Employment Type

The Enterprise Agreement provides for three types of employment:

• ongoing
• non-ongoing (no more than 12 months)
• casual (no more than 4 weeks).

Further information can be found in the ongoing, non-ongoing and casual employment guideline and the employment conditions overview.

Ongoing employment

An ongoing employee must be employed wholly or partly against an established position. An ongoing employee cannot be wholly paid against the employing parliamentarian’s ESB.

Non-ongoing employment

Non-ongoing employment is for a fixed period up to a maximum of 12 months. The fixed period may end on a specified date, at the completion of a task or particular event. Each period of engagement of a non-ongoing employee is separate.

A non-ongoing employee can be employed against an established position or the ESB, or a combination of both.

Casual employment

Casual employees may be engaged against an established position and/or the electorate support budget (ESB), or a combination of both to work from time to time as required by the employing parliamentarian. The maximum period for an employment agreement casual employee is four weeks (28 calendar days).

Casual employment is generally used where the employment is occasional or irregular and there is no expectation or guarantee of continuing employment. Casual employment should not be used when the employment is of a regular, systematic nature.

Casual employees are paid at an hourly rate for every hour worked. The hourly rate is based on a salary point in accordance with clause 17 of the Commonwealth Members of Parliament (Staff) Enterprise Agreement 2020-23 (MOPS EA), in addition to a 20 per cent loading of salary in lieu of access to the following:

1. Paid leave, with the exception of long service leave which will be provided in accordance with the Long Service Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Act 1976;
2. Salary increments under clause 17.8 of the MOPS EA;
3. Electorate/Personal staff allowance;
4. Retention Payments;
5. Corporate Responsibility Allowance;
6. Time off in lieu (TOIL);
7. Notice of termination of employment; and
8. Severance benefits and career transition payments.

Casual employees who meet certain eligibility requirements must be offered the option to convert to full-time or part-time (permanent) employment. This process is referred to as Casual Conversion. 

Electorate Officer positions 

Each parliamentarian is allocated at least five Electorate Officer positions, to help the parliamentarian carry out their parliamentary and electorate responsibilities, but not responsibilities relating to party business.

There are three levels of Electorate Officer: 

• Electorate Officer A (EOA)
• Electorate Officer B (EOB)
• Electorate Officer C (EOC) - the highest level. 

Office structure and restructures

When employing Electorate Officers, a parliamentarian has to choose either of the two following combinations (a parliamentarian can substitute a position at a lower classification for any EOB or EOC position): 

Where a parliamentarian has an operational requirement to restructure their office, they should contact HR Advice to discuss.

Members with second and third electorate offices provided at the Commonwealth expense are respectively provided with six and seven full-time Electorate Officer positions. These positions are at the EOB classification. 

Further information refer to Office restructure.

Employing family members

Parliamentarians cannot employ immediate family under the MOP(S) Act, as determined in Determination 2013/12 - Determination of condition on exercise of power of Office-Holders, Senators and Members of the House of Representatives. This includes:

• spouses
• de facto partners
• children
• parents
• siblings
• children of their spouse or de facto partner
• their child’s spouse or de facto partner
• their sibling’s spouse or de facto partner.

If a parliamentarian enters into an employment arrangement with immediate family, the employment will not be employment under the MOP(S) Act and will not be governed by the MOP(S) Act. 

Parliamentarians are permitted to employ the family members of other parliamentarians.