1. a person who is not an employee to be seconded to undertake duties in the agency (referred to as a secondment into the State Service) (subsection 46(1)(a) of the State Service Act 2000 (the Act)); or
2. an employee be seconded to undertake duties with an organisation that is not an agency (referred to as a secondment out of the State Service) (subsection 46(1)(b) of the Act).

A secondment into or out of the State Service is to be:

• for a specified term or for the duration of a specified task; and
• a secondment arrangement in accordance with section 46 of the Act.

For each proposed secondment, the Head of Agency is to provide the Commissioner with a statement as to why that secondment is in the public interest.

The Head of Agency is to have the proposed terms of the arrangement signed by all parties before forwarding the arrangement to the Commissioner for signature. This documentation process must be completed prior to the secondee commencing the secondment arrangement. The Commissioner is unable to make a retrospective secondment arrangement.

To enable the Commissioner to make the secondment arrangement into the State Service, there needs to be a signed secondment document agreed between the Head of Agency and the chief executive officer or authorised officer of the outside organisation and the secondee, covering the terms and conditions outlined in “Secondment of a person who is not an employee into the State Service”.

Persons from outside organisations who are seconded into the State Service are, during the period of their secondment, considered to be employees for the purposes of section 9 of the Act (Code of Conduct).

To enable the Commissioner to make the secondment arrangement out of the State Service, there needs to be a signed secondment document  agreed between the Head of Agency and the chief executive officer or authorised officer of the receiving organisation and the secondee, covering the terms and conditions outlined in “Secondment of an employee to an organisation outside the State Service”.

In respect of a secondment arrangement for an employee under subsection 46(1)(b) of the Act (secondment out of the Service), the terms of the arrangement must clearly state the name of the industrial award/agreement and the classification level that the employee will return to within their agency at the conclusion of the secondment arrangement.

Support Materials

Commissioner’s Direction No. 1 – Employment in the State Service (section 17)

Secondment out of the State Service (RTF)

Secondment into the State Service (RTF)