1.     Purpose and Coverage

The NSW Government Workforce Mobility Placement Policy (the Placement Policy) provides a streamlined approach to assist NSW Government agencies to retain talent, facilitate mobility and reduce redundancy and recruitment expenses, in circumstances where employees’ roles are at risk as a result of restructures, machinery of government changes, adjustments to business and service delivery priorities.

 The Placement Policy applies to all non-executive, government sector employees.

 The Placement Policy does not affect workplace mobility requirements under the Government Sector Employment Act 2013, the Government Sector Employment Regulation 2014 and the Government Sector Employment (General) Rules 2014 and does not replace provisions in current industrial instruments and active Premier’s Memoranda.

 The key features of the Placement Policy include:

• an eight-week ‘placement process period’ for employees whose roles are at risk to be matched to vacant roles within the government sector, prior to agencies and departments considering initiating the process for requesting concurrent approvals to commence redundancy/redeployment programs.

• the creation of a Workforce Mobility Placement Team (the WMP Team) within Premier’s Department to coordinate a whole-of-government approach to cross-sector mobility and to oversee the application of the Placement Policy.

• the requirement for consultation to occur between departments and agencies, impacted employees and the WMP Team, during the stages of the placement process, including consultation on any impacts on employees’ career aspirations, flexible working arrangements and financial position.

• a centralised placement process for identifying and placing employees into other roles in the government sector.

• a five-day matching process period in which roles within the sector are not advertised externally until a matching process is undertaken for impacted employees.

2.    Application

The Placement Policy applies to the government sector, including Public Service agencies, Departments and Executive agencies as defined in section 3(1) of the Government Sector Employment Act 2013. State-owned corporations, including their subsidiaries, are strongly encouraged to apply the terms of the Placement Policy.

NSW Government agencies must first exhaust the requirements of the Placement Policy, prior to the application of any redundancy/redeployment programs, including the Managing Excess Employees Policy (M2011-11 Changes to the Management of Excess Employees).

Chris Minns MP

Premier