Commissioner's overview
In my report for 2011–12 I foreshadowed a Parliamentary Service bill to introduce changes to the Parliamentary Service Act modelled on changes to the Public Service Act that arose from the report Ahead of the game: Blueprint for the reform of Australian Government administration (the Blueprint).
The Parliamentary Service Amendment Act 2013 received the Royal Assent on 1 March 2013 and comes into effect on 1 July 2013. Significant changes made by this Act include more concise Parliamentary Service Values, complemented in the legislation by a set of Employment Principles; expanded roles and responsibilities of secretaries; revised roles of the Senior Executive Service; power for the Parliamentary Service Commissioner to investigate whistleblower complaints; and a power for the Merit Protection Commissioner to delegate his or her powers to Parliamentary Service or Australian Public Service employees.
The amended Parliamentary Service Act will be supported by Parliamentary Service Determination 2013 which largely reflects the subordinate legislation supporting the Public Service Act. The Presiding Officers made the determination with effect from 1 July 2013 after consulting with me as required by the Parliamentary Service Act.
As required by the Parliamentary Service Act, I issued the Parliamentary Service Commissioner's Direction 2013, effective from 1 July 2013. The direction establishes basic requirements for parliamentary department secretaries' procedures for handling suspected Code of Conduct breaches.
I met with the parliamentary department heads on 6 November 2012 to discuss the legislative changes mentioned above; the provision of training to APS employees on parliamentary matters; guidelines on mobility between the two Services; consultation on systems changes (such as changes to the Gazette) arising from the Blueprint reforms; award modernisation; and a review of information and communications technology in the parliamentary administration.
This report presents information covering the four parliamentary departments collectively. Detailed information about the individual departments can be found in their respective annual reports.
Stephen Sedgwick AO
Parliamentary Service Commissioner
October 2013