Public servants will be allowed to work on January 26 if they do not wish to celebrate Australia Day after the Labor government reversed a previous government directive which forced APS staff to not work on the public holiday.
In a whole of government response, an Australian Public Service Commission spokesperson said Minister for the Public Service, Senator Katy Gallagher had revoked the former government's directive that limited substitution of certain public holidays in new enterprise agreements.
Former prime minister Scott Morrison issued the directive shortly before the election, which removed the ability to allow federal public service staff to arrange a different day off.
Senator Gallagher told The Canberra Times "the previous government reduced flexibility for APS employees and agencies by removing the ability to agree on arrangements to substitute a day for Australia Day and other public holidays".
She said "In line with our desire to be a model employer, the government removed that restrictive direction and agencies may have in place the option for employees to substitute a day for Australia day and other public holidays".
The revoking of this decision means employees of the Australian Public Service can request substitution of a specific public holiday, where agreed between an employee and their manager or agency head.
The departments of Parliamentary Services, Health and Aged Care, Attorney-General, Social Services, Home Affairs, Treasury and Foreign Affairs and Trade, Employment and Workplace Relations, and the Australian Taxation Office all allow employees to request a substitute day in place of public holidays.
An alternate day needs to be arranged between the employee and their manager or departmental secretary, or a delegate, having regards to operational requirements, as per the department's enterprise agreements.
Community and Public Sector Union National Secretary Melissa Donnelly said if APS employees would like to observe the January 26 public holiday on a different day, they should raise it with their supervisor.
"There are longstanding practices in a range of agencies, such as Home Affairs and the Australia Taxation Office, that already allow for the substitution of any public holiday for a variety of cultural and religious reasons," Ms Donnelly said.
"CPSU members who wish to substitute public holidays but face difficulty in arranging that in their workplace can contact the CPSU for assistance."
The Labor government previously reversed a different Morrison-era rule, removing the "red tape" which forced local councils to only hold citizenship ceremonies on Australia Day.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he still believes the ceremonies should be held on Australia Day, but the rules were "punishing individuals" who were "missing out on becoming Australian citizens" due to "ideological reasons".
Mr Albanese was criticised for the move by members of the Liberal Party such as Dan Tehan, who accused the Prime Minister of trying to abolish the national holiday.
However Prime Minister Albanese has said he still supports Australia Day and has no plans to change the date from January 26, despite calls from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
Australian embassies and high commissions overseas can choose which Australian public holidays they observe.
The Australian High Commission in Papua New Guinea and Australian Embassy in the Netherlands do not observe Australia Day, but instead observe Reconciliation Day which is only a public holiday in the ACT.
The Australian High Commission in Papua New Guinea and Australian Embassy in the Netherlands also do not observe ANZAC day.
The ACT requires territory public servants to take January 26 off, as per their enterprise agreement.
The University of Wollongong recently announced it would allow its staff to chose if they wanted to work on January 26 and chose a substitute day to take off.
University staff at the Australian National University and Australian Catholic University however will not have the same choice.
An ANU spokesperson said the university will observe all public holidays in line with the dates in the ACT calendar, but they "are very open to exploring new approaches to public holidays as part of our enterprise bargaining".
Australian Catholic University's Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Vice-Chancellor Dr Stephen Weller said the ACU recently agreed on a new enterprise agreement, which included removing a specific reference to individual public holidays, but during negotiations, staff and unions didn't advance claims for a substituted holiday.
Invasion day protests are planned across the country on Australia Day, and have had increased attendance over the years as more Australians recognise the harm the day has on Indigenous peoples.
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