EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

DETERMINATION MADE UNDER SECTION 6(2)
Legislative Assembly (Members’ Staff) Act 1989

TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT OF STAFF
OF THE SPEAKER

Determination Number   DI 333  of 2001

Legislative Context

The Legislative Assembly (Members’ Staff) Act 1989 (“the Act”) provides for the employment of staff by Office-Holders (Ministers and the Speaker) and Members of the Legislative Assembly.  Subsection 5(1) of the Act gives the authority for Office-Holders to employ staff.  Subsection 6(2) of the Act provides for the Chief Minister to determine in writing the terms and conditions of employment of staff of Office-Holders.

Outline

This Determination deals with the form of contract of employment to be signed by staff of the Speaker who were employed under the Act prior to 1 July 1997.  This meets an undertaking that existing staff could retain their previous employment arrangements when new contracts were introduced from 1 July 1997.

Following the ACT Legislative Assembly election on 20 October 2001 the employment 
of staff of Office-Holders and Members was automatically terminated in accordance with sections 8 and 13 of the Act.  All staff subsequently employed by Office-Holders and Members would be required to sign the current contract of employment, and those staff could not be re-engaged on the pre-1 July 1997 employment agreement.

This Determination will enable a member of the Speaker’s staff, who was employed on a pre-1 July 1997 employment agreement prior to the recent Legislative Assembly election, to be re-engaged by the Speaker following the election under the same employment terms and conditions that applied prior to the election.  The Determination also revokes redundant Determinations that applied from the 1998 election.