1.3 Definitions

1.3 DEFINITIONS

This clause contains definitions of relevant terms used throughout this Agreement. Where a term is specific to a particular clause, normally the definition for that term appears in the relevant clause.

In this Agreement, the following definitions shall apply:

(i) “Academic staff member” means a staff member employed in accordance with the terms of this Agreement and whose salary is prescribed by Part A of Schedule 1.

(ii) “Act” means the Fair Work Act, 2009 (as amended).

(iii) “Afternoon shift” means any shift finishing after 7:00 pm and at or before midnight.

(iv) “Broken shift” means an ordinary shift worked in two periods of duty during the hours 7:30 am to 7:00 pm.

(v) “Casual staff member” is a member of the University staff who is employed and paid by the hour, including a sessional staff member who is a casual staff member employed in accordance with the terms of this Agreement, and whose salary is prescribed by Schedule 2.

(vi) “Consultation” means providing the individual staff member or other relevant person(s) with a bona fide opportunity to influence the decision maker. Consultation is not perfunctory advice on what is to happen, this is a common misconception. Consultation is not a joint decision-making process or even a negative or frustrating barrier to the prerogative of management to make decisions. Consultation allows the decision-making process to be informed.

(vii) “Continuous service” means service with the University which the University recognises for continuity of employment. This includes all paid service, all periods of approved leave, and breaks between fixed-term employment of up to six (6) weeks. Unpaid leave or breaks between fixed-term appointments of six (6) weeks or more shall not count as service for the purpose of calculating leave and other entitlements, unless otherwise expressly stated.

(viii) “Disciplinary action” means action taken by the University to discipline a member of staff formally for unsatisfactory performance, misconduct or serious misconduct. Formal disciplinary action may only be taken by the Vice-Chancellor in line with the procedures for disciplining a staff member set out in this Agreement. Formal disciplinary action may include but is not limited to one or more of the following:

a) Formal censure or counselling; and/or

b) Demotion by one or more classification levels or increments; and/or

c) Lateral transfer to another position; or,

d) Termination of employment (except in the case of misconduct).

(ix) “Holiday” means any or all of the holidays specified in sub-clause 3.11 of this Agreement.

(x) “Immediate family” means a spouse (as defined by the Act), de facto partner, child, parent, grandparent, grandchild or sibling of the staff member; or a child, parent, grandparent, grandchild or sibling of a spouse or de facto partner of the staff member.

(xi) “Manager” refers to the head of a functional or organisational unit as defined by the University's structures, as determined from time to time.

(xii) “Member of the Senior Executive” means the occupant (including on an acting basis) of the following positions: Vice-Chancellor and President, Provost, Chief Operating Officer, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Students, Learning and Teaching), Vice-President, and Pro Vice-Chancellor Assisting the Vice-Chancellor and President and may include other positions as defined from time to time.

(xiii) “Member of the Executive” means the occupants (including on an acting basis) of those positions which normally report to either the Vice-Chancellor and President or a Member of the Senior Executive, and which have staffing and supervisory responsibilities, as defined from time to time.

(xiv) “Misconduct” means behaviour, attitude or a particular act of the staff member that is considered by the University to be unacceptable and that falls short of warranting termination of employment.

(xv) “Night shift” means any shift finishing after midnight and at or before 7:30 am.

(xvi) “Normal service” means service with the University paid at the staff member’s ordinary rate of pay according to their contract of employment.

(xvii) “Ordinary rate” means the rate payable to an academic staff member or to a Professional staff member in accordance with the rate set out in Schedule 1, Part A or B, for the staff member’s substantive appointment.

(xviii) “Ordinary rate per hour” means the hourly rate payable to a Professional staff member by applying the formula: annual salary divided by the number of weeks in a calendar year divided by 35.

(xix) “Ordinary time shift” means any period of work starting at or after 7:30 am and finishing at or before 7:00 pm for which no shift allowance applies.

(xx) “Parties” means and refers to one or more of either Australian Catholic University Limited or a staff member of the University, or the Community and Public Sector Union or the National Tertiary Education Industry Union.

(xxi) “Professional staff member” means a staff member who occupies a position classified in accordance with the DWM descriptors and is paid in accordance with the salaries set out in Part B of Schedule 1. A professional staff member may also be referred to as “General Staff” in some University Reports.

(xxii) “Proof of illness” means a certificate from a registered health practitioner or a statutory declaration from the staff member.

(xxiii) “Protected staff member” means and refers to a staff member of the University who on 31 December 1990 was a staff member of Catholic College of Education Sydney Ltd, McAuley College Queensland, The Institute of Catholic Education or Signadou Dominican College of Education Ltd and on 1 January 1991 ceased to be so employed and became a staff member of Australian Catholic University.

(xxiv) “Public holiday” means a day declared by a State or Territory government, or a day declared in lieu of a public holiday that is observed by the University and on which the University campus(es) in that State or Territory is closed.

(xxv) A “Redundancy” occurs where the University decides that it no longer wishes the job that the staff member has been doing to be done by anyone at that campus or location, and this is not due to the ordinary and customary turnover of labour. A redundancy may occur, for example, for reasons of an economic, technological, structural or similar nature, and may also occur through the transfer of a position and/or function to another campus.

(xxvi) “Retrenchment” means the termination of employment of a staff member whose position has been declared by the University to be redundant.

(xxvii) “Serious Misconduct” means serious misbehaviour or deliberate action(s) of a staff member which may cause a serious impediment to the carrying out of the staff member’s duties or to the staff member’s colleagues carrying out their duties; and also means misconduct of sufficient seriousness as would warrant termination of employment, and may include a succession of incidents of misconduct.

(xxviii) “Significant effects” include termination of employment; major changes in the composition, operation or size of the University’s workforce or in the skills required; the elimination or diminution of job opportunities, promotion opportunities or job tenure; the alteration of hours of work; the need for retraining or transfer of its staff to other work or locations; and the restructuring of jobs. Provided that where this Agreement makes provision for alteration of any of these matters an alteration is deemed not to have significant effect.

(xxix) “Staff observer” means a person elected by those staff who are subject to the operation of a particular University process applying under a policy of the University.

(xxx) “Staff representative” means a person who is chosen by a staff member to be their chosen representative, who may be a union member or union official but who is not a practising barrister or solicitor.

(xxxi) “Unattached” means that a staff member has formally agreed that they are no longer attached to their substantive position, which may then be filled by the organisational unit. For example, a staff member who takes a period or periods of extended parental leave without pay and/or a staff member who is seconded for a period greater than fifty-two (52) weeks are required to formally agree to become “unattached” from their substantive position/s.

(xxxii) “Union” in this agreement means and refers either to the Community and Public Sector Union or the National Tertiary Education Union.

(xxxiii) “University” refers to Australian Catholic University Limited (A.B.N. 15 050 192 660), a Company limited by guarantee.

(xxxiv) “University holiday” means one or more days during the annual University closedown period on which the University is closed, and which staff are not required to take as part of their annual or long service leave.

(xxxv) “Vice-Chancellor and President” refers to the Vice-Chancellor and President or delegate.

(xxxvi) A “Week” is equal to five (5) working days within a seven (7) day cycle.

(xxxvii) “Week’s pay” means the ordinary time rate of pay per week for the staff member concerned.

(xxxviii) Any “Year of service” is deemed to be twelve (12) months paid service from the anniversary date of commencement.