Department of Human Services Medical Officers

DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES MEDICAL OFFICERS

AGREEMENT 2013 - 2014

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Part A SCOPE OF AGREEMENT 1

A1 Title 1

A2 Parties to this Agreement 1

A3 Operation of this Agreement 1

A4 Closed comprehensive Agreement 1

A5 Delegation 1

A6 Individual flexibility arrangement 1

A7 Consultation 2

A8 Dispute resolution procedure 3

Part B REMUNERATION AND CLASSIFICATION 6

B1 Classification structure 6

B2 Payment of salary 6

B3 Superannuation 6

B4 Salary Sacrifice 7

B5 Salary increases 7

B6 Salary advancement 8

B7 Productivity Payments 9

B8 Salary setting 9

B9 Temporary higher duties at the non-SES level 10

B10 Temporary higher duties at the SES level 11

Part C ALLOWANCES AND REIMBURSEMENTS 12

C1 First aid officer allowance 12

C2 Community language allowance 12

C3 Office disturbance allowance 13

C4 Overtime meal allowance 13

C5 Clinical professional development reimbursement 13

C6 Motor vehicle allowance 14

C7 Allowance in lieu of a motor vehicle 14

C8 Remote localities assistance 14

C9 Loss of or damage to personal items 15

C10 Additional expenses incurred on official business 15

C11 School holiday care allowance 15

Part D TRAVEL AND RELOCATION 16

D1 Class of travel 16

D2 Airline Lounge membership 16

D3 Travel allowances 16

D4 Travel expenses, fares and travel time 16

D5 Reviewed rate of travel allowance 17

D6 Relocation 18

Part E FLEXIBLE WORKING CONDITIONS 19

E1 General attendance 19

E2 Bandwidth 19

E3 Full time employees 19

E4 Part time employees 19

E5 Flexible arrangements for Medical Officer employees 20

E6 Overtime 20

E7 Emergency duty (overtime without prior notice) 22

E8 Restriction duty 22

E9 Flexible work arrangements for parents 22

E10 Home based work 23

Part F LEAVE 24

F1 Recall to duty 24

F2 Accrual of annual leave 24

F3 Grants of annual leave 24

F4 Excess annual leave credits 25

F5 Cash out of annual leave 25

F6 Purchased leave 25

F7 Accrual of personal/carer’s leave 26

F8 War Service Sick leave 27

F9 Accessing personal/carer’s leave 27

F10 Compassionate and bereavement leave 28

F11 Maternity leave 28

F12 Adoption and fostering leave 28

F13 Supporting partner leave 29

F14 General parental leave 30

F15 Return to work after parental leave 30

F16 Long service leave 31

F17 Defence reserve leave 31

F18 Miscellaneous leave 32

F19 Unauthorised absence 34

F20 Payment in lieu of leave entitlements on death of employee or separation 34

F21 Preservation of accrued entitlements 35

F22 Portability of accrued leave entitlement 35

F23 Adjustment of leave balances following commencement of this Agreement 35

F24 Public holidays 36

F25 APS holiday 36

F26 Christmas closedown and reduced activity period 37

Part G GENERAL EMPLOYMENT CONDITIONS 38

G1 Casual employees 38

G2 Emergency management situations 38

G3 Commonwealth dwellings – rental contribution 39

G4 Studies assistance 39

G5 Learning and development 39

G6 Resignation 39

G7 Notice of termination 40

G8 Right to private practice 40

G9 Uniforms 41

G10 Mobile phones 41

G11 Motor Vehicle Parking 41

Part H PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT 42

H1 Purpose of performance management 42

H2 Principles of performance management 42

H3 Performance cycle 42

H4 Performance process 42

H5 ‘Back-on-track’ process 44

H6 Formal performance counselling 45

Part I RETENTION, REDEPLOYMENT AND REDUNDANCY 47

I1 Application 47

I2 Definition of excess employee 47

I3 Consultation with affected employees 47

I4 Voluntary retrenchment 47

I5 Redundancy benefit 48

I6 Rate of payment for redundancy benefit 48

I7 Notice of termination 49

I8 Retention period 49

I9 Involuntary termination of employment at the end of the retention period 50

I10 Service for redundancy pay purposes 50

SCHEDULE 1 – DEFINITIONS 52

SCHEDULE 2 – BASE SALARIES 53

SCHEDULE 3 – REMOTE LOCALITIES 56

DHS Medical Officer Agreement 2013-2014

Part A SCOPE OF AGREEMENT

A1 Title

A1.1 This Agreement will be known as the Department of Human Services Medical Officers Agreement 2013-2014.

A1.2 Throughout this document, it will be referred to as “this Agreement”.

A2 Parties to this Agreement

A2.1 This Agreement covers:

(a) the Secretary of the Department of Human Services (“the department”), for and on behalf of the Commonwealth of Australia as the employer;

(b) persons employed by the department, at a classification of Medical Officer 2, Medical Officer 3, Medical Officer 4.

A2.2 This Agreement does not cover Senior Executive Service employees and their equivalents.

A3 Operation of this Agreement

A3.1 This Agreement is made under section 172 of the Fair Work Act 2009.

A3.2 This Agreement will commence seven days after it is approved by Fair Work Commission.

A3.3 The nominal expiry date of this Agreement will be 30 June 2014.

A4 Closed comprehensive Agreement

A4.1 The terms and conditions of employment of the employees covered by this Agreement, other than terms and conditions applying under relevant Commonwealth laws, are stated in this Agreement.

A4.2 From the commencement of this Agreement, no further claims will be made or pursued about the terms and conditions of employment that would apply to employees during the life of this Agreement, unless that claim is consistent with the terms and conditions of this Agreement.

A4.3 This Agreement will be supported by policies and guidelines, as implemented and amended from time to time. Policies and guidelines will not form part of this Agreement. To the extent that there is any inconsistency between policies or guidelines and the express terms of this Agreement, this Agreement will prevail.

A5 Delegation

A5.1 The Secretary may, in writing, delegate or authorise any person to perform any of the Secretary’s powers or functions under this Agreement.

A5.2 Delegation and authorisation instruments will be published on the department’s intranet pages as soon as practicable after being signed by the Secretary.

A6 Individual flexibility arrangement

A6.1 The Secretary and an employee covered by this Agreement may agree to make an individual flexibility arrangement to vary the effect of terms of this Agreement if:

(a) the arrangement deals with one or more of the following matters:

(i) arrangements about when work is performed, overtime rates and/or penalty rates;

(ii) allowances;

(iii) remuneration; and/or

(iv) leave;

(b) the arrangement meets the genuine needs of the Secretary and employee in relation to one or more of the matters mentioned in paragraph (a); and

A6.2 The Secretary must ensure that the terms of the individual flexibility arrangement:

(a) are about permitted matters under section 172 of the Fair Work Act 2009;

(b) are not unlawful terms under section 194 of the Fair Work Act 2009; and

A6.3 The Secretary must ensure that the individual flexibility arrangement:

(a) is in writing;

(b) includes the name of the Secretary and the employee;

(c) is signed by the Secretary and the employee and if the employee is under 18 years of age, signed by a parent or guardian of the employee; and

(d) includes details of:

(i) the terms of the enterprise agreement that will be varied by the arrangement;

(ii) how the arrangement will vary the effect of the terms;

(iii) how the employee will be better off overall in relation to the terms and conditions of his or her employment as a result of the arrangement; and

(iv) states the day on which the arrangement commences, and where relevant, the day on which the arrangement ceases.

A6.4 The Secretary must give the employee a copy of the individual flexibility arrangement within 14days after it is agreed to.

A6.5 The Secretary or employee may terminate the individual flexibility arrangement:

(a) by giving no more than 28 days' written notice to the other party to the arrangement; or

(b) if the employer and employee agree in writing, at any time.

A7 Consultation

Consultation on major change

A7.1 This clause applies where a decision is made to introduce major changes in a work area that are likely to have significant effects on employees, other than where provision is already made elsewhere in this Agreement regarding a specific major change.

A7.2 Where a definite decision is made to introduce major changes in program, organisation, structure or technology that are likely to have significant effects on employees, the Secretary must notify the employees who are likely to be affected by the proposed changes and their representatives, if any.

A7.3 Significant effects include:

(a) termination of employment;

(b) major changes in the composition, operation or size of the Agency’s workforce or in the skills required;

(d) significant alteration in hours of work;

(e) the need to retrain employees;

(f) the need to relocate employees to another workplace; and

(g) the major restructuring of jobs.

A7.4 The Secretary must discuss with the employees affected and their representatives, if any, the introduction of the changes referred to inA7.2, the effects the changes are likely to have on employees and measures to avert or mitigate the adverse effects of such changes on employees and must give prompt consideration to matters raised by the employees and/or their representatives in relation to the changes.

A7.5 The discussions must commence as early as practicable after a definite decision has been made to make the changes referred to in A7.2.

A7.6 For the purposes of such discussion, the employees concerned and their representatives, if any, are to be provided in writing all relevant information about the changes including the nature of the changes proposed, the expected effects of the changes on employees and any other matters likely to affect employees. The Agency Head is not required to disclose confidential or commercially sensitive information to the employees.

A8 Dispute resolution procedure

Application

A8.1 If a dispute relates to a matter under this Agreement, or a matter under the National Employment Standards, the parties to the dispute must first attempt to resolve the matter at the workplace level by discussions between the employee or employees concerned and the relevant supervisor or manager.

A8.2 A dispute will be notified to the appropriate person as soon as possible. Once a dispute has been notified, the parties will seek to resolve the matter in accordance with subclause A8.1 within 10 working days after notification of the dispute.

A8.3 If a resolution to the dispute has not been achieved after discussions have been held in accordance with subclauses A8.1 and A8.2, the parties to the dispute will endeavour to resolve the dispute in a timely manner (generally within 20 working days) either through discussions with more senior levels of management where appropriate, and/or through alternative dispute resolution methods.

A8.4 Either party to a dispute may expedite the timeframes (outlined in subclauses A8.2 and A8.3) for dealing with a dispute, having regard to the nature and urgency of the dispute.

A8.5 If discussions at the workplace level do not resolve the dispute in accordance with subclausesA8.1 to A8.3, a party to the dispute may refer the dispute to the Fair Work Commission.

A8.6 The Fair Work Commission may deal with the dispute in two stages:

(a) The Fair Work Commission will first attempt to resolve the dispute as it considers appropriate, including by mediation, conciliation, expressing an opinion or making a recommendation; and

(b) if the Fair Work Commission is unable to resolve the dispute at the first stage, the Fair Work Commission may then:

(i) arbitrate the dispute; and

(ii) make a determination that is binding on the parties.

Note: If the Fair Work Commission arbitrates a dispute, it may also use the powers available to it under the Fair Work Act 2009. A decision that the Fair Work Commission makes when arbitrating a dispute is a decision for the purpose of Div 3 of Part 5.1 of the Fair Work Act 2009. Therefore, an appeal may be made against the decision.

A8.7 The Secretary or an employee or employees who are a party to the dispute may appoint another person, organisation or association to accompany and/or represent them for the purpose of this clause A8.

A8.8 Resolution of disputes is to occur in good faith by following the same principles as the good faith bargaining requirements at section 228 of the Fair Work Act 2009.

A8.9 Where a dispute relates to a decision that was made in accordance with relevant policy or guidelines, the dispute will be resolved on the basis of the policy or guidelines that applied at the time the original decision was made.

A8.10 While the parties are attempting to resolve the dispute using the procedures in this clauseA8:

(a) an employee must continue to perform his or her work as he or she would normally, unless he or she has a reasonable concern about an imminent risk to his or her health or safety;

(b) an employee must comply with a direction given by the Secretary to perform other available work at the same workplace, or at another workplace, unless:

(i) the work is not safe;

(ii) applicable occupational health and safety legislation would not permit the work to be performed;

(iii) the work is not appropriate for the employee to perform; or

(iv) there are other reasonable grounds for the employee to refuse to comply with the direction;

A8.11 The parties to the dispute agree to be bound by a decision made by the Fair Work Commission in accordance with this clause A8, subject to any appeal.

A8.12 The dispute resolution processes outlined in this clause A8 cannot be used in respect of the termination of a person’s employment. The sole rights and remedies in respect of termination of employment are those outlined:

(a) under the Fair Work Act 2009 (as amended or replaced from time to time);

(b) under other Commonwealth laws (including the Constitution); and

DHS Medical Officer Agreement 2013-2014

Part B REMUNERATION AND CLASSIFICATION

B1 Classification structure

B1.1 This Agreement provides for the classification structure outlined in Schedule2 (Base salaries).