• Section 1 - Preamble
• Section 2 - Purpose
• Section 3 - Scope
• Section 4 - Procedure
• Section 5 - Non-Compliance

Section 1 - Preamble

(1) Charles Darwin University (‘the University’, ‘CDU’) is committed to contemporary employment practices that recognise high-quality staff and their contribution to the University’s vision and values.

(2) Recognition of prior service for Long Service Leave (LSL) entitlement is designed to recognise a new staff member’s continuous service with previous, approved employers so that the staff member can access their LSL entitlement at CDU, without re-starting their qualifying period.

Section 2 - Purpose

(3) This procedure aims to ensure a consistent and transparent approach to determine staff eligibility and recognition of prior service for LSL entitlements.

Section 3 - Scope

(4) This procedure applies to all continuing and fixed-term staff who:

1. Have prior service with one or more approved employers; and
2. Have not had any breaks in service exceeding twelve (12) months between the employment of approved employers.

(5) Submissions for recognition of service with greater than twelve (12) months break may be made to the Director People and Culture for individual consideration.

Section 4 - Procedure

Approved employers

(6) The University recognises the following as approved employers for recognition of LSL purposes:

1. Any Australian University, University College, or Institute of Higher Education;
2. Northern Territory Public Service;
3. Australian Public Service;
4. National Tertiary Education Union;
5. Association for Tertiary Education Management;
6. Australian Higher Education Industrial Association;
7. Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency; and
8. Australian Skills Quality Authority.
9. The Vice-Chancellor (VC) may approve additional employers on a case-by-case basis.

Application for recognition of prior service

(7) A new staff member seeking to transfer long service leave funds from their previous employer will need to initiate the process prior to commencing their employment with CDU. This is to ensure financial transfers between employers are processed prior to any payout of final monies owed.

(8) A new staff member applying for recognition of prior service (for years of service purposes only) must do so within six (6) months of commencing employment at CDU.

(9) Applications received after 6 months may be considered by the Director People and Culture.

(10) To apply, a completed Recognition of Prior Service application form (separate form for each approved employer) must be submitted to People and Culture.

(11) People and Culture will contact the Human Resources department of the staff member’s previous approved employer(s) to validate the staff member’s service.

(12) Upon confirmation of prior service from the approved employer(s), People and Culture will advise the staff member in writing whether the University will recognise the employment for LSL entitlement purposes.

(13) For approved applications, the prior service qualifying period will be calculated on a year-for-year basis, from the employment start date to the employment end date for period(s) of employment with each approved employer.

(14) The University only applies prior service recognition to the continuous service period for assessing eligibility to access LSL. The University does not recognise prior service for salary purposes.

Section 5 - Non-Compliance

(15) Non-compliance with Governance Documents is considered a breach of the Code of Conduct – Staff or the Code of Conduct – Students, as applicable, and is treated seriously by the University. Reports of concerns about non-compliance will be managed in accordance with the applicable disciplinary procedures outlined in the Charles Darwin University and Union Enterprise Agreement 2022 and the Code of Conduct – Students.

(16) Complaints may be raised in accordance with the Code of Conduct – Staff and Code of Conduct - Students.

(17) All staff members have an individual responsibility to raise any suspicion, allegation or report of fraud or corruption in accordance with the Fraud and Corruption Control Policy and Whistleblower Reporting (Improper Conduct) Procedure.