equivalent adult rate of pay apply as follows:

practical training at the rate of 100%; and

full-time study at the rate of 50%.

(2)

Junior rates of pay may apply to both practical training and full time study rates for
cadets.

(3)

Further details of Austrades participation in the NICP are provided in the Human
Resource Management Policy National Indigenous Cadetship Program.

2.10
(1)

2.11
(1)

2.12

Trainees
If Austrade engages employees to undertake traineeships or apprenticeships, the
Chief Executive Officer will determine the conditions of employment to apply. The
classification level will be determined at a minimum of APS 1.
Supported Salary Payments for Employees with a Disability
Supported salary rates and conditions of employment as set out in Appendix B
shall apply to an employee with a disability who is eligible for consideration under
the supported wage system as defined in Appendix B.
Superannuation

(1)

Austrade will make compulsory employer contributions as required by the

applicable legislation and fund requirements.

(2)

Employer contributions to the PSSap will be 15.4% of the employees fortnightly

contribution salary [or ordinary time earnings]. Employer contributions for
employees in other accumulation schemes will be at the same rate as for employees
in PSSap. Employer contributions will not be reduced by any other contributions
10

made through salary sacrifice arrangements. This clause does not apply where a
superannuation fund cannot accept employer superannuation contributions (e.g. is
unable to accept contributions for people aged over 75).
(3)

Employer superannuation contributions will not be paid on behalf of employees

during periods of unpaid leave that does not count as service, unless otherwise
required under legislation.

(4)

The CEO may choose to limit superannuation choice to complying superannuation

funds that allow employee and/or employer contributions to be paid through
fortnightly electronic funds transfer using a file generated by the Austrades payroll
system.

SECTION 3
(1)

3.1

PEOPLE

Austrade recognises employees are its most valuable resource and will:

generally apply ongoing employment as the standard form of employment

within Austrade. Austrade recognises that this form of employment normally
provides the greatest security and wellbeing for its employees;

provide employees with the tools they need to do their work efficiently and
effectively;

regularly review and prioritise workloads to ensure that staffing levels and
classifications are appropriate to achieve desired outcomes and do not
negatively impact on employees.

Austrade and APS Values and Codes of Conduct

(1)

3.2

Ethical conduct contributes significantly to workplace effectiveness and to the

standing of Austrade and our employees. In undertaking their duties, employees
acknowledge the importance of ethical conduct. Employees will uphold the APS
Values and comply with the APS Code of Conduct. Employees on assignment or
posted overseas agree, in addition, to uphold the Austrade Code of Conduct for
A-based Staff Overseas.
Review of Employment Related Actions

(1)

Concerns or grievances arising from actions relating to employment will, wherever

possible, be resolved through constructive dialogue between employees and
managers in the workplace. Employees are expected to raise issues of concern with
their managers as soon as they arise. Managers are expected to respond quickly and
generally acknowledge an employees request within two working days of an
employee asking that a matter be discussed.

(2)

An employee is also entitled to seek a review of any reviewable APS action that
relates to the employees APS employment, under section 33 of the Act as a way of
settling a dispute. There are limitations on what is a reviewable APS action. In
particular, it is noted that any Austrade action that consists of the termination of an
employees employment is not a reviewable action for the purpose of section 33 of
the Act.

(3)

The Human Resource Management Policy Review of Employment Related

Actions (APL 1-5 Employees Only) provides details of the process to be
followed by an employee seeking a review of action.
11

3.3

Valuing Diversity

(1)

The diversity of our workforce is an important business resource. Austrade aims

to create an inclusive environment that values and uses the contributions of people
of different backgrounds, experiences and perspectives. Over the life time of this
agreement Austrade is committed to developing a Workforce Diversity Plan, in
consultation with staff.

(2)

Austrade will continue to actively work to prevent and eliminate any

discrimination on the basis of race, colour, sex, sexual preference, age, physical or
mental disability, marital status, family responsibilities, pregnancy, religion,
political opinion, national extraction or social origin, consistent with the
provisions of the relevant legislation. The conditions regarding the official
recognition of de facto relationships for the purposes of conditions of service
under this Agreement apply regardless of sexual preference.

3.4

Employee Assistance Program

(1)

Austrade will continue to provide access to an Employee Assistance Program at

no cost to employees. The Program provides a confidential, professional
counselling service that is available to employees and their families to help them
resolve both personal and work related problems.

(2)

Details of the Program are contained in Human Resources Management Policy

Employee Assistance and Support (All Employees).

3.5

Family Care Link Service

(1)

Austrade will continue to provide access to the Family Care Link referral service
for employees, requiring emergency assistance for childcare or other family
support services. The service is available to employees in Australia and to
Australia-based employees overseas who require assistance for dependent family
members in Australia.

(2)

Details of the service are contained in Human Resources Management Policy

Employee Assistance and Support (All Employees).

3.6
(1)

3.7

Support to Employees on Overseas Assignment

Austrade has developed a package of measures designed to assist an employee
undertaking an overseas assignment. Details of these provisions are contained in
Human Resources Management Policy Overseas Postings and Return to
Australia (A-based Employees).
Professional Relocation Assistance

(1)

Austrade will fund a professional relocation service to assist Austrade employees

and their families who are relocated within Australia, or on return to Australia from
an overseas assignment.

(2)

The level of funding will be determined by the CEO, depending on the employees
family composition and the level of assistance required.

12

3.8
(1)

3.9
(1)

3.10

Pre-assignment and Return to Australia Workshops

Austrade will continue to provide assistance through pre-assignment and return to
Australia workshops to assist employees and their families preparing for, or
returning from, offshore assignments.
Recognition of Cultural and Religious Days of Significance
Austrade values the diversity of its employees and promotes a working
environment that enables employees to balance work and religious and cultural
responsibilities. The CEO may approve miscellaneous paid leave up to three days
per year for cultural or religious day/s of significance to the employee.
Capability Development

(1)

Austrades capability development strategy aims to continuously improve

organisational capability through the development of a skilled and confident
workforce, ready and able to deliver on current and future Austrade needs.

(2)

Austrades capability development strategy includes a comprehensive induction

process and, through the Austrade Institute, a wide range of corporate programs
that target employees career development and business needs.

(3)

Austrades approach to capability building is based on the 70/20/10 development

model under which it is envisaged that approximately:

3.11

70% of development occurs through planned work tasks/projects and targeted

job experiences;

20% of development occurs through mentoring, coaching, shadowing and

feedback and reflection on behaviour and performance; and

10% of development occurs through formal face to face and online training,
education and research reading.

Study Assistance Scheme

(1)

Austrade will continue to support personal development through the studies

assistance and scholarship program. Support for study leave and course fees will be
provided to approved employees undertaking external study in areas relevant to
Austrade.

(2)

Relevant areas of study for which applications for study assistance will be
considered and the provisions of the scheme are set out in Human Resources
Management Policy Study Assistance Scheme (All Employees).

3.12

Workplace Giving Program

(1)

Austrade will implement a workplace giving program to support the non-profit

community sector in delivering services to many disadvantaged groups. Through
the Austrade payroll system, employees will be able to donate money as a one-off,
or regular deduction from their pre-tax pay.

(2)

The Human Resources Management Policy Workplace Giving Program provides

further details.
13

SECTION 4
4.1
(1)

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

Encouraging High Performance

The vision for maintaining a high performing workforce is embodied in Austrades
Performance Management framework. The framework is designed to provide
employees with individual performance plans that:

establish clear understanding of work roles, responsibilities and priorities;

identify areas of development to support job and career goals;

encourage regular feedback on performance from managers and improves

working relationships;

provide a mechanism to recognise performance.

(2)

Individual performance plans are aligned with Austrades corporate plans and
operational plans to ensure that individual capabilities and achievements translate
to organisational capability and business success.

(3)

Performance management also allows Austrade to drive behaviours and

performance that is consistent with the APS values and ethical standards, and
reflects the principles of Know, Share, and Succeed.

(4)

The Performance Management processes are set out in the Human Resources
Policy Performance Management (All Employees).

4.2

Managing Under Performance

(1)

This Agreement maintains Austrades approach to managing under performance

with emphasis on a simple process balanced with procedural fairness principles.
The primary aim of this approach continues to be to address and reduce the
incidence of under-performance and at the same time encourage confidence in
Austrades performance management process.

(2)

Under performance may include inability to perform responsibilities, inability to

cope with the organisations change, medical incapacity and/or the inability to
develop necessary skills.

(3)

The procedures involved in managing underperformance may include an informal

process of regular feedback on performance, informal counselling, and coaching,
before the formal performance management procedure is commenced.

(4)

The Human Resources Management Policy Managing Under Performance (All

Employees) provides further details.

4.3

Managing Misconduct

(1)

Breaches of the APS Code of Conduct will be dealt with under procedures
established in accordance with section 15 of the Public Service Act 1999.

(2)

The Human Resources Management Policy Managing Misconduct (A-based

Employees) provides further details.

14

4.4

Review of Decisions to Terminate Employment

(1)

The sole and exhaustive rights and remedies of an employee in relation to

termination of employment are those that the employee enjoys under the Fair Work
Act 2009; other Commonwealth laws (including the Constitution); and at common
law.

(2)

Termination of, or a decision to terminate employment, cannot be reviewed under

the Austrade process for preventing and settling disputes or review of employment
related actions procedures in this Agreement.

(3)

Nothing in the Agreement prevents the CEO from terminating the employment of
an employee for serious misconduct, without further notice or payment in lieu, in
accordance with the Fair Work Act 2009.

SECTION 5
5.1
(1)

5.2

EMPLOYMENT CONDITIONS

Overseas Assignments Conditions of Employment

The conditions of employment for employees on long-term overseas assignment
are set out in the Human Resources Management Policy Long Term Overseas
Postings Conditions of Employment (A-based Employees).
Travel

(1)

All reasonable meal and incidental costs incurred during official travel (domestic
and international) are met by Austrade, through the use of a corporate credit card or
on a reimbursement basis.

(2)

The Chief Executive Instructions provide details of the class of air travel to be used
by employees. The Workplace Relations Committee will be consulted on any
proposed changes to those classes of air travel provisions.

5.3

Short Term Overseas Development Assignment

(1)

Short term overseas development assignments provide opportunities for skill

development and overseas experience which are important for high performance in
Austrades international environment. Austrade will continue to provide employees
with opportunities to undertake such assignments.

(2)

The Human Resources Management Policy Short Term Overseas Assignments

(All Employees) provides further details.

5.4

Short Term Overseas Operational Assignment

(1)

Short term overseas operational assignments are where employees are required to
assume full operational responsibility for either a vacancy or in a support role for a
specified period of time to perform specified functions at an overseas location.

(2)

The Human Resources Management Policy Short Term Overseas Assignments

(All Employees) provides further details.

15

5.5

Ordinary Hours

(1)

The ordinary hours of work of full-time employees covered by this Agreement will
be 7 hours a day, Monday to Friday. For part-time employees, ordinary hours of
duty are those agreed in their part-time work agreement. The 5-day work period
(Monday to Friday) may vary for employees located overseas, to accord with local
conditions.

(2)

An employee will not work beyond a maximum of 5 hours without a break of at

least 30 minutes.

5.6

Span of Hours

(1)

The span of hours during which employees may work standard hours is 7.00am to
7.00pm Monday to Friday in Australia, or another 5-day period for employees at an
overseas location in line with local conditions. All employees are to agree on their
pattern of attendance at work with their manager, to ensure that operational
requirements are met.

(2)

Where an employee requests to work outside this span of hours for personal
reasons, they may do so with the agreement of their manager, provided operational
requirements can be satisfied. Any hours worked on this basis will be treated as
ordinary hours and will not attract overtime rates.

5.7
(1)

Overtime
Where necessitated by operational requirements, a manager may direct an
employee to work overtime outside standard hours, provided that an employee may
refuse to work overtime in circumstances where the working of such overtime
would result in the employee working hours which are unreasonable having regard
to:

any risk to the employees health and safety;

the employees personal circumstances including any family
responsibilities;
the needs of the workplace or enterprise;
the notice (if any) given by the employer of the overtime and by the
employee of his or her intention to refuse it;
whether the additional hours are on a public holiday;
the number of hours worked by the employee over the four weeks ending
immediately before the request to work the additional hours; and
any other relevant matter.

(2)

A manager may approve that overtime rates be paid for work performed by
employees, at the APL 1 and APL 2 levels either outside the span of hours
specified at clause 5.6 or in excess of 7 hours on any one day, Monday to Friday.

(3)

All employees working authorised overtime may, with the agreement of their
manager, take their overtime entitlement as time-off-in-lieu, calculated at the
applicable overtime rate. In cases where time-off-in-lieu has been granted but
operational requirements have prevented the employee from taking time off within
4 weeks or other agreed period, payment of overtime will be made.

(4)

Overtime rates are as follows:

Monday to Friday

time and a half

16


(5)

Saturday, Sunday and Public Holidays

double time

An employees salary for the purposes of calculating overtime will include any
temporary duties allowance payable to the employee at that time. The hourly rate
for overtime will be calculated using the following formulae:
Time and a half

Annual
Salary
313

6
x 3
37
2

Double Time

Annual
Salary
313

6
x 2
37
1

(6)

An employee, who is required to work overtime outside the span of hours, and
extending over a meal period and is entitled to the payment of overtime rates, will
be paid a meal allowance.

(7)

For the purposes of this clause a meal period is:

(8)

5.8

Monday to Friday:

7.00am to 9.00am
6.00pm to 7.00pm
midnight to 1.00am

Saturdays, Sundays & Public Holidays:

7.00am to 9.00am
12.30pm to 1.30pm
6.00pm to 7.00pm
midnight to 1.00am

Further details are contained in the Human Resources Management Policy

Flextime, Time Off In Lieu, Overtime and Emergency Duty (A-based
Employees).
Emergency Duty

(1)

Emergency duty occurs when an APL 1 or APL 2 employee is required to work to

meet an emergency situation, at a time that the employee would not ordinarily be
on duty, with no notice given before completion of the employees last period of
ordinary duty.

(2)

Payment for such duty will be at double time and will include time spent
necessarily travelling to and from duty. The minimum payment will be for two
hours.

5.9
(1)
5.10
(1)

Shift Work
This Agreement does not provide for shift penalty payments because Austrade does
not intend to introduce shift work during the period of operation of this Agreement.
Relocation Assistance
Financial assistance provisions will continue to apply to employees subject to
relocation within Australia, upon engagement or assignment of duties at the same,
higher or lower level.

17

(2)

Temporary Accommodation Assistance (TAA) will apply as follows to an

employee engaged or re-assigned on or after the date that this Agreement comes
into operation and applies in relation to that employee:
(a) Employees who own, or are purchasing, a home at the pre-transfer
location:
(i) Upon engagement or permanent re-assignment of duties at the same or
higher level, TAA is payable for six months. TAA ceases at the end of
six months from the date of commencement of the employee's duties at
the new locality, or from the date an employee purchases (date of
settlement) a residence at their new locality.
(b) Employees renting at pre-transfer locality:
(i) TAA is provided for six months for an employee who is relocated to a
higher cost locality. TAA ceases at the end of six months from the date
of commencement of duties at the new locality, or from the date an
employee purchases (date of settlement) a residence at their new locality.
The amount of assistance will be limited to the difference between the
TAA that would have applied in the previous locality and that, which
would apply in the new locality, taking into account family composition.

(3)

Disturbance allowance is payable for a single employee. A further amount is

payable for employees with a spouse or recognised partner and an additional
amount is payable for each dependent child who is a full-time student.

(4)

Purchase and sale cost reimbursement will be set at a maximum level for each
locality for employees relocated on permanent re-assignment.

(5)

Further details and amounts payable are contained in the Human Resources
Management Policy Relocation Assistance (A-based Employees).

5.11

Change Management

(1)

In recognition of the impact on affected employees, where organizational and/or

structural change is contemplated that is likely to result in ongoing employees no
longer being engaged on an ongoing basis in a new structure, Austrade will consult
with employees and their representative in accordance with the consultation
provisions in clause 7 of this Agreement.

(2)

Austrade will consult with employees and their representatives about:

(3)

(a)

the reasons for the change;

(b)

the likely impact on employees;

(c)

how employees will be supported through the changes.

Austrade will also provide support to employees affected by the change in two
forms:
(a)

assistance to all employees affected by the change to support the

transition to the new organisational structure and adjusting to the change;
and

(b)

individual and targeted support to those employees who are likely to not
have an ongoing job in the new organisational structure by way of:
i) assistance in re-asssignment where possible, in line with the APS
Redeployment Principles;
18

ii) information, training and support to assist such employees

successfully transitioning into a new position; and
iii) work trials, if appropriate.
(4)

For each change, the support provided to employees will be outlined in a Staff
Transition Plan developed by Austrade in consultation with affected employees
and their representatives. The Staff Transition Plan should be a living document
which is issued as early as possible in the change process, then progressively
updated as additional information becomes available. The Staff Transition Plan
will include:
(a)

the principles for managing employees during the change management

program;

(b)

the types of communication and consultation timeframe for the change

management program, including opportunities for individual dialogue;

(c)

the roles and responsibilities of individuals tasked with action within the
Plan;

(d)

the likely timeframe for transition of employees from existing to new

organisational structures;

(e)

description of support to be provided to affected employees, including

case management services;

(f)

whether reassignment options are available within Austrade or it is

appropriate to access the APS Redeployment Register.

(5)

Austrade commits to reassigning affected employees within Austrade where

possible to any vacant position to which such employees might reasonably be
reassigned, and recognises that training and coaching increase the probability of
such employees successfully transitioning to a new position.

(6)

Where the number of employees at a given classification affected by the

organisational change exceeds the number of positions at that classification in the
new structure, an expression of interest process based on merit principles will be
used to determine which of those employees are most suitable for reassignment to
the vacant positions.

(7)

Austrade will maintain case management records for each employee without an
ongoing job in the new structure, including attempts to reassign and the reasons
why each of these has been unsuccessful.

(8)

For the avoidance of doubt, the processes set out in sub-clause 5.11 paragraphs (1)
- (7) above are subject to the Austrade process for preventing and settling disputes
and review of employment related actions procedures in this Agreement. However,
the decision to reassign an employee to different duties that the employee could
reasonably be expected to perform cannot be reviewed under the Austrade process
for preventing and settling disputes or review of employment related actions
procedures in this Agreement.

5.12
(1)

Redeployment and Retrenchment

Austrade will uphold the APS Redeployment Principles when managing staff who
become excess to Austrades operational requirements. The procedures for
handling redeployment and retrenchment for Austrade employees are described at
Appendix C.
19

(2)

Employees who are subject to Austrades redeployment and retrenchment

procedures will be eligible for reimbursement of the cost of professional financial
advice and/or career counselling, up to $500, after being declared excess and up to
one month after separation from Austrade. Potentially excess staff may also access
training for interview skills and writing job applications through the APS
Commission.

(3)

The Human Resources Management Policy Redeployment and Retrenchment

(A-based Employees) provides further details.

5.13

Allowances

5.13.1

Temporary Duties

(1)

An employee directed to perform work at a higher Austrade Performance Level for

periods in excess of 10 continuous working days will be paid at a higher rate for
the entire continuous period.

(2)

An employee directed to perform all the duties of a higher level, will be paid an
allowance equal to the difference between the employees own salary and the
salary the employee would receive if they were promoted to the higher level
position. The CEO may determine an alternative amount when partial performance
is directed or when the employee is performing the duties of a position at SES
level.

(3)

Where any work is performed at a higher work value level for periods of 10 days
or less the work will be taken into account in an employees annual performance
and salary review.

5.13.2
(1)

5.13.3
(1)

5.13.4
(1)

5.13.5
(1)

First Aid Allowance

An employee who possesses a current first aid certificate and who is appointed as a
First Aid Officer to undertake first aid responsibilities within Austrade will be paid
an allowance relevant to their first aid qualifications as set out in Human Resources
Management Policy Allowances (A-based Employees). The first-aid allowance
will be increased in line with the salary increases of this Agreement.
Fire Warden Allowance
An employee who is appointed as a fire warden will be paid an allowance for each
fortnight of the appointment as set out in Human Resources Management Policy
Allowances (A-based Employees). The fire warden allowance will be increased
in line with the salary increases of this Agreement.
Liaison Officer Allowance
An employee who is appointed as a Liaison Officer in the office of the Minister
responsible for Austrade will be paid an annual allowance as set out in Human
Resources Management Policy Allowances (A-based Employees). The liaison
officer allowance will be increased in line with the salary increases of this
Agreement.
Motor Vehicle Allowance
Where the CEO considers that it will be more efficient or less expensive,
employees can be authorised to use a private car owned by the employee or hired
20

by the employee at Austrade expense for official travel. Where an employee uses
their private car for official travel they will be entitled to a motor vehicle
allowance.
(2)

5.13.6
(1)

5.14

The motor vehicle allowances applicable within Australia and at overseas locations
are outlined in the Human Resources Management Policy Allowances (A-based
Employees).
Language Proficiency Allowance
Language Proficiency Allowance will be paid fortnightly to an employee at a rate
commensurate with the level achieved in an officially recognised language test.
The allowance will be payable where the use of the language in which the
employee has a qualification is a requirement for the performance of their duties.
Rates payable are detailed in the Human Resources Management Policy
Allowances (A-based Employees).
Healthy Living Reimbursement

(1)

In recognition of the potential benefit to Austrade of employees undertaking

healthy lifestyle initiatives, each eligible ongoing employee may apply for
reimbursement of expenses up to $400.00 per financial year towards maintaining a
healthy lifestyle.

(2)

The Human Resources Management Policy Healthy Living Reimbursement

Policy (A-based Employees) provides further details.

5.15

Leave Provisions

(1)

Employees requiring leave for less than one normal working day will be generally
encouraged to access their flextime credits or agree with their manager to make up
the period of absence.

(2)

Relevant details on the administration of annual and personal leave for employees
are contained in the Human Resources Management Policies Annual Leave,
Public Holidays and End of Year Leave Arrangements (A-based Employees)
and Personal Leave (A-based Employees).

5.15.1

Annual Leave

Accrual, approval and cancellation

(1)

Employees other than casual employees are entitled to accrue 20 days paid annual
leave for each year of service. Employees have access to annual leave entitlements
as they accrue.

(2)

Pro rata adjustments will be made for periods of leave without pay not to count as
service.

(3)

The CEO may approve an application by an employee for annual leave up to the
employees maximum accrued credit. Annual leave granted by the CEO counts as
service for all purposes.

(4)

Part-time employees accrue annual leave on a pro rata basis. Leave is accrued for
the nominal number of weekly hours over the accrual period. Annual leave granted
is deducted from leave accrued on an hour-for-hour basis with no salary variation.

21

(5)

Full-time employees are encouraged to take at least 30 days annual leave over two
calendar years. Part-time employees are expected to take a commensurate period of
leave calculated on a pro rata basis.

(6)

Where a public holiday occurs while an employee is on a period of annual leave,

the public holiday is not deducted from the employees annual leave credit.

(7)

Where an employees annual leave is cancelled without reasonable notice, or an

employee is recalled to work from leave, the employee will be reimbursed
reasonable travel costs and incidental expenses not otherwise recoverable under
insurance or from any other source.

(8)

An employee on parental leave (maternity, adoption/foster parents leave) may

access their annual leave at half pay during any period of unpaid parental leave.
For the purposes of counting as service, half of the total period of annual leave
taken at half pay will count as service for all purposes. The remaining half will be
considered parental leave without pay.

Direction to Take Leave

(9)

On 1 February in each year, any employee who has credited annual leave of more
than 8 weeks (pro rata for a part-time employee) may be directed to take an amount
of annual leave equal to up to a quarter of the employees total annual leave credit
at the time the direction is given. Purchased leave is not included for the purpose
of this provision.

(10)

Such an employee will not be required to attend for work for that period and they
will receive their annual leave entitlement for the period for which they have been
directed to take annual leave. The employee will be regarded as being on annual
leave for all purposes during that period.

(11)

As an alternative to being directed to take leave, the employee may request, in

writing, to cash out their excess credits. The maximum amount of excess leave
that can be cashed out is 2 weeks in any 12 month period, provided the balance of
accrued leave remaining is at least 4 weeks. Payment will be made at the rate
prescribed by legislation.

Payment on Termination of Employment

(12)

Accrued annual leave will be paid out on termination of employment, less

adjustment if necessary for periods not to count as service. Payment in lieu of
accrued leave on termination of employment will include allowances payable in
Australia which would have been payable for the period if the employee had
accessed the accrued leave.

Death of an Employee
(13)

Where an employee dies or the CEO has reason to believe the employee has died
on a certain date, the CEO may authorise the payment in lieu of any accrued annual
leave and long service leave credits to the former employees partner, dependants
or legal personal representative. If a payment has not been made within 12 months
of the former employees death, it should be paid to the legal personal
representative. Any such payment may be reduced by the amount of any monies
owed to Austrade by the former employee. Long Service Leave credits will be paid
out in accordance with the Long Service Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Act
1976.
22

5.15.2

Christmas/New Year Leave Arrangements

(1)

As an international organisation, it is necessary for Austrade to continue essential

operations over the Christmas/New Year period.

(2)

Employees based in Australia over this period will be reduced to the minimum
level necessary to meet essential operational requirements.

(3)

Staffing will be arranged primarily on a volunteer basis. Where operational

requirements cannot be met on this basis, employees may be requested to work,
including on the public holidays falling in the Christmas/New Year period. Where
an employee other than a casual employee is requested to work on any of the
public holidays falling in the Christmas/New Year period, the employee may refuse
the request where he or she has reasonable grounds for doing so. In determining
whether an employees refusal to work on those public holidays is reasonable
regard must be had to the matters set out in the Human Resources Management
Policy Annual Leave, Public Holidays and End of Year Leave Arrangements
(A-based Employees).

(4)

Between Christmas and New Year, employees, other than casual employees, who
are not required to work over this period, will be eligible for 3 days paid leave
without deduction from accrued leave credits. Employees other than casual
employees who are required to work over the period will be eligible for time off in
lieu at a subsequent date, subject to operational requirements.

5.15.3
(1)

5.15.4

Purchased Leave
An ongoing employee may apply to purchase either 1 or 2 weeks (5 or 10 days for
full-time employees) additional leave in any one year period. The leave is paid for
progressively over the course of the relevant year. The Human Resource
Management Policy Purchased Leave (A-based Employees) sets out the
process for applying for and approving purchased leave.
Personal Leave

(1)

Personal leave is provided to employees other than casual employees for absences
caused by their illness or injury; or to care for or support a member of the
employees immediate family, or a member of the employees household, who
requires care or support because of a personal illness, or injury, of the member; or
because of an unexpected emergency affecting the member; or for the purposes of
moving house or attending a funeral.

(2)

Ongoing employees will accrue personal leave progressively in their first year of
appointment to Austrade and on each anniversary of their appointment they will be
credited with 20 days personal leave. Part-time employees are credited with and
accrue personal leave on a pro rata basis. Non-ongoing employees other than
casual employees are entitled to accrue 20 days paid personal leave for each year
of service credited progressively. Unused credits will be cumulative. Employees
have access to personal leave entitlements as they accrue.

(3)

Employees who have exhausted their personal leave are entitled to 2 days unpaid
carers leave for each occasion where a member of the employees immediate
family or household requires care because of illness, injury or unexpected
emergency. The employee must in this case provide a medical certificate from a

23

registered health practitioner or statutory declaration detailing the reason for this
leave. This leave will count as service for all purposes.
(4)

Accrued personal leave will not be paid out on termination of employment.

(5)

Further details of entitlement definitions and approval requirements are contained

in Human Resources Management Policy Personal Leave (A-based
Employees).

5.15.5

Compassionate Leave

(1)

An employee other than a casual employee is entitled to a period of 2 days paid

leave for each occasion when a member of the employees immediate family or
household has a personal illness or injury that poses a serious threat to his or her
life, or dies, in accordance with section 104 of the Fair Work Act 2009.

(2)

If the leave is due to illness or injury that poses a serious threat to the immediate
family member or household member of the employee, it can be taken at any time
while the illness or injury persists.

(3)

The leave can be taken in a single unbroken period of 2 days or 2 separate periods
of 1 day.

(4)

Austrade may require the employee to provide evidence of the illness, injury or
death in support of the request for leave. The Human Resources Management
Policy Compassionate Leave (A-based Employees) provides further details.

5.15.6

Miscellaneous Leave

(1)

The CEO may approve miscellaneous leave for employees other than casual
employees, which is in the interests of Austrade, either with or without pay. The
CEO may also prescribe the circumstances under which leave without pay may
count as service.

(2)

An indicative list of types of miscellaneous leave, with or without pay, is included

at Appendix D.

(3)

Miscellaneous leave is the mechanism by which Defence Reservists may request

leave to undertake peacetime training and deployment and Community Service
Volunteers are released for emergency service duties.

(4)

The Human Resources Management Policy Miscellaneous Leave With/Without

Pay (A-based Employees) provides further details.

5.15.7

Maternity Leave

(1)

Employees are entitled to maternity leave in accordance with the provisions of the
Maternity Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Act 1973.

(2)

In addition to the 12 weeks paid leave contained in the above Act an eligible
employee will be entitled to a further 2 weeks paid leave commencing immediately
after the 12 weeks. The employee has the option of extending the period of paid
leave by electing to have the 14 week paid leave period converted to half pay. For
the purpose of calculating the employees period of service for any purpose, the
part of her maternity leave for which she is paid is the first 14 weeks. Any period
of payment extending beyond the first 14 weeks will be treated as unpaid maternity
leave and does not count as service.
24

(3)

The maximum period of combined parental and maternity leave accessible is 2

years of paid and unpaid leave.

(4)

Employees may access their annual leave at half pay during periods of unpaid
maternity leave. For the purposes of counting as service, half of the total period of
annual leave taken at half pay will count as service for all purposes. The remaining
half will be considered parental leave without pay.

(5)

The Human Resources Management Policy Maternity, Adoption and Foster

Parents Leave (A-based Employees) provides further details.

5.15.8

Parental Leave

Unpaid Parental Leave

(1)

Parental and adoption leave are provided for in accordance with the provisions of
the Fair Work Act 2009. In addition, where an employee assumes a permanent
foster care arrangement, and is the primary carer, the employee is also eligible for
parental leave. An employee, other than a non-eligible casual employee, who has
given birth to, adopted a child, or permanently fostered a child is entitled to leave
of absence without pay for a maximum of 2 years to care for a newborn, or newly
adopted/ fostered child.

(2)

The Human Resources Management Policy Parental Leave (A-based

Employees) provides further details.

Paid Parental Leave

(3)

An employee eligible for paid adoption leave and foster parents leave is entitled to
payment for the first 14 weeks of adoption/foster parents leave which can be
converted to half pay. The provisions for paid adoption/foster parents leave
mirrors the same provisions as paid maternity leave. The Human Resources
Management Policy Maternity, Adoption and Foster Parents Leave (A-based
Employees) provides further details.

(4)

Employees may access their annual leave at half pay during periods of unpaid
parental leave (adoption/foster parents leave). For the purposes of counting as
service, half of annual leave taken at half pay will count as service for all purposes.
The remaining half will be considered parental leave without pay.

(5)

An employee whose spouse or partner is giving birth to or adopting or permanently

fostering a child may access 2 weeks paid parental leave at the time of birth,
adoption, or permanent foster care. Paid parental leave for supporting partners may
also be converted to half pay upon request; however for the purposes of leave to
count for service the first 2 weeks will be calculated. The Human Resources
Management Policy Parental Leave (A-based Employees) provides further
details.

Returning to Work After Parental Leave

(6)

An employee returning from parental leave may request to return to work on a

part-time basis. Further information on part-time employment can be found in
Human Resource Management Policy Part-Time Employment (A-based
Employees).

(7)

When returning to work from parental leave an employee is entitled to return to:
25

(8)

For the purposes of this clause, duties means those performed:

(9)

5.15.9

the employees pre-parental/maternity leave duties; or

if those duties no longer exists an available position for which the
employee is qualified and suited at the same classification and pay as
applied pre-parental/maternity leave.

if the employee was moved to safe duties because of the pregnancy

immediately before the move; or
if the employee began working part-time because of the pregnancy
immediately before the part-time employment began; or
otherwise immediately before the employee commenced maternity or
parental leave.

An employee who has taken parental leave in excess of four weeks is required to
give their manager at least four weeks notice of the date the employee proposes to
return to work.
Long Service Leave

(1)

Employees who have accrued an entitlement under the Long Service

(Commonwealth Employees) Act 1976 may access long service leave for a
minimum period of seven calendar days at any one time.

(2)

Long service leave will not be granted in patterns where a period of any other leave
breaks the long service leave (for example long service leave/annual leave/long
service leave). However, long service leave may be granted in combination with
annual leave in patterns where this does not occur (for example, annual leave/long
service leave/annual leave/return to work.

5.15.10 Portability of Leave and Recognition of Prior Service

(1)

Where an employee moves (including on promotion or for an agreed period) from

another agency, where they were an ongoing APS employee, the employees
unused accrued Annual leave and Personal/Carers leave (however described) will
be recognised, provided there is no break in continuity of service.

(2)

Where an employee is engaged as either an ongoing or non-ongoing APS employee

immediately following a period of ongoing employment in the Parliamentary
Service or the ACT Government Service, the employees unused accrued Annual
leave and Personal/Carers leave (however described) will be recognised.

5.15.11 Public Holidays

(1)

Employees will be entitled to the following public holidays:

New Year's Day (1 January);

Australia Day (26 January);
Good Friday;
Easter Monday;
Anzac Day (25 April);
The Queen's birthday holiday (on the day on which it is celebrated in a
State or Territory or a region of a State or Territory);
Christmas Day (25 December);
Boxing Day (26 December);
26

Any other day, or part-day, declared or prescribed by or under a law of a

State or Territory to be observed generally within the State or Territory, or
a region of the State or Territory, as a public holiday, other than a day or
part-day, or a kind of day or part-day, that is excluded by the Fair Work
regulations from counting as a public holiday.

(2)

If an employee performs work on Easter Saturday at the request of Austrade, the

employee will be paid salary at the public holiday rate for the hours of work
performed on that day, even if that day is not otherwise a public holiday for the
purposes of this Agreement.

(3)

If under a state or territory law, a day or part day is substituted for one of the public
holidays listed above, then the substituted day or part day is the public holiday.

(6)

The CEO and an employee may agree on the substitution of a day or part day that
would otherwise be a public holiday, having regard to operational requirements.

(5)

An employee, who is absent on a day or part-day that is a public holiday in the

place where the employee is based for work purposes, is entitled to be paid for the
part or full day absence as if that day or part-day was not a public holiday, except
where that person would not normally have worked on that day.

(6)

Where a public holiday falls during a period when an employee is absent on leave
(other than Annual or paid Personal/Carers leave) there is no entitlement to receive
payment as a public holiday. Payment for that day would be in accordance with the
entitlement for that form of leave (e.g. if on long service leave on half pay,
payment is on half pay).

(7)

Further details are in the Human Resource Management Policy Annual Leave,
Public Holidays and End of Year Leave Arrangements (A-based Employees).

SECTION 6

WORKING FLEXIBLY

(1)

Within the confines of its operational requirements, Austrade is committed to

providing employees the flexibility to balance both personal and professional
commitments and to plan and manage individual workloads to maximise
productivity and balance work and personal commitments.

(2)

Austrade and its employees recognise the benefits that flex-time, flexible working
hours, regular part-time work and job sharing provides individuals, and the work
area to meet both work and personal commitments.

(3)

Underlying this Agreement is the recognition by Austrade and its employees that
the notion of the workplace and of working arrangements goes beyond the
traditional office environment and extends to work undertaken away from the
office and in the home.

(4)

Austrade recognises that for the period nursing mothers are feeding their infants,
their manager should be mindful of their particular short-term needs. Requests by
employees for private facilities for breast-feeding mothers will be accommodated
as required.

27

6.1

Flexible Working Arrangements

(1)

APL 1 and APL 2 employees, other than casual employees, may access flextime
arrangements. Flextime enables APL 1 and APL 2 employees and their managers
to vary working hours, patterns and arrangements to provide both operational
flexibility and benefits to employees.

(2)

APL 3 APL 5 employees do not have access to flex time but are able to work
flexible work hours. The arrangements in relation to flexible hours will be designed
and agreed between the employee and manager taking into account the need to
balance the achievement of organisational outcomes and individual personal
commitments. Managers of APL 3 APL 5 staff are also able to provide time off
in lieu (TOIL) to recognise additional hours worked. While TOIL will not be one
hour for one hour it should be fair and reasonable in relation to the additional hours
worked. Agreed flexible arrangements may provide for time-off-in-lieu without
deduction from leave credits in recognition of extra time worked required to
complete job requirements.

(3)

All employees are required to submit flexible work requests to their manager in
writing. Any decisions on flexible work requests will also be provided in writing to
employees.

(4)

The Human Resources Management Policy Flextime, Overtime, Time Off In

Lieu, and Emergency Duty (A-based Employees) provides further details.

6.2
(1)

Part-Time Employment
The provision of part-time work is a significant contribution to helping employees
achieve a balance between work demands and other responsibilities.
Managers may agree to reasonable requests for regular part-time work, where it
can be demonstrated that the operational requirements of the function can be
fulfilled on a part-time basis. All requests and decisions for part-time work will be
notified in writing.

Flexible Work Arrangements For Parents

(1)

An employee who is a parent, or has responsibility for the care of a child under
school age or a child under 18 who has a disability, may request flexible working
arrangements, including part-time hours. The employee is not eligible to make this
request unless they have completed at least 12 months of continuous qualifying
service.

(2)

A casual employee engaged for irregular or intermittent duties may only request
flexible work arrangements if the employee:
(a) is a long term casual employee immediately before making the request; and
(b) has reasonable expectation of continuing employment on a regular and
systematic basis.

(3)

Managers may initiate the introduction or extension of part-time employment.

Employees will not be required to convert from full-time to part-time hours, or
from part-time to full-time hours, without their agreement.

(4)

Details of the application of the provisions of part-time employment are set out in
the Human Resources Management Policy Part-Time Employment (A-based
Employees).

28

6.3

Working from home

(1)

The provision of working from home is a significant contribution to helping

employees achieve a balance between work demands and other responsibilities.

(2)

An employee and their manager may agree to the employee working from home on
either a regular or temporary basis, subject to operational requirements including
the impact on individual workloads and on the employees work area.

(3)

Issues to be considered in approving a regular arrangement for working from home

and procedures to be followed in setting up a work site in an employees home,
including security and work health and safety requirements, are set out in the
Human Resources Management Policy Home-Based Work (All Employees).

6.3.1

Ad hoc working from home

(1)

The procedures in the Human Resources Management Policy Home-Based Work

(All Employees) do not apply to ad hoc periods working from home. Such ad hoc
arrangements may be entered into only if it is known at the outset that the
arrangement is for a short period (a period not exceeding one month). Managers
must be satisfied that such ad hoc arrangements will not involve significant work
health and safety and/or security risks, and that the cost to Austrade will be
minimal.

(2)

Agreement may be reached on rare occasions for an employee to work from home
while they are suffering from a minor illness or injury, or have responsibility for
another person who needs minor care. However, working from home is not to be
considered as a substitute for caring arrangements, nor when it would be more
appropriate for the employee to use personal leave.

(3)

An ad hoc arrangement may be terminated at any time by the employee and/or

manager subject to provision of reasonable notice by either party.

6.4
(1)

Mature Age Employees

It is acknowledged that with the continued ageing of the Australian workforce,
management and work practices should be geared to optimise the contribution of
skilled and experienced workers and to encourage those who are making a valuable
contribution to stay longer in the workforce. Strategies to achieve this may include:

flexible working arrangements, such as part-time work and phased

retirement;

creative use of their skills (e.g. mentoring, skills transfer and different roles
with the opportunity, where desired and appropriate, to phase out
managerial responsibilities);

active management of leave to encourage use of recreation and long-service

leave so that employees maintain a healthy work/life balance and level of
enthusiasm;

encouragement to take sabbaticals and other development opportunities to

maintain drive and expertise.

29

SECTION 7
7.1

CO-OPERATIVE WORKING ARRANGEMENTS

Commitment to Consultation

(1)

Austrade is committed to communicating and consulting with employees and their

representatives about matters that affect Austrade employees and to promoting
active employee participation in Austrades consultative processes. Consultation is
more than simply informing employees about what is happening in the workplace.
Decision makers will ensure that employees not only receive information on
workplace issues but also have an opportunity to contribute and have their views
considered before a proposal is finalised and the change implemented.

(2)

Austrade will, where possible, provide employees and their representatives with all
relevant information about proposed changes in the workplace in a timely manner.
However, Austrade will not be required to disclose confidential or commercially
sensitive information. Austrade will consult on change to ensure that employees
and their representatives have the opportunity to influence proposals relating to that
change, prior to their implementation. In providing information, Austrade will,
where possible, include details of the proposed changes to organisational structures
and technology, including expected timetables and key dates, and possible changes
to the way work is performed, existing lines of control, workloads and
classifications.

(3)

Decision makers are encouraged to involve employees as early as is practicable in

the consultative process so that workplace issues are addressed as proposals are
developed. Decision makers may establish regular consultative arrangements that
are appropriate to the issues and circumstances with employees and their
representatives as part of this process.

7.2

Workplace Consultation

(1)

7.3

Consultation at the workplace level can take many forms but regular employee,
branch, section or team meetings are encouraged, as they provide an avenue for
sharing information, receiving feedback, generating ideas and resolving workplace
issues in a spirit of cooperation and trust.
Consultation on Major Change

(1)

7.4

Austrade commits to consult on major workplace changes which are likely to have
a significant impact upon Austrade employees and which include:
(a)

changes in the structure, organisation, technology and composition,

operation, size or location of the workforce, or in required workplace
skills; and

(b)

termination of excess employees.

Representation

(1)

In any matter arising under this Agreement, an employee may have an employee
representative, which may be a union representative, assist or represent them, and
all relevant persons will deal with any representative in good faith. To avoid doubt,
this assistance includes acting as an advocate.

(2)

Representatives will be provided with reasonable facilities to carry out their roles.
Employee representatives will not suffer any employment related detriment as a
result of performing their representative function.
30

7.5

Consultative Committee

(1)

Following commencement of this Agreement, the Workplace Relations Committee

will be a forum for consultation within Austrade.

(2)

The Workplace Relations Committee will be chaired by the Chief Human

Resources and Change Management Officer and will comprise representatives of
management and employees. Nominations and election of employee
representatives will take place following commencement of this Agreement.
Criteria to be applied in the nomination and election of employee representatives
will include:

representatives from differing Austrade Performance Levels;

overseas and Australian work experience;
gender mix; and
a nominated union Delegate.

(3)

Human Resources Division will provide the Secretariat function for the Workplace
Relations Committee and will be the first point of contact for matters arising out of
the operation of this Agreement.

(4)

Access to appropriate facilities (including communication systems, office

equipment and notice boards) will be available to members of the Workplace
Relations Committee and members of any sub-committees established by the
Committee.

(5)

The Workplace Relations Committee will have the primary responsibility for
monitoring the implementation of this Agreement. The Workplace Relations
Committee may at any time make recommendations to the CEO regarding
workplace issues not explicitly dealt with in this Agreement.

(6)

The Workplace Relations Committee will be able to establish sub-committees.

(7)

The Terms of Reference and Role of the Workplace Relations Committee are set
out in Appendix E.

(8)

The CEO will arrange for the calling of nominations and the election, as necessary,
of employee representatives for the new Workplace Relations Committee, as soon
as possible after the commencement of this Agreement.

(9)

The first meeting of the new Workplace Relations Committee will occur within
three months of the commencement of this Agreement.

7.6

Dispute Resolution

(1)

If a dispute relates to:

(a) a matter arising under the agreement;
(b) the National Employment Standards;
this term sets out procedures to settle the dispute.

(2)

An employee who is a party to the dispute may appoint a representative for the
purposes of the procedures in this term.

(3)

In the first instance, the parties to the dispute must try to resolve the dispute at the
workplace level, by discussions between the employee or employees and relevant
supervisors and/or management.
31

(4)

If discussions at the workplace level do not resolve the dispute, a party to the
dispute may refer the matter to Fair Work Australia.

(5)

Fair Work Australia may deal with the dispute in 2 stages:

(a) Fair Work Australia will first attempt to resolve the dispute as it considers
appropriate, including by mediation, conciliation, expressing an opinion or
making a recommendation; and
(b) if Fair Work Australia is unable to resolve the dispute at the first stage, Fair
Work Australia may then:
(i) arbitrate the dispute; and
(ii) make a determination that is binding on the parties.
Note If Fair Work Australia arbitrates the dispute, it may also use the powers that are available to it
under the Act.
A decision that Fair Work Australia makes when arbitrating a dispute is a decision for the purpose
of Div 3 of Part 5.1 of the Act. Therefore, an appeal may be made against the decision.

(6)

While the parties are trying to resolve the dispute using the procedures in this term:
(a) an employee must continue to perform his or her work as he or she would
normally unless he or she has a reasonable concern about an imminent risk to
his or her health or safety; and
(b) an employee must comply with a direction given by the employer to perform
other available work at the same workplace, or at another workplace, unless:
(i) the work is not safe; or
(ii) applicable work health and safety legislation would not permit the work
to be performed; or
(iii) the work is not appropriate for the employee to perform; or
(iv) there are other reasonable grounds for the employee to refuse to comply
with the direction.

(7)

The parties to the dispute agree to be bound by a decision made by Fair Work
Australia in accordance with this term.

32

Appendix A

AUSTRADE PERFORMANCE LEVELS

Austrade Performance Level 1

Current
Pay
Points

Current
Salary

On
Commencement
2012*

1 July
2013

3%

3%

$44,594

$45,932

$47,310

$46,378

$47,769

$49,202

$48,232

$49,679

$51,169

$50,162

$51,667

$53,217

$52,168

$53,733

$55,345

$54,256

$55,884

$57,561

$56,426

$58,119

$59,863

$58,683

$60,443

$62,256

$61,178

$63,013

$64,903

10

$63,768

$65,681

$67,651

* Salary rates take effect on date of commencement.

33

Austrade Performance Level 2

Current
On
Current
Pay
Commencement*
Salary
Points
2012
3%

1 July 2013
3%

$66,318

$68,308

$70,357

$68,972

$71,041

$73,172

$71,850

$74,006

$76,226

$74,851

$77,097

$79,410

$77,975

$80,314

$82,723

$81,266

$83,704

$86,215

* Salary rates take effect on date of commencement.

Austrade Performance Level 3

Current
On
Current
Pay
Commencement* 1 July 2013
Salary
Points
2012
3%
3%
1

$86,548

$89,144

$91,818

$90,010

$92,710

$95,491

$93,610

$96,418

$99,311

$97,355

$100,276

$103,284

* Salary rates take effect on date of commencement.

34

Austrade Performance Level 4

Current
On
Current
Pay
Commencement* 1 July 2013
Salary
Points
2012
3%
3%
1

$101,248

$104,285

$107,414

$105,199

$108,355

$111,606

$109,302

$112,581

$115,958

$113,564

$116,971

$120,480

$117,992

$121,532

$125,178

* Salary rates take effect on date of commencement.

Austrade Performance Level 5

Current
On
Current
Pay
Commencement* 1 July 2013
Salary
Points
2012
3%

3%

$122,712

$126,393

$130,185

$127,314

$131,133

$135,067

$132,088

$136,051

$140,133

$137,042

$141,153

$145,388

* Salary rates take effect on date of commencement.

35

Appendix B

SUPPORTED SALARY PAYMENTS FOR EMPLOYEES

WITH A DISABILITY

1.

Workers Eligible for a Supported Wage

1.1

These provisions define the conditions which will apply to employees who because of
the effects of a disability are eligible for a supported wage under the terms of this
Agreement. In the context of these provisions, the following definitions will apply:

Supported wage system

means the Commonwealth Government system to

promote employment for people who cannot work at full
wages because of a disability.

Accredited assessor

means a person accredited by the managing unit

established by the Commonwealth under the Supported
Wage System to perform assessments of an individuals
productive capacity within the Supported Wage System.

Disability support pension

means the Commonwealth pension scheme to provide

income security for persons with a disability as provided
for under the Social Security Act 1991, as amended from
time to time, or any successor to that scheme.

Assessment instrument

means the form provided for under the Supported Wage

System that records the assessment of the productive
capacity of the person to be employed under the
Supported Wage System.

2.

Eligibility Criteria

2.1

Employees covered by these provisions will be those who are unable to perform the
range of duties to the competence level required within the class of work for which the
employee is engaged under this Agreement, because of the effects of a disability on
their productive capacity, and who meet the impairment criteria test for a Disability
Support Pension.

2.2

These provisions do not apply to any existing employee who has a claim against
Austrade which is subject to the provisions of workers compensation legislation or any
provision of this Agreement relating to the rehabilitation of employees who are injured
in the course of their employment.

2.3

These provisions also do not apply in respect of any facility, program, undertaking,
service or the like which receives funding under the Disability Services Act 1986, and
which fulfils the dual role of service provider and sheltered employer to people with
disabilities who are in receipt of, or are eligible for, a Disability Support Pension,
except with respect to an organisation which has received recognition under section 10
of the Disability Services Act 1986, or if a part only has received recognition, that part.

36

3.
3.1

Supported Salary Rates

Employees to whom these provisions apply shall be paid the applicable percentage of
the salary prescribed by this Agreement for the class of work which the person is
performing according to the following schedule, provided that the minimum amount
payable is not less than the minimum prescribed rate set by the relevant Government
body.
Assessed Capacity
(Clause 4)

% of prescribed salary

10%*
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%

10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%

* Where a persons assessed capacity is 10%, he/she will receive a high degree of assistance
and support.

4.

Assessment of Capacity

4.1

For the purpose of establishing the percentage of the salary rate to be paid to an
employee under this Agreement, the productive capacity of the employee will be
assessed in accordance with the Supported Wage System and documented in an
assessment instrument.

5.

Lodgement of Assessment Instrument

5.1

All assessment instruments under the conditions of these provisions, including the
appropriate percentage of the Agreement wage to be paid to the employee, shall be:
(a) lodged by the employer with the relevant Government body; and
(b) agreed and signed by the parties to the assessment.

6.

Review of Assessment

6.1

The assessment of the applicable percentage should be subject to annual review, or

earlier on the basis of a reasonable request for such a review. The process of review
shall be in accordance with the procedures for assessing capacity under the Supported
Wage System.

7.

Other Employment Conditions

7.1

Where an assessment has been made, the applicable percentage shall apply to the salary
only. Employees covered by these provisions will be entitled to the same terms and
conditions of employment as all other employees covered by this Agreement, paid on a
pro rata basis.
37

8.

Workplace Adjustment

8.1

Where the CEO employs a person under these provisions, he or she shall take
reasonable steps to make changes in the workplace to enhance the employees capacity
to do the job. Changes may involve re-design of job duties, working time arrangements
and work organisation in consultation with other workers in the area.

9.

Trial Period

9.1

In order for an adequate assessment of the employees capacity to be made, the CEO
may employ a person under these provisions for a trial period not exceeding 12 weeks,
except that in some cases additional work adjustment time (not exceeding 4 weeks)
may be needed.

9.2

During the trial period the assessment of capacity shall be undertaken and the proposed
wage rate for a continuing employment relationship will be determined.

9.3

The minimum amount payable to the employee during the trial period will be no less
than $69 per week, increased in line with decisions by the relevant Government body.

9.4

Where the CEO and employee wish to establish a continuing employment relationship
following the completion of the trial period, a further contract of employment shall be
entered into based on the outcome of the assessment under Clause 4.

38

Appendix C

REDEPLOYMENT AND RETRENCHMENT

PROVISIONS

1.

Application

1.1

These provisions apply in respect of an ongoing Austrade employee covered by the

terms of this Agreement who has completed a period of probation, where applicable.

1.2

An employee is an excess employee if:

(a) the employee is included in a class of employee which comprises a greater
number of employees than is necessary for the efficient and economical
working of Austrade; or
(b) the services of the employee cannot be effectively used because of
technological or other changes in the work methods of Austrade or changes in
the nature, extent or organisation of Austrades functions; or
(c) the duties usually performed by the employee are to be performed at a
different locality and the employee is not willing to transfer to that locality and
the CEO has determined that these provisions [i.e. those in Appendix C] apply
to the employee.

2.
2.1

Management of Excess Staffing Situations

Austrade is committed to ensuring that staffing level reductions are managed where
possible through redeployment to meaningful continuing functions, retraining where
necessary and natural attrition. Retrenchment will be resorted to only after all other
forms of action have been taken to reduce excess staffing levels in accordance with
these provisions.

3.

Consultation Process

3.1

When the CEO is aware that an employee is likely to become excess, the CEO will
advise the employee of the situation.

3.2

The CEO will arrange for discussions to be held with the employee or, where the
employee requests, with the employees representative, to consider measures that could
be taken to resolve the situation, including redeployment opportunities for the
employee at or below their substantive level.

3.3

Should it be decided that 15 or more employees whose employment is likely to be

terminated on the grounds that they are excess to the requirements of Austrade, the
CEO will comply with the requirements of 530 of the FW Act and regulation section
3.30 of the Fair Work Regulations 2009. The written advice to Centrelink will include:
(a) the possible retrenchments and the reasons for them;
(b) the numbers and categories of employees likely to be affected; and
(c) the time when, or the period over which, the CEO intends to carry out the
retrenchments.

3.4

At the request of affected employees, representatives of those employees may be

invited by the CEO to participate in discussions on measures to mitigate the possible
retrenchments.
39

3.5

The CEO may, before the conclusion of these discussions, invite employees who are
not excess to express interest in retrenchment, where the retrenchment of those
employees would permit the redeployment of employees who are in a redundancy
situation and who would otherwise remain excess.

3.6

Where an employee who is not excess wishes to be made redundant, the decision as to
whether or not to make that employee redundant remains with the CEO.

3.7

No earlier than one month after the initial notification of the likelihood that an
employee is likely to become excess (unless a lesser period is agreed by the CEO and
the employee), the CEO will identify employees who are excess to requirements and
notify those employees in writing of their excess status.

3.8

Employees who are declared excess will be eligible for reimbursement of the cost of
professional financial advice in accordance with clause 5.12 of this Agreement.

4.

Redeployment

4.1

The CEO may redeploy at or below level an employee who would otherwise be excess
to requirements to any vacancy which the employee is qualified to fill.

4.2

An employee may only refuse redeployment, and still be considered an excess

employee, where the vacancy to which the employee is to be redeployed is at a different
locality.

5.

Notice Periods

5.1

An employee who is excess will be given formal notice of termination of employment

under section 29 of the Act of not less than 35 days.

5.2

Where the CEO so directs, or the employee so requests, the employees employment
may be terminated under section 29 of the Act at any time within the period of notice
and the employee is thereupon entitled to receive payment in lieu of notice for the
unexpired portion of the period.

6.
6.1

Severance Benefit
An excess employee whose employment is terminated by the CEO under section 29 of
the Act on the grounds that he or she is excess to the requirements of Austrade shall be
entitled to be paid a sum equivalent to:

6.2

2 weeks salary for each completed year of continuous service; subject to the
minimum entitlements in the National Employment Standards (NES) (which
provides for employees with between 2 and 3 years service, and 3 and 4 years
service, to receive 6 weeks and 7 weeks severance payment respectively) ; and
a pro rata payment for completed months of continuous service, calculated in
accordance with these provisions.

For part-time employees, the severance benefit will be calculated on a pro-rata basis
where an employee has worked part-time hours during the period of service and the
employee has less than 24 years full-time service, subject to any minimum entitlement
under the employee has under NES.
40

6.3

Except as noted in 6.4 below, the minimum sum payable under this Agreement shall be
4 weeks salary and the maximum shall be 48 weeks salary.

6.4.1 An employee engaged by Austrade before 1 July 2006 shall retain the level of
severance benefit as at 30 June 2006.
6.4.2 An employee engaged by Austrade before 1 July 2006 and who had would have had, on
30 June 2006, an entitlement to severance benefit of greater than 48 weeks salary, shall
retain that benefit, but shall not be entitled to any further severance benefit.
6.4.3 If the severance benefit at 30 June 2006 would have been less than 48 weeks, the
employee will be entitled to a further severance benefit in accordance with 6.1 above,
to a maximum of 48 weeks salary.
6.5

Service for calculating the severance benefit means:

6.6

For earlier periods of service to count there must be no breaks between the periods of
service, except where:

6.7

service in Austrade;
Government service as defined in section 10 of the Long Service Leave Act 1976;
service with the Australian Defence Forces;
APS service immediately preceding deemed resignation under the repealed section
49 of the Public Service Act 1922, if the service has not previously been recognised
for severance pay purposes.

the break in service is less than 1 month and occurs where an offer of employment
with the new employer was made and accepted by the employee before ceasing
employment with the preceding employer; or
the earlier period of service was with the APS and ceased because the employee
was deemed to have resigned from the APS on marriage under the repealed section
49 of the Public Service Act 1922.

Any period of service which ceased:

by way of any of the grounds for termination specified in section 29 of the Act
(including any additional grounds prescribed in the Public Service Regulations);or
on a ground equivalent to any of these grounds; or
on voluntary retirement at or above the minimum retiring age applicable to the
employee; or
with the payment of a redundancy benefit or similar payment or an employerfinanced retirement benefit,

will not count as service for severance pay purposes.

6.8

Absences from work which do not count as service for long service leave purposes will
not count as service for severance pay purposes.

Payment in lieu of notice

6.9

For the purpose of calculating any payment in lieu of notice or part payment thereof,
the CEO shall use the salary that an employee would have received had he or she

41

worked during the notice (or the unexpired portion of the notice period, as appropriate)
had the employment not been terminated.
Salary for severance payment calculation purposes
6.10 For the purpose of calculating a severance benefit payment, salary will include:

the employees salary at their substantive work value level, adjusted where
appropriate for periods of part time service; or

the salary of the higher work value level, where the employee has been working at a
higher level for a continuous period of at least 12 months immediately preceding the
date upon which he or she received notice of termination; and

other allowances in the nature of salary which are paid during periods of recreation
leave and on a regular basis, excluding allowances which are a reimbursement for
expenses incurred, or a payment for a disabilities associated with the performance of a
duty.

7.

Moving Household

7.1

If an employee who would otherwise have been declared excess is redeployed and such
redeployment requires a movement of his or her household to a new locality, the
employee is entitled to all reasonable expenses associated with that move on the same
basis which would apply if the employee were being promoted.

8.

Grievances

8.1

Grievances associated with the operation of these retrenchment provisions shall be

handled in accordance with the review of employment related actions in accordance
with clause 3.2 of this Agreement.

9.

Other Action Not Prevented

9.1

Nothing in these provisions shall prevent the termination of the employment of an

employee on grounds of misconduct or inefficiency. Any employee whose employment
is terminated for misconduct or inefficiency shall not be entitled to redundancy benefits
notwithstanding that the employee may have previously been declared excess to
requirements.

9.2

The Human Resource Management Policy Redeployment and Retrenchment Policy

(A-based Employees) provides further details.

42

Appendix D

MISCELLANEOUS LEAVE

The following are indicative of the types of leave that may be granted under the
miscellaneous leave provisions:
1.

With Pay

2.

Settling in/out following, or prior to, an overseas assignment

Emergency/special purposes
Voluntary work for a registered charity (in accordance with the NES, section 109 of
the Fair Work Act 2009)
Release of Defence Reservists for peacetime training and deployment
Release of Community Service Volunteers for emergency management services
duties (in accordance with the NES, section 109 of the Fair Work Act 2009)
Disasters
Returned soldiers pension and medical purposes
Jury duty (in accordance with the NES, section 109 of the Fair Work Act 2009)
Days of cultural or religious significance for employees, including NAIDOC leave
Any other approved purpose

Without Pay

Defence service
Engagement in work or employment in the interests of defence or public safety
Engagement in private sector employment associated with compensation leave
Caring responsibilities
Ceremonial
Employment in the interests of Austrade
Accompanying a spouse on a assignment with a public sector agency
Federal or State Election Campaign purposes
Any other approved purpose

3.

Leave for ADF Reserve and Continuous Full Time Service or Cadet Force
Obligations

3.1

An employee may be granted leave (with or without pay) to enable the employee to
fulfill Australian Defence Force (ADF) Reserve and Continuous Full Time Service
(CFTS) or Cadet Force obligations.
Note: The entitlement to leave for Reserve Service is prescribed under the Defence Reserve Service
(Protection) Act 2001.

3.2

An employee is entitled to ADF Reserve leave with pay, for up to four weeks during
each financial year for the purpose of fulfilling service in the ADF Reserve. These
purposes include training and operational duty as required.
(a) During the employee's first year of ADF Reserve service, a further two weeks
paid leave may be granted to facilitate participation in additional ADF Reserve
training, including induction requirements.
(b) With the exception of the additional two weeks in the first year of service,
leave can be accumulated and taken over a period of two years, to enable the
employee to undertake training as a member of the ADF Reserve.
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(c) Employees are not required to pay their tax free ADF Reserve salary to the
Agency in any circumstances.
3.3

Defence Reserve leave counts as service for all purposes, except for unpaid leave to
undertake Continuous Full Time Service (CFTS). Unpaid leave for the purpose of
CFTS counts for all purposes except Annual leave.

3.4

Eligible employees may also apply for Annual leave, long service leave, leave without
pay, top-up pay or they may use flextime or make up time for the purpose of fulfilling
ADF Reserve, CFTS or Cadet Force obligations.

3.5

Employees are to notify supervisors at the earliest opportunity once the dates for ADF
Reserve, CFTS or Cadet Force activities are known and/or changed.

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Appendix E

WORKPLACE RELATIONS COMMITTEE TERMS OF

REFERENCE AND ROLE

1.

General Comments

1.1

This Agreement provides for consultation between non-SES employees and

management about matters that affect the Austrade workplace.

1.2

The Workplace Relations Committee (WRC) provides a forum to facilitate this

consultation.

1.3

The WRC is not a decision making body, however it is an important forum which
develops suggestions and recommendations and provides advice to the Executive.

1.4

The WRC has primary responsibility for monitoring the implementation of this
Agreement.

2.

Terms of Reference

2.1

The WRC deals with matters that affect the Austrade workplace and promotes active
employee participation in Austrades ongoing change management and workplace
productivity improvement agenda. Matters for consideration may involve, but are not
limited to, the following:
(a) A-based employment policies and practices;
(b) employee accommodation and facilities;
(c) systems and procedures;
(d) proposed technological change; and
(e) employee learning and development.

3.

Role of the WRC

3.1

To serve as a consultative forum about matters that affect the Austrade workplace, and
to promote active employee participation in Austrades ongoing change management
and workplace productivity improvement agenda.

3.2

To provide an accessible and representative forum, ensuring that employees not only
receive information on workplace issues that affect them, but also have an opportunity
to contribute their views on those issues.

3.3

To monitor the implementation of this Agreement.

3.4

To establish sub-committees as necessary, to investigate and report back on matters

raised for discussion in the WRC.

3.5

To oversee the activities of sub-committees established by the WRC.

3.6

To develop suggestions and provide advice and recommendations to the Chief

Executive Officer (CEO) reflecting employee views and input.

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4.

Chair

4.1

The WRC is chaired by the Chief HR & Change Management Officer (CHRCMO).

5.

Management Representation on the WRC

5.1

Austrade management will be represented by up to 4 Senior Executive Service

employees, including the CHRCMO, appointed by the CEO.

6.

Employee Representation

6.1

Austrade A-based APL 1-5 employee groups will be represented as set out below:
(a) A-based onshore employees: a minimum of 3 and up to 6 representatives,
including one each from Canberra, Melbourne and Sydney offices and up to 3
representatives from other offices;
(b) A-based offshore employees: 1 employee representative; and
(c) a nominated union Delegate.

7.

Process for Appointment of Employee Representatives

7.1

Employee representatives will be appointed by the CHRCMO for the life of this
Agreement.

7.2

Nominations will be called at the commencement of this Agreement and as necessary

during the life of the Agreement to cover departures from the Committee.

8.

Nomination Process

8.1

Any employee who is covered by the Agreement is eligible to nominate a person for
appointment as a staff representative. Nomination should be by email to the CHRCMO
with a copy to the nominated employee. Self-nomination is not permitted.

8.2

In reviewing nominations to the WRC, the CHRCMO will have regard to promoting
the appointment of a broad cross-section of Austrade employees, including:
(a) representatives from differing Austrade Performance Levels (APL 1-5)
reflecting Austrades A-based staffing structure;
(b) overseas and Australian work experience;
(c) gender mix; and
(d) an EMDG representative.

8.3

If the CHRCMO forms the view that the nominations received do not adequately reflect
the above broad cross-section, the CHRCMO may inform the nominator and the
nominee that the nomination has been unsuccessful and will provide the reason. In this
case the CHRCMO will ask the staff of the employee group concerned to nominate
another employee.

8.4

In the event that more than one nomination is accepted by the CHRCMO from a
particular employee group, the A-based employees covered by this Agreement in that
group will be required to select the preferred candidate. The CHRCMO will invite those
eligible to vote for their preferred candidate by expressing their preference by email to
the CHRCMOs nominated Secretariat. The successful candidate will be candidate
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receiving a simple majority of votes. The voting period will be 2 weeks (14 calendar
days).
9.

Replacement Procedure

9.1

If there is a vacancy for a staff representative during the life of the Agreement, it will be
filled in accordance with the above process.

10.

Feedback/Reporting

10.1 A concise summary of discussions and outcomes at each meeting will be circulated by
the CHRCMO to the Committee membership for clearance, before circulation to all
employees.
11.

Sub-committees

11.1 To further the consultative process the WRC may establish sub-committees to examine
and report on particular matters discussed, or raised for discussion, in the WRC. The
membership, terms of reference and reporting arrangements of sub-committees will be
determined by the mutual agreement of the members of the WRC.
12.

Process for Dealing with Issues Outside Meetings

12.1 The WRC will be scheduled to meet no less than twice each year. Issues which arise
and cannot appropriately be dealt with outside the scheduled meetings, may be dealt
with by correspondence, telephone conference, or videoconference between the WRC
members or, where circumstances demand, an extraordinary meeting may be convened.
12.2 Issues outside the Terms of Reference of the WRC should be dealt with in accordance
with the Review of Employment Related Actions provisions of this Agreement.
13.

Secretariat Support

13.1 The Human Resources Division will provide the Secretariat function for the WRC.
13.2 An agenda for each meeting will be distributed to each Committee member prior to the
scheduled meeting.
13.3 A concise summary of meeting discussions and outcomes will be distributed to
Committee members for clearance before circulation to employees.
13.4 Access to appropriate facilities (including communications systems, office equipment
and notice boards) will be available to members of the WRC and members of any subcommittees established by the WRC.
13.5 Travel costs for members will be charged to Human Resources Division.

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Appendix F:

PRINCIPLES RELATING TO WORKPLACE

DELEGATES

The role of union workplace delegates and other elected union representatives is to be
respected and facilitated.
Agencies and union workplace delegates must deal with each other in good faith.
In discharging their representative roles at the workplace level, the rights of union workplace
delegates include but are not limited to:

the right to be treated fairly and to perform their role as workplace delegates without
any discrimination in their employment;

recognition by the agency that endorsed workplace delegates speak on behalf of their
members in the workplace;

the right to participate in collective bargaining on behalf of those whom they

represent, as per the Fair Work Act;

the right to reasonable paid time to provide information to and seek feedback from
employees in the workplace on workplace relations matters at the agency during
normal working hours;

the right to email employees in their workplace to provide information and seek
feedback, subject to individual employees exercising a right to opt out;

undertaking their role and having union representation on an agencys workplace

relations consultative committee;

reasonable access to agency facilities (including telephone, facsimile, photocopying,

internet and email facilities, meeting rooms, lunch rooms, tea rooms and other areas
where employees meet) for the purpose of carrying out work as a delegate and
consulting with members and other interested employees and the union, subject to
agency policies and protocols;

the right to address new employees about union membership at the time they enter
employment;

the right to consultation, and access to relevant information about the workplace and
the agency; and

the right to reasonable paid time to represent the interests of members to the employer
and industrial tribunals.

In discharging any roles that may involve undertaking union business, the rights of union
workplace delegates include but are not limited to:

reasonable paid time during normal working hours to consult with other delegates and
union officials in the workplace, and receive advice and assistance from union staff
and officials in the workplace;

reasonable access to appropriate training in workplace relations matters including

training provided by a union;

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reasonable paid time off to represent union members in the agency at relevant union
forums.

In exercising their rights, workplace delegates and unions will consider operational issues,
departmental policies and guidelines and the likely effect on the efficient operation of the
agency and the provision of services by the Commonwealth.
For the avoidance of doubt, elected union representatives include APS employees elected to
represent union members in representative forums, including, for example, CPSU Section
Secretaries, Governing Councillors and Section Councillors, and APESMA Government
Division Committee members.

49