Public Law Sector of Employment Law
Government & Public Service Sector
The Government Sector Employment Act 2013 (NSW) (‘the GSE Act’) provides legislative framework for government employment in NSW. The GSE Act establishes two (2) main employment groups – the Government sector and within that the Public Service.
Government sector
The government sector is defined under section 3(1) of the GSE Act as:
- the Public Service;
- the Teaching Service;
- the NSW Police Force;
- the NSW Health Service;
- the Transport Service of New South Wales;
- any other service of the Crown (including the service of any NSW government agency); and
- the service of any other person or body constituted by or under an Act or exercising public functions (such as a State owned corporation), being a person or body that is prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this definition.
Not all acts of the GSE Act apply to government sector employees. This is because each sector has their own legislation which sets out their employment arrangements such as:
- Teaching Service Act 1980;
- Police Act 1990;
- Health Services Act 1997; and
- Transport Administration Act 1988
Public Service
The Public service is made up of the following agencies:
- Departments;
- Public Service executive agencies (which are agencies related to Departments); and
- Separate Public Service agencies
Under the GSE Act, a Public Service employee means a person employed in ongoing, term, temporary, casual or other employment, in a Public Service agency. Persons employed may be for the following purposes:
- To enable Ministers to exercise their functions;
- To enable statutory bodies or statutory officers to exercise their functions; and
- For any other purpose.
Therefore, the kinds of employment include:
- Ongoing employment;
- Temporary employment; and
- Casual employment.
Further, under section 54 of the GSE Act, to be considered in the engagement process of employment, any of the following conditions must be met:
- Probation;
- Citizenship or residency requirements;
- Formal qualifications;
- Security and other clearances; and
- Health clearances.
Termination of Employment
- Has failed to meet a condition of engagement as an employee under section 54 (above);
- Lacks, or has lost, an essential qualification for performing the duties of the role assigned to the employee;
- The performance of the employee is determined to be unsatisfactory;
- Is unable to perform the duties of the role assigned to the employee because of physical or mental incapacity;
- Is retired on medical grounds under section 56;
- Has refused to perform the duties of the role assigned to the employee;
- Has abandoned his or her employment;
- (repealed);
- The employee is determined in accordance with the regulations and the government sector employment rules to be excess to the requirements of the relevant part of the agency in which he or she is employed;
- On any other ground prescribed by the regulations; and/or
- The instrument is to set out the ground or grounds on which the employment is terminated.
If the employment is not ongoing employment, an employee may be terminated at any time.
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