The Government has announced that the new Public Sector Act 2022 comes into operation this week – today, 1 March.
The Act replaces the Public Service Act 2008.
In a statement accompanying the announcement, the Government said the changes stemmed from the 2019 review of public sector employment laws. This was the first major review of public sector laws since the late 1980s.
“The review provided 99 recommendations and outlined how the laws should be changed to meet a number of objectives,” the Government said.
These were: Fairness in the employment relationship; responsiveness of employees to the community and to Government; and inclusiveness of public sector employment.
“In 2022, the Review of Culture and Accountability in the Queensland Public Sector provided 14 recommendations to ensure a culture and accountability framework,” it said.
“That framework should be contemporary, fit-for-purpose and future-focused; effective in supporting an ethical public sector culture; underpinned by robust systems, and maintaining the public’s trust in the decisions of the Queensland Government and its public sector Agencies.”
The Government said the new Act responded to both reviews, providing a modern, employee-focused legislative framework to ensure Queensland’s public sector was fair, responsive, inclusive and a leader in public administration.
“The new Act applies to Public Service Departments and, more broadly, to public sector entities. This increases the scope to include additional entities that were not covered under the Public Service Act 2008,” the Government said.
More information about the new Public Sector Act can be accessed at this PS News link.
