Ceasing employment FAQs
Following the result of the Federal election staff who will be ceasing employment may access FAQs and travel and leave forms via the PWSS website, under Resources and Support for Offices.
We acknowledge this may be a challenging time and would like to remind staff that HR and counselling support can be accessed through the PWSS by phoning 1800 747 977.
Ceasing employment under the Members of Parliament (Staff) Act 1984 (MOP(S) Act) can occur in the following ways:
- employee resignation
- termination by the employing parliamentarian
- termination by operation of the MOP(S) Act (also known as an ‘automatic termination’).
For queries related to ceasing employment, including advice on terminations, contact PWSS. You can also access the Employee Assistance Program.
Resignation
A MOP(S) Act employee can resign from their employment at any time by giving notice in writing to their employing parliamentarian.
A copy of the letter of resignation and the completed Ceasing Employment form (see related resources) must be completed as soon as possible. This will help MaPS finalise employment matters, such as the payment of final monies. Late submission of this form could result in potential overpayment.
Termination by the employing parliamentarian
An employing parliamentarian (or authorised person) may terminate an employee’s employment in accordance with the MOP(S) Act and other legislative obligations by giving notice in writing.
Termination must meet the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009 , including ensuring the termination is not unfair or unlawful.
Terminated employees must be provided with detailed written reasons for their dismissal.
Amended legislation now requires that a parliamentarian must consult the PWSS before making a decision to terminate the employment of a MOP(S) Act employee.
Termination can include the following reasons:
- the office is restructured, calling for different sets of skills
- unsatisfactory performance or conduct by the employee
- the parliamentarian has lost trust or confidence in the employee
- the employee has a significant conflict of interest.
Where an employer is considering terminating an employee for unsatisfactory performance, the following process is to be undertaken:
- make the employee aware of any performance issues and then provide a reasonable opportunity for the employee to improve.
- if performance does not improve, issue a notice of intention to the employee setting out the proposed reasons for termination and provide an opportunity for the employee to outline reasons why they should not be terminated.
- consider the submissions before making a decision regarding termination.
Where a parliamentarian proposes to terminate an employee who is on probation, the parliamentarian must still follow a reasonable and fair process.
A copy of the written termination notice (including details of the reason for termination) and the completed Ceasing Employment form (see related resources) must be completed. This will help MaPS finalise employment matters, such as the payment of accrued leave entitlements and severance benefits.
MOP(S) Act employees may seek advice from the Fair Work Commission regarding any possible remedy in respect of termination of their employment if dissatisfied with the reasons for termination. Further information may be found by referring to the Fair Work Commission website - www.fwc.gov.au.
For further advice regarding termination of employment, the PWSS HR Advice team can assist and can be contacted via 1800 747 977 (Option 2) or hr@pwss.gov.au between 9am and 5pm, from Monday to Friday.
Notice period
An employing parliamentarian must provide the required notice period when terminating the employment of an employee, except in circumstances of serious misconduct. MaPS will make a payment in lieu of notice where the applicable period is not given.
| Length of continuous service employed by the Commonwealth* | Notice period |
| Not more than 1 year | 1 week |
| More than 1 year but not more than 3 years | 2 weeks |
| More than 3 years but not more than 5 years | 3 weeks |
| More than 5 years | 4 weeks |
*Includes, for example, continuous service under the MOP(S) Act with other Members, or continuous prior service with the APS.
An employee over 45 years of age who has completed two years’ continuous service at the time of termination is entitled to one additional week’s notice of termination.
Where an employee’s employment is terminated within the probation period, the employee will be entitled to one week’s notice of termination or payment in lieu of notice.
Notice requirements are in clause 72 of the Members of Parliament Staff Enterprise Agreement 2024-27 (MOPS EA).
Termination by operation of the MOP(S) Act
An employee’s employment can be automatically terminated by operation of the MOP(S) Act. This can be due to a number of events and circumstances of an employing parliamentarian. Section 14 of the MOP(S) Act deals with termination of employment in certain circumstances, such as the employer ceasing to be a parliamentarian.
Affected employees will be contacted by the PWSS when an automatic termination trigger event occurs. Employees are required to complete and submit a Form 129: Notification of Employment Status (see related resources)following an automatic termination.
A fact sheet on termination triggers, including advice on changes to these arrangements following amendments to the MOP(S) Act provides further information (see related resources).
Staff impacted by a ministerial reshuffle can access FAQs and PWSS Travel and Leave forms via the PWSS website (https://www.pwss.gov.au) - Resources Menu - Support for Offices.
Deferral of termination of employment
Usually when employment is automatically terminated, the Members of Parliament (Staff) (Employment Arrangements) Determination 2025 defers the termination for a period of time.
An employee who is in a deferral of termination period may use this time to settle affairs in the office and seek other employment. During a deferral of termination period, an employee may generally only travel for official purposes between the electorate office or other office provided at Commonwealth expense, and Canberra.
For further advice regarding the deferral of termination period, the PWSS HR Advice team can be contacted via 1800 747 977 (Option 2) or hr@pwss.gov.au between 9am and 5pm, from Monday to Friday.
Termination entitlements
The Final Entitlements Estimator is an online tool which can provide MOP(S) Act employees with an estimate of final monies following the cessation of employment, including an estimate of the severance benefit (should the employee be eligible).
MaPS is unable to provide tailored estimates or calculations of final monies prior to cessation.
Severance benefits
Ongoing employees may be eligible to receive severance benefits under clause 73 of the MOPS EA (excluding circumstances are also set out in clause 73 of the MOPS EA). A severance benefit is paid if an employee’s employment is terminated under the MOP(S) Act and is not a genuine redundancy payment.
Employees may receive additional severance benefits of 30 per cent, in line with clause 74 of the Enterprise Agreement, if:
- employment has been terminated as a result of the employing parliamentarian ceasing to be a Senator or Member, or holding office; and
- the benefits are not treated as a ‘genuine redundancy payment’ (subdivision 83-C of the Income Tax Assessment Act (Cth) 1997).
Under clause 73.6 of the MOPS EA, employees have the option to keep their severance after they are re-employed as a MOP(S) employee during their severance period. In order to do so, MOP(S) employees must:
- have a break in their employment of at least one business day; and
- notify the MaPS payroll team of their decision to keep their severance benefit by making an irrevocable written election that they will not have their prior service recognised for the purposes of future severance and annual leave. This election is part of the Employment Agreement form. Employees are not required to make an irrevocable election until they are re-engaged under the MOP(S) Act.
Before deciding to waive recognition of prior service, employees should note the effects on other employment entitlements and consider obtaining independent financial advice.
The effect of retaining a severance benefit under clause 73.6 of the MOPS EA has the following effects on entitlements if an employee is re-engaged.
| Entitlement | Effect of enacting Clause 73.6 |
| Annual Leave | Prior balance is not re-credited as it has been paid out. Your annual leave entitlement will reset and your leave will accrue daily from re-commencement of MOP(S) Act employment. |
| Personal Leave |
Prior balance will be re-credited if the break in service is not more than a period of 60 days. The period of the break in service does not count as service. If the break in service is more than a period of 60 days, your personal leave entitlement will reset and your leave will accrue daily from re-commencement of MOP(S) Act employment. |
| Long Service Leave | Prior balance is not re-credited or recognised as it has been paid out and under the Long Service Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Act 1976 cannot be repaid. Prior service will be recognised in calculating total service (provided the break in employment has not exceeded 12 months). For example, if an employee were to be paid out 8 years of Long Service Leave pro rata and is then re-employed for another 2 years, they will have 10 years total service. They will be entitled to 2 years pro rata Long Service Leave, i.e. 18 days. |
| Parental Leave |
If you are automatically terminated under section 14 of the MOP(S) Act during a period when you are absent on paid parental leave or, for the pregnant employee, in the six weeks prior to the expected date of birth of the child, you may be eligible to have the remaining parental leave entitlement paid out that you would have received had your employment not been terminated. In circumstances where you are accessing paid parental leave flexibly (e.g., under a flexible/part-time work arrangement), and your employment is automatically terminated under section 14 of the MOP(S) Act and clause 55.12 of the MOPS EA applies, you will be eligible to receive a payment equal to any remaining paid parental leave which had been formally requested and approved prior to the termination of your employment, and which you would have otherwise received had your employment not been terminated (irrespective of your termination occurring on a day when you are on duty or on a day you are accessing paid parental leave). Upon returning to MOP(S) Act employment, an employee who is a primary or secondary caregiver will be eligible for paid parental leave in accordance with clauses 55.7 and 55.8 of the MOPS EA. Eligibility for paid parental leave is not impacted by a break in service. However, when an employee returns to MOP(S) Act employment and has received a payment of paid parental leave for the same child, they will only be entitled to an amount of paid parental leave that has not already been paid to them in accordance with clauses 55.7 and 55.8 and/or paid in lieu in accordance with clause 55.12. If an employee receives a payment in accordance with clause 55.12, and, after the employee's employment is terminated, receives paid leave in accordance with the ML Act or additional paid parental leave from another Commonwealth employer, then the employee will be required to repay the amount to the Commonwealth within 60 days or the Commonwealth is entitled to recover the equal amount as a debt from the employee in accordance with clause 55.13 of the MOPS EA. |
| Future severance benefits | Prior service is not recognised. The service period for the purposes of a future severance benefit begins on re-commencement of employment. |
| Retention Payment | Employees will not be eligible for retention payments in November where they have a break of one business day or more in the preceding 12 months, including in order to retain a prior severance benefit. |
| Salary increment advancement | Eligibility for the salary increment will not be impacted by a waiver of recognition of prior service provided the conditions of clause 23.9 of the Enterprise Agreement are met. |
| Competency assessment |
Competency assessment immediately ceases on termination of employment, regardless of later re-employment. Employees are not eligible for competency assessment where they have a break of one business day or more in the preceding 12 months. |
Payment of long service leave
MOP(S) Act employees with 1 to less than 10 years’ eligible service (or more) whose employment is terminated may be entitled to pro rata long service leave or payment in lieu of the pro rata long service leave. This would only occur if they cease:
- by way of retrenchment (i.e. the service or position is no longer necessary, the work they were engaged to do has finished, or a reduction in the number of employees is necessary because the quantity of work has diminished)
- due to the ill health of such a nature that justifies a cessation, or, for any other reason, other than their death, and they have reached minimum retirement age.
Pro rata long service leave or payment in lieu is also paid to employees with at least 12 months service who have reached 55 years of age.
Employees with 10 or more years’ of eligible service will have unused long service leave entitlements paid out on the termination of their employment.
Declaration of secrecy
MOP(S) Act employees employed by Ministers and Assistant Ministers must complete the Declaration of Secrecy form (see related resources) before ceasing employment. This form should be emailed together with the Ceasing Employment form (see related resources) to MOPSPayandConditions@finance.gov.au on cessation.
Exit interviews
MOP(S) Act employees can volunteer to participate in exit interviews to share their thoughts and experiences of their MOP(S) Act employment. It’s an opportunity to discuss:
- job satisfaction
- motivation
- induction, training and professional development opportunities
- leadership and management
- office infrastructure
- reward and recognition
- experiences accessing support services
- reasons for leaving MOP(S) Act employment.
Employees who wish to complete an exit interview can contact the PWSS.
While an exit interview is voluntary, all departing MOP(S) Act employees are encouraged to participate and provide feedback. Your participation improves the delivery of services by MaPS and the PWSS and employment experiences of current and future MOP(S) Act employees.
You can elect to have your feedback provided to your employing parliamentarian. In all cases, information provided through the exit interview is collected, stored and treated in the strictest confidence. Unless an employee elects to have their feedback provided to their employing parliamentarian, only the PWSS will have access to individual interview results.