Public Service Act 1999

Prime Minister’s direction under subsection 21(1) – 2020 (No. 1)

Direction under subsection 21(1) of the Public Service Act 1999 – COVID 19 – movement of APS employees to functions critical to the continued delivery of services to the Australian public

I, Scott Morrison, Prime Minister of Australia, issue the following direction to Agency Heads in relation to the management of APS employees.

1.    The object of this direction is to facilitate the most efficient and effective deployment of APS employees and expertise to meet the exceptional challenge posed by COVID 19 to Australian society – a task which has become the principal focus of APS endeavour.

2.    Each Agency Head is required to identify, as a matter of urgency, those functions performed in the agency that, taking into account the consequences of the COVID 19 pandemic, are currently critical to:

(a)  the continued delivery of services to the Australian public; or

(b)  the operation of the APS as a whole.

3.    Each Agency Head is also required to identify those employees in their agency whose duties do not involve the performance of those functions referred to in either 2(a) or 2(b), and who are capable of undertaking work, as an employee of the agency:

(a)  on a temporary basis for other APS agencies that are critical to the continued delivery of services to the Australian public, or are critical to the operation of the APS as a whole; or

(b)  on a temporary basis to assist State or Territory government agencies to address the consequences of COVID 19, including to assist them to maintain the continued delivery of services to the Australian public; or

(c)  on a temporary basis to assist community organisations to address the consequences of COVID 19, including to assist a community organisation to maintain the continued delivery of services to the Australian public.

4.    Each Agency Head is to provide the details of the functions referred to in paragraph 2 (where relevant), and the groups of employees in paragraph 3, to the Australian Public Service Commissioner as soon as it is completed, but no later than 30 March 2020.

5.    The Commissioner will then notify relevant Agency Heads as to which employees or groups of employees in the agency are to undertake work elsewhere, as described in paragraph 3(a).

6.    Each Agency Head is then required to exercise all powers available to him or her to make available its employees to undertake work in the APS agency specified by the Commissioner, and to do so as quickly as possible.

7.    More generally, each Agency Head is required to cooperate with any requests or directions made by the Commissioner in relation to the provision of services by APS employees to sectors of critical need. As described in paragraphs 3(b) and (c) above, those areas of critical need may be in State or Territory government sectors, or in community organisations. 

8.    The Commissioner will issue further guidance for Agency Heads about the application of this direction.

9.    This direction commences on the date on which is it made.

Signed:

SCOTT MORRISON
PRIME MINISTER

26 MARCH 2020