The Public Service Act 1999 (Public Service Act, 1999 (Cth)) is an Australian law, passed in 1999 by the Howard government that regulates the federal Australian Public Service.
| Public Service Act 1999 [1] | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Parliament of Australia | |
| Commenced | 5 December 1999 |
| Introduced by | Howard government |
| Status: In force | |
The Act regulates the employment of federal public servants in Australia.[1]
The Act establishes obligations of the Australian Government toward its public servants, and establishes the code of conduct to which they must adhere, including a requirement that they act apolitically, and not disseminate or exploit government information without authorization.[1] It also establishes requirements that public servants be hired on merit.[1]
Prior to the public service act, other statutes were in force to ensure that public service selection would be on merit.[2] Such statutes arose historically as an effort to eliminate the spoils system from democratic politics.[2]
The Act also established the office of the Australian Public Service Commissioner[3] and the Merit Protection Commissioner as well as the Australian Public Service Commission.
History
editIn November 1996, Peter Reith issued a discussion paper, Towards a best practice Australian Public Service,[4] that, among other things, recommended key elements which might need to be incorporated into a new streamlined and principles-based Public Service Act.[4]
After several years spent developing a new Act, the Public Service Act 1999 came into effect on 5 December 1999.[5]
Code of conduct
editThe Act also introduced APS Values and a Code of Conduct for the first time,[5] under which public servants who breach the code of conduct can be demoted, fined, reprimanded or fired.[6]
The constitutionality of the code of conduct of the Act was challenged in 2019 in the High Court case Comcare v Banerji, which ruled unanimously that the code was compatible with Australia's freedom of political communication doctrine.[7]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c Comcare v Banerji [2019] HCA 23
- ^ a b Comcare v Banerji [2019] HCA 23 at Gageler's judgement
- ^ Public Service Act, 1999 (Cth)
- ^ a b A history in three acts: Evolution of the Public Service Act 1999 2004, p. 125.
- ^ a b A history in three acts: Evolution of the Public Service Act 1999 2004.
- ^ Mannheim, Markus (18 January 2012). "PS on notice over social media use". The Canberra Times. Fairfax Media. Archived from the original on 19 January 2012.
- ^ "'A loss for all of us': Public servant loses landmark free speech High Court case". www.abc.net.au. 7 August 2019. Retrieved 28 August 2020.