Who is a 'public service officer'?

A public service officer is a fixed term, permanent or executive officer, who is employed in the Public Service (for a definition of these terms, see Public Sector Management Act 1994). Broadly speaking, the Public Service is made up of departments and other government organisations.

Employees can find out whether they are a public service officer by looking at their letter of appointment. If the employee is appointed as either ‘permanent’ or ‘fixed term’ and the employer is a government department, the employee is probably a public service officer. Employees can also ask their employer’s HR department for details of their appointment.

Not all government employees are public service officers. For example, if an employee is appointed casually, they are probably not ‘public service officers’. Similarly, if an employee is appointed to assist a political office holder, they are not employees of the Public Service, and therefore they are not public service officers.