On 1 July 2025, amendments to the Public Sector Management (Breaches of Public Sector Standards) Regulations 2005 came into effect.
These changes reflect amendments to the Industrial Relations Act 1979 which give the Western Australian Industrial Relations Commission (WAIRC) jurisdiction over claims alleging breaches of public sector standards relating to transfer, performance management, grievance resolution, redeployment and termination.
The Public Sector Commission retains jurisdiction over Recruitment Standard breach claims.
The changes also support more proactive and effective resolution of claims by agencies.
To align with the Industrial Relations Act, the timeframe for agencies to attempt to resolve claims has increased from 15 business days to 21 calendar days. In practice, this primarily affects timeframes where a public holiday falls in the resolution period.
Agencies should consider planning decisions to minimise claims being resolved during periods with multiple public holidays, such as Christmas and New Year, as this makes it more challenging to meet the 21 day timeframe.
The legislation and regulations allow for:
- people to make a claim to an agency if they believe a standard has been breached and they have been adversely affected (subject to certain requirements) - see regulation 6 for when a claim can be made
- agencies to make reasonable attempts to resolve claims with claimants
- the impartial handling of claims
- resolution by conciliation if possible and, if this does not occur, an independent decision by the WAIRC or Public Sector Commissioner on whether there has been
- breach of a standard
- the WAIRC to make orders
- the Public Sector Commissioner to recommend or direct a remedy, if any, is provided when a breach is found.
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