General employment conditions
There are a range of employment conditions that apply to various roles across the Northern Territory Public Sector (NTPS).
The specific entitlements are set out in the following:
This page contains the general employment conditions for most public sector employees who are in the following roles:
- administrative
- professional
- technical
- physical.
Probation
Ongoing employment in the NTPS is subject to a period of probation.
During this time your conduct and performance is assessed, which is in-line with Employment Instruction 2 PDF (94.1 KB).
Hours of work
On average, full time employees are required to work either:
- 36.45 hours or
- 38 hours per week depending on their agreement.
Depending on the needs of the work place, the following may also be available.
Salary
All employees in the NTPS are paid fortnightly.
The pay period extends from Thursday to Wednesday. Salary is paid into a bank account nominated by the employee.
An employee's salary is set out in the relevant enterprise agreement or Commissioner's determinations according to the employee’s classification.
Employees are generally entitled to increments within the scale of salary for their substantive classification after completing 12 months service until they reach the maximum salary for their classification.
Read about NTPS rates of pay.
Allowances
Read below for allowance NTPS employees may be eligible to apply for.
If you are temporarily performing the duties of someone in a higher position, you may be entitled to higher duties allowance.
Higher duties allowance means the difference in salary between your normal current rate of pay and the rate of pay normally applying to the job you are filling.
An employee is entitled to an increment at the higher classification when they have:
- been on higher duties for a continuous period of 12 months or
- accrued a total of 12 months of service in broken periods during the preceding 24 months.
Some positions may require that you must act in the position for a minimum period of time before a higher duties allowance is paid.
More information is available in your enterprise agreement and in By-law 23 PDF (72.3 KB).
If you need to move to another region within the Northern Territory as a result of a promotion or transfer, you may be entitled to a relocation allowance.
For more information read By-law 27 PDF (12.3 KB).
If you are required to travel away from your workplace and must stay overnight you must be provided with one of the following:
- reasonable accommodation and meals
- an appropriate allowance.
For more information read the following:
You may be entitled to other allowances as an NTPS employee.
Read By-laws for more information.
Employees who reside in a locality declared as 'remote' by the Commissioner for Public Employment may be entitled to receive:
- fares out of isolated locality (FOIL)
- assistance with airfares on a regular basis, for themselves and their recognised dependents, to Darwin or Alice Springs
- an allowance to assist with the cost of freight for foodstuffs they purchase outside the remote locality.
In addition, they may also be eligible for:
- rental concessions
- special study leave provisions
- an accommodation allowance in conjunction with fares out of isolated locality
- family travel assistance in conjunction with professional development
- partial reimbursement of household contents insurance premiums if higher costs are incurred.
For more information read Determination 8 of 2015 PDF (481.2 KB).
Information on the Northern Territory Government superannuation provisions is available from the Northern Territory Superannuation Office.
Contact us
If you have any questions call 08 8999 4282 or email enquiries.ocpe@nt.gov.au.