MOP(S) Act employees are employed to assist the Senator or Member to carry out duties as a Member of Parliament and not for party political purposes. Accordingly, employees may undertake activities in support of their employing Senator or Member’s re-election but not in support of the election or re-election of others at the Federal election.
Employees cannot be directed to attend party meetings and any such attendance does not count as hours of work.
MaPS will be in contact with electorate office employees to discuss preparation for handing the office over to the new Member.
Your employer will cease to be the Member for your electorate on the day of dissolution of the House of Representatives. At this time, any authorisations to exercise the Member’s employment powers also cease
Electorate employees continue in employment until the declaration of the poll (unless an employee’s casual/non-ongoing employment ceases before the poll is declared). No new employment arrangements can be entered into and existing employment arrangements cannot be varied. During this time, electorate employees may continue to provide service to constituents, albeit in a limited way, and assist in the closure of the office. To support this role, employees have limited access to facilities such as postage and existing stationery stocks.
Prior to the declaration of the poll, the relevant MaPS State or Territory Office will arrange a time with electorate office employees for the handover of the electorate office.
At the handover, MaPS collects all items such as keys and security passes, remote access tokens, and other ICT-related equipment (e.g. external hard drives). All Commonwealth-purchased equipment and supplies (including office requisites and stationery items) are to remain in the office. Any equipment or assets that may have been removed from the office, such as cameras or video projectors are to be returned to the office for a final stocktake. If any Finance equipment is not accounted for, MaPS may raise an invoice against the former Member for the cost of the equipment.
Your assistance in ensuring that the office is clean and cleared of all unwanted files and other items is appreciated.
The handover may occur several days before the declaration of the poll. From the date of the handover, employees are not required to attend the office for normal duty, but may use this period to seek alternative employment.
You will return to the APS. You should advise your Agency Head in writing of your intention to return as soon as you are notified that your employment will be terminated. You must return to the APS on or before the business day immediately after your MOP(S) Act employment ceases.
If you are an APS employee on leave without pay to undertake MOP(S) Act employment, you are not eligible for severance pay, additional severance benefits or the career transition payment under the Enterprise Agreement. Accrued leave entitlements will be transferred to your APS agency on your return and will not be paid out.
If you are returning to your department prior to the business day immediately after your MOP(S) Act employment ceases you will need to notify MaPS as soon as possible to avoid any overpayment.
If you have resigned, or intend to resign from your APS department, the resignation must take effect before the termination date of your MOP(S) Act employment for severance benefits to be paid under the Enterprise Agreement. Severance benefits will be paid at your MOP(S) Act salary and allowance rates (as applicable).
MaPS requires a copy of your resignation from the APS before your termination payments will be paid. Please note that severance benefits are only based on the length of your continuous MOP(S) Act service and any recognised MOP(S) Act equivalent employment with a State or Territory parliamentarian that was immediately prior to employment under the MOP(S) Act.
Employees should be aware that the information below is general and may not apply in all circumstances.
Whether your employment will be affected by the Federal election will depend on the status of your employing Senator or Member and the outcome of the Federal election. While you remain a MOP(S) Act employee, the terms and conditions of your employment continue as they would at any other time. Generally, any new employment agreement is only valid where the agreement is made and work under the agreement commences prior to the employing Senator or Member ceasing as a Senator or Member.
MOP(S) Act employment would generally cease in the following circumstances:
Electorate and personal employees of a Minister or Parliamentary Secretary
Regardless of the outcome of the Federal election, the swearing-in of the new Ministry after the election will trigger an automatic termination of employment for all personal and electorate employees of a Minister or Parliamentary Secretary. Employees will continue to be employed as per below:
| Employment Category | Employment |
|---|---|
| Ongoing employees | Personal employees For a period of 4 weeks after the swearing-in of the new Ministry. |
| Electorate employees For a period of 2 weeks after the swearing-in of the new Ministry. |
|
| Non-ongoing employees | Personal employees Employment will cease at the earlier of:
|
| Electorate employees Employment will cease at the earlier of:
|
|
| Casual employees | Personal employees Employment will cease at the earlier of:
|
| Electorate employees Employment will cease at the earlier of:
|
Personal employees of Presiding Officers, Opposition Office Holders, Leaders and Deputy Leaders of recognised political parties, Shadow Ministers and Whips
Depending on the circumstances, the employment of these personal employees may cease. For example, if the House of Representatives elects a new Speaker following the election, the employment of the personal employees of the former Speaker would cease. Similarly, if an Opposition Office Holder, Leader or Deputy Leader of a recognised political party, Shadow Minister or Whip no longer holds their position following the election, the employment of their personal employees would cease.
The timing of the cessation of employment under the MOP(S) Act is dependent on a number of factors, such as the office held by the employing Senator or Member and whether they are seeking re-election or retiring.
Information in relation to the timing of the cessation of employment for these office holders may be provided by the Staff Help Desk. MaPS will write to each affected employee following the election to provide information in relation to their employment.
Electorate employees of Presiding Officers, Opposition Office Holders, Leaders and Deputy Leaders of recognised political parties, Shadow Ministers and Whips
For Presiding Officers, Shadow Ministers and Whips, if the employing Senator or Member is re-elected, the employment of electorate employees continues.
For Opposition Office Holders, Leaders and Deputy Leaders of recognised political parties, depending on the circumstances, the employment of these electorate employees may cease. The timing of the cessation of employment under the MOP(S) Act is dependent on a number of factors, such as the office held by the employing Senator or Member and whether they are seeking re-election or retiring. Where the employing Senator or Member is not seeking re-election or is retiring, the relevant information below will generally apply.
Electorate employees of retiring Members or Territory Senators
Electorate employees of retiring Members or Territory Senators continue to be employed as per the arrangements below:
| Employment Category | Employment |
|---|---|
| Ongoing employees | Until the declaration of the poll. |
| Non-ongoing employees | Employment will cease at the earlier of:
|
| Casual employees | Employment will cease at the earlier of:
|
Between the dissolution of the House of Representatives and the declaration of the poll, there are some restrictions in place in relation to activities employees can undertake. MaPS will write to employees in this situation.
Electorate employees of Members or Territory Senators not re-elected
Electorate employees of Members or Territory Senators who are not re-elected continue to be employed as per the arrangements below:
| Employment Category | Employment |
|---|---|
| Ongoing employees | Until the declaration of the poll. |
| Non-ongoing employees | Employment will cease at the earlier of:
|
| Casual employees | Employment will cease at the earlier of:
|
Electorate employees of retiring State Senators or State Senators not re-elected - Half-Senate election
In the event of a half-Senate election, electorate employees of retiring State Senators or State Senators who are not re-elected continue to be employed by the Senator until the expiry of their Senate term - 30 June following the Federal election. This information will differ for the employees of State Senators in the case of a double-dissolution.
| Employment Category | Employment |
|---|---|
| Ongoing employees | Until 30 June following the Federal election. |
| Non-ongoing employees | Employment will cease at the earlier of:
|
| Casual employees | Employment will cease at the end of the existing casual employment engagement. |
Electorate employees of State Senators whose term is not expiring - Half-Senate election
A half-Senate election has no impact on the employment of electorate employees of State Senators whose term continues beyond 30 June the following year. This information will differ for the staff of State Senators in the case of a double-dissolution. For more information, please refer to the suite of Q&As relating to Senators in the event of a double dissolution.
No. When a Senator or Member no longer has employment powers, any authorisation of another person to exercise those powers on his or her behalf also ceases.
Yes, if the employment agreement is signed and commences, i.e. work under the agreement is performed, prior to the dissolution of the House of Representatives.
Where a casual employment agreement commences prior to the dissolution of the House of Representatives but has periods of work after the dissolution of the House of Representatives, the employment agreement will cease at the earlier of:
Any employment documentation that has been signed by the retiring Member and is due to commence after the dissolution of the House of Representatives is unable to be paid by MaPS.
Yes. By convention, personal and electorate employees may undertake activities in support of their employing Senator or Member’s re-election, but not the election or re-election of others. An employee therefore cannot be directed to undertake duties in support of any other Senator, Member or candidate.
Yes. By convention, personal and electorate employees may undertake activities in support of their employing parliamentarian’s re-election but not in support of the election or re-election of others. In addition, electorate employees may not be directed to undertake party political duties (refer MOP(S) Act Determination 2016/15).
A Senator or Member should satisfy themself that their electorate employees are not undertaking party political duties and that they are able to defend the duties undertaken by all of their employees. Directing an employee to assist the party’s campaign in general may be defensible. The duties of an employee become less defensible to the extent that they are in support of the election of another person and not in support of the re-election of the employing Senator or Member.
No. A Senator or Member may not direct employees to attend party meetings. Any such attendance does not count as official duty and employees will not be able to travel expenses.
MaPS will write to all employees following the dissolution of the House of Representatives.
Following the Federal election, MaPS will write to affected employees in relation to their employment.
Eligibility for payment of pro-rata long service leave depends on factors such as the reason for the termination of employment, length of service and age. In general, an employee who has at least 12 months service and whose employment is terminated as a result of the Federal election will be entitled to a pro-rata payment.
Yes, provided you do not fall into one of the categories specified below.
Clause 64.1 of the Enterprise Agreement provides that severance benefits are payable to persons whose employment is terminated under the MOP(S) Act other than:
Yes, provided you do not fall into one of the categories specified in the question above. You should note that your leave without pay will not count as service for the purpose of calculating your length of service for severance benefits.
No. Under clause 64.1(f) of the Enterprise Agreement, severance benefits are not payable where employment is terminated during the probation period.
No. Under clause 64.1(d) of the Enterprise Agreement, non-ongoing and casual employees will not receive severance benefits.
Severance benefits are payable based on an ongoing employee’s length of continuous MOP(S) Act service and any recognised MOP(S) Act equivalent employment with a State or Territory parliamentarian that was immediately prior to employment under the MOP(S) Act. Further details are provided at clause 52.4 of the Enterprise Agreement and in the Recognition of Prior Service guideline.
Prior service with an Australian government department or authority or state government department or authority will not be taken into account when calculating severance benefits.
The severance benefits payable to an employee will be the gross benefit provided by clause 64.2 of the Enterprise Agreement and set out in the following table.
| Length of Continuous Service | Gross Benefit |
|---|---|
| Less than 1 year | 4 weeks’ pay |
| 1 year or more but less than 2 years | 8 weeks’ pay |
| 2 years or more but less than 3 years | 10 weeks’ pay |
| 3 years or more but less than 4 years | 12 weeks’ pay |
| 4 years or more but less than 5 years | 13 weeks’ pay |
| 5 years or more but less than 7 years | 14 weeks’ pay |
| 7 years or more | 2 weeks’ pay plus 2 weeks’ pay for every completed year, up to a maximum of 48 weeks’ pay. |
The termination of employment in the case of a Federal election is generally under clauses 16(2) or 23(1) of the MOP(S) Act as a result of the employing Member ceasing to hold office and therefore, under clause 65 of the Enterprise Agreement, the severance benefit is increased by 30 per cent.
Severance benefits are classed by the Australian Tax Office as an Employment Termination Payment (ETP). ETPs must be paid directly to the employee. ETPs cannot be rolled-over into a superannuation fund.
If you are re-employed under the MOP(S) Act as an ongoing, non-ongoing or casual employee within the severance pay period, you will be required to make a repayment.
As an example, if you received a severance benefit of 10 weeks’ pay on termination of employment and you are re-employed under the MOP(S) Act after a period of six weeks, you are required to repay four weeks of the severance benefit.
This applies even if the period of employment is for a shorter period than the remaining severance period, for example, where a person is re-employed under a non-ongoing or casual employment agreement for a period of two weeks but they have six weeks remaining in their severance pay period, they will be required to repay two weeks of the severance benefit.
The repayment of any severance benefit, or part thereof, is based on the classification, salary and allowances (if applicable) of the employee when their employment ceased, i.e. not the classification, salary and allowances of the subsequent employment.
The Enterprise Agreement also provides, in certain circumstances, for you to voluntarily repay your severance benefits, additional severance benefits and/or payment in lieu of annual leave, within 60 days of commencement of new employment under the MOP(S) Act, provided there is no more than a six-month gap between periods of employment. Depending on the types of payments repaid, the two periods of employment will be regarded as continuous for certain purposes (although the break in service will not count as service for any purpose). An amount paid in lieu of long service leave is not able to be repaid in order to re-establish a long service leave credit.
Further information regarding repayment provisions can be found in the Enterprise Agreement.
If you are intending to seek re-employment during the severance pay period, please seek advice from the Staff Help Desk as soon as possible.
No.
As soon as possible following your cessation. This generally occurs within two weeks of cessation, although due to the high volume following a Federal election, this period may be extended. In these circumstances, it may be necessary, for example, to pay outstanding salary on one payday and other final entitlements within two weeks of that payday.
To ensure that you are paid promptly, please arrange to complete and forward any outstanding documentation (e.g. travelling allowance acquittals) as soon as possible. If you are not intending to seek re-employment, please advise the Staff Help Desk as soon as possible using Form 129: Notification of Employment Status, as early notification will assist with the processing of final entitlements.
Your final entitlements will be paid to the account used for your normal fortnightly pay. If you wish your final entitlements to be paid into a different account (noting that severance benefits cannot be rolled-over into a superannuation fund), please provide written advice to the Staff Help Desk. It is also important to advise the Staff Help Desk if you are contemplating closing your account prior to the payment of all of your final monies.
You can produce an estimate of your final entitlements payout with the help of the Final Entitlements Estimator. If you wish to use the Final Entitlements Estimator, please ensure that you read the disclaimer and accompanying entitlement information before proceeding.
MaPS does not have the capacity to provide estimates to employees.
Annual leave balances in hours and minutes can be found on your fortnightly pay advices or via Online HR. Alternatively, leave balances can be obtained from the Staff Help Desk.
Long service leave balances can be obtained from the Staff Help Desk. Please note it may take up to 10 business days for long service leave balances to be provided. This period may be extended where prior service details need to be obtained.
Yes. However, your outstanding salary may be paid prior to your final entitlements if there are a high number of cessations to be processed.
Payment summaries are issued after 30 June each financial year. If you receive payments early in the new financial year then a payment summary will not be issued until after 30 June of that financial year.
To update your residential and postal address, please email the Staff Help Desk.
Email the Staff Help Desk with your home address and/or postal address, new email address and telephone number.
The Enterprise Agreement provides for a payment of up to $500 (GST inclusive) to an ongoing employee who has sought prior approval from MaPS for career transition counselling, training or financial advice upon the occasion of a genuine redundancy in respect of which severance benefits are payable or of a termination of employment where additional severance benefits are payable. Pro-rata payments of career transition payments will be made to ongoing part-time employees based on their ordinary hours of duty at the date of termination of their employment.
To be eligible for the career transition payment, you must have prior approval from MaPS and the counselling/training/financial advice must occur within six months of termination of employment. The costs may be paid by MaPS to the service provider or will be borne by the individual and be reimbursed by MaPS upon the production of receipts.
Please email a request for approval outlining the proposed training or advice along with any supporting information to the Staff Help Desk and ensure approval is received prior to accessing the service
Yes, subject to your employer’s approval.
Employees of recontesting Senators and Members must have their leave approved by their employer or an authorised officer. Leave must be approved through Online HR or through the submission of Form 29: Application for Leave as soon as possible.
Where the requirements of the workplace do not allow for a period of leave to be approved, your employer may decline an application for annual leave.
If you are an electorate employee of a Member who retired at the dissolution of the House of Representatives, please contact your Advice and Support Director to discuss your proposed leave as the retired Member or any employees who were authorised officers are unable to approve leave.
Yes. If your employment ceases during your paid maternity leave period under the Enterprise Agreement, you will generally be paid the remaining weeks of maternity leave as a lump sum. For example, if you have commenced 16 weeks of maternity leave at full pay and your employment is terminated due to the Federal election after six weeks, you will receive a lump sum payment of 10 weeks salary. If you have taken maternity leave at half pay, similar provisions apply. This only applies to paid maternity leave covered by the Enterprise Agreement, i.e. it does not cover payments in relation to the Australian Government’s Paid Parental Leave Scheme.
Further details of the maternity leave provisions are provided in clause 46 of the Enterprise Agreement and the Leave and Public Holidays Guideline to the Enterprise Agreement.
If you are an APS employee on Leave Without Pay from the APS to take up MOP(S) Act employment, different provisions may apply.
Please contact the Staff Help Desk if you need further information about your specific circumstances.
You will need to contact SmartSalary on 1300 476 278 to discuss your salary packaging arrangements. We recommend that you make contact with SmartSalary prior to the cessation of employment.
The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) provides advice on nominating to be a candidate. Prospective candidates should also consider reading the AEC’s Electoral Backgrounder: Constitutional disqualification and intending candidates, and in particular, information on section 44(iv) of the Constitution (regarding any person holding an office for profit under the Crown). Paragraph 39 of the Electoral Backgrounder states:
The Electoral Reform Green Paper – Strengthening Australia’s Democracy (September 2009) provides at paragraph 8.55 that:
[All] Federal and State public servants and serving members of the Australian Defence Force would be disqualified from standing for election. This appears to apply even if the person is "unattached", or on leave without pay, and not currently in receipt of remuneration.
You may therefore need to resign your MOP(S) Act employment. However, if you require any additional information in relation to your qualifications under the Constitution, the AEC recommends that you seek your own legal advice. The AEC does not provide legal advice to prospective candidates.
No. It is a matter for the individual Senator or Member to decide if he or she will re-engage a former employee who resigned in such circumstances.
Clause 52.2 of the Enterprise Agreement provides that if you are subsequently appointed or engaged within six months of resigning to contest an election (Federal, State or Territory), and you repay within 60 calendar days of the new appointment/engagement an amount equal to the amount that was paid to you in lieu of accumulated leave, the immediately preceding period of employment under the MOP(S) Act (and any previous period in relation to which continuity of employment provisions have applied) will be recognised as service for all purposes in relation to your current period of employment.
The break in service will not count as service for any purpose, but is not considered to break continuity of service.
An amount paid in lieu of long service leave is not able to be repaid in order to re-establish a long service leave credit
No. MOP(S) Act employees are unable to campaign for their own election during normal working hours, or use any office facilities towards their own election.
No. Under the Enterprise Agreement, reimbursement cannot be made where an employee leaves MOP(S) Act employment prior to the end of the relevant period of study (the last day of formal assessment for that component of the course).
You may be entitled to a superannuation benefit depending on your current superannuation arrangements:
CSS and PSS members:
For further information about your benefit, please call the Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation (CSC) on:
| Fund | Telephone |
|---|---|
| CSS members | 1300 000 277 |
| PSS members | 1300 000 377 |
| PSSap members | 1300 725 171 |
Please make CSC aware that you are a MOP(S) Act employee.
On cessation of employment, you will be provided with a benefit claim form. This should be completed as soon as possible and returned to MaPS to complete the “departmental report” section of the form. MaPS will then forward the form to CSC for processing.
Please note that CSC does not consider termination from MOP(S) Act employment to be a redundancy and, as such, you will not be eligible to claim a redundancy benefit from the CSS or PSS schemes – it will be the same form of benefit as available on resignation (or, if 55 years old or over, an age retirement benefit).
Members of other funds:
You should contact your fund to discuss your options.
No. However, MaPS may approve direct travel between the electorate office and Canberra in limited and special circumstances (for example, travel for one employee to assist with the packing up of the Parliament House office or to return to their work base if an employee is travelling at the dissolution of the House of Representatives).
Approval must be sought from your Advice and Support Director prior to undertaking such travel.
For all other travel advice during the election period you should continue to contact the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority.
All incidents and near misses should be reported to the WHS and Occupational Rehabilitation Services provider promptly.
Yes, if you access the service while still an employee.
In addition to providing assistance for personal and work-related issues, the EAP can assist with career counselling. MOP(S) Act employees have access to this service for the duration of their employment. The EAP provider is available 24 hours per day/7 days per week. All calls are confidential.
Contact the Employee Assistance Program provider.
If you are ceasing employment, MaPS will continue to be the rehabilitation authority for an accepted workers’ compensation claim. You should submit any outstanding claims for time off work and medical certificates promptly to enable timely processing.
MaPS will advise Comcare of cessations and Comcare will take over the payment of incapacity payments directly to you.
MaPS will continue to provide rehabilitation services to you, and will change its focus from returning to work with your current employer, to finding work with a new employer.
Forms for claim for time off work and medical services claims can be found on Comcare’s website.
For any compensation claims that are undetermined at the time of cessation, Comcare’s process will continue.
If your claim is accepted, Comcare will make the necessary arrangements to commence incapacity payments. In the event that you have taken personal or annual leave while waiting for a Comcare decision, this leave will be re-credited to you, and paid out as a lump sum by MaPS in the case of annual leave.
Forms for claim for time off work and medical services claims can be found on Comcare’s website, but should be forwarded to the Staff Help Desk for processing.
Last updated: 20 March 2020