Attachment C – Event Periods

Determining an Event Period

1. The Electoral Commissioner may determine that the AEC has entered or concluded an ‘Event Period,’ with respect to an Electoral Event. The Electoral Commissioner must consider:
   1. the AEC’s operational requirements
   2. the AEC’s level of election readiness
   3. prospective or confirmed dates regarding the issues and return of writs; and
   4. any other relevant information
   before this determination can be made.
2. During an ‘Event Period,’ the following terms and conditions will apply, in addition to those outlined in the rest of the agreement.
3. In the event that an Event Period clause contradicts another clause in this agreement, the Event Period clause will prevail.

Definitions

4. In this attachment:
   
   Electoral Event means
   1. a National Election conducted under the CE Act;
   2. a national plebiscite under Commonwealth law; or
   3. a referendum conducted under the RMP Act; and
   4. does not include a by-election or Torres Strait Regional Authority election.
   Event period means the period of time, as determined by the Electoral Commissioner, in which the AEC’s operations reflect the requirement to deliver an Electoral Event as outlined in clause 1 of this attachment.
   
   Qualifying period means the period commencing from the date of issue of writs and ends on the date of return of the writs (in accordance with the CE Act and/or the RMP Act) and is the later date in the case of a general election and referendum being held at the same time. In relation to a plebiscite, in the absence of any prescribed period, an appropriate Qualifying period will be determined by the Electoral Commissioner.

Alternate bandwidth

5. The Electoral Commissioner may determine an alternate bandwidth for a particular cohort of employees, having regard to the operational requirements of the AEC and the consultation provisions (clauses 450 to 471) of this agreement. This change must only occur if doing so is necessary to assist the AEC in fulfilling its obligations of delivering an Electoral Event.

Alternate bandwidth rates

6. Subject to clause 5 of this attachment, employees whose alternate bandwidth includes hours which are outside the AEC’s standard bandwidth (clause 131) will be paid the rates set out in Table 9 below, calculated as a percentage of the employee’s base rate of pay.

Table 9: Alternate bandwidth rates

1. Penalty rates are not cumulative. In an instance where multiple rates may apply, including overtime, the more beneficial rate will prevail.

Event continuity allowance

8. Employees who work the entire duration of the Qualifying Period will receive an allowance following the conclusion of an Electoral Event (Event continuity allowance).

Eligibility

9. In addition to working the Qualifying Period, employees must also:
1. ensure their timesheets (APS-level employees only) are completed, submitted and approved at the end of each settlement period occurring partly or wholly in the Qualifying Period;
2. ensure any leave taken during the Qualifying Period is submitted and approved in accordance with the AEC’s leave policy; and
3. for non-ongoing employees, have completed 12-months of consecutive service (with no breaks in service) with the AEC by the end of the Qualifying Period. Periods of casual service do not contribute to the 12-month requirement.
10. The following employees are not eligible for the Event continuity allowance:
1. casual employees;
2. employees who are on leave for the entire Qualifying Period; and
3. employees who have temporarily transferred or are seconded to the AEC and, who by the end of the Qualifying Period, have not completed 12 months of consecutive service (with no breaks in service) with the AEC.

Payment calculation

11. The Event continuity allowance is:
1. $2,704 gross for employees at the APS 1 to 4 classifications; and
2. $3,640 gross for employees at the APS 5 to EL 2 classifications.
12. Employees who received higher duties allowance for any part of the Qualifying Period will receive the Event continuity allowance associated with the higher classification.
13. The Event continuity allowance is only paid once if multiple Electoral Events are held at the same time.
14. The Event continuity allowance is paid on a pro-rata basis for:
1. part-time employees, based on their ordinary hours of work;  
2. employees who take more than 75 hours of approved paid leave during the Qualifying period. The allowance proportion will be calculated using the following formula (pro-rata for part-time employees):
   Ordinary hours worked during the Qualifying period – Hours of approved paid leave exceeding 75 hours
   ÷
   Full-time ordinary hours in the Qualifying period
3. employees who take any approved unpaid leave during the Qualifying period. The allowance proportion will be calculated using the following formula (pro-rata for part-time employees):
   Ordinary hours worked during the Qualifying period – Hours of approved unpaid leave
   ÷
   Full-time ordinary hours in the Qualifying period
15. The Event continuity allowance will be paid no later than the third full settlement period after the Qualifying Period ends.
16. The Electoral Commissioner may, in exceptional circumstances, authorise payment of the Event continuity allowance, in full or in part, to an employee who does not meet the qualifying criteria in clause 9 of this attachment.

Emergency care of Dependants allowance

17. Subject to approval by the Electoral Commissioner and satisfactory evidence, an Employee may be reimbursed up to $750 for reasonable and unavoidable costs incurred for emergency care of Dependants during an Electoral Event.

Event TOIL

Overview

18. Subject to the prior written approval of the Electoral Commissioner, an EL employee can accrue Event TOIL during the Qualifying Period.
19. Event TOIL is accrued:
1. on an hour-for-hour basis;
2. at time-and-a-half for each additional hour, when duties are performed on weekend and public holidays; and
3. as an accessible leave credit.
20. EL employees are required to keep a written record of their hours worked each week, to be approved by their manager, before they can be credited with Event TOIL.
21. Subject to clause 18 of this attachment, EL TOIL during the Qualifying Period otherwise continues to operate in accordance with clauses 155 to 161.
22. Event TOIL cannot be accrued when the EL Employee has been approved to receive another payment for those hours (overtime, shift penalties, or alternate span of hours penalties).
23. EL employees performing work directed by the AEC in locations outside Australia will not be eligible for Event TOIL.

Accessing Event TOIL

24. Event TOIL that is not either used as leave or cashed out will be lost to the EL Employee.
25. Event TOIL credits will not be paid out on termination of employment with the AEC, unless otherwise approved by the Electoral Commissioner.

Using Event TOIL as leave

26. Unless being cashed out, Event TOIL must be used by an EL Employee within 6 months of the end of the Qualifying Period.
27. Event TOIL can be accessed similarly to other types of leave and is subject to approval of the employee’s manager and considerations outlined in the AEC’s leave policy.

Cash out

28. The Electoral Commissioner may approve a once off cash-out of up to 100 hours of any unused Event TOIL, following the end of an Electoral Event, provided the employee has:
1. requested the cash out within 6 months of the end of the Qualifying Period and
2. taken a minimum of 3 weeks annual leave and 5 days of Event TOIL (pro-rata for part-time EL employees) in the 12 months preceding the cash-out
29. The cash-out of Event TOIL is paid as a once-off lump sum payment and will not count as salary for any purpose.

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