Grievances

If you have a grievance about your treatment in employment with the Northern Territory Public Sector (NTPS), you can ask for a grievance review.

You can do this through the Office of the Commissioner for Public Employment.

Grievance reviews

The Commissioner for Public Employment can review actions and decisions of agency chief executive officers (CEOs) and their delegates.

Read below for examples of when you may be able to ask for a grievance review:

• selection decisions
• management actions
• termination of probationary employment
• disciplinary and inability decisions that doesn't affect remuneration
• agency handling of bullying complaints.

What happens first

You generally have 3 months to lodge a grievance.

It’s recommended you contact OCPE for assistance immediately.

Read below about how to send a grievance.

Probationary employment

If your complaint is about the termination of your probationary employment, you must lodge a grievance within 14 days of being notified of the decision to terminate.

How to lodge

There is no application form to lodge a grievance review.

You can email the commissioner and include all of the details below:

• treatment which has directly affected you
• the action, inaction, intended action, or decision of your agency
• all details of the circumstances, the specific agency action, inaction, intended action or decision which has aggrieved you.

Email your letter to grievance.ocpe@nt.gov.au.

Time frame

Your grievance review must be lodged within three months of the:

• action
• intended action or
• decision that caused the grievance.

Review process

The role of the Public Sector Appeals and Grievance Review team is to resolve your grievance quickly and efficiently.

There are lots of ways your grievance may be managed.

A grievance manager will first review your request.

Not all grievances need to go to the commissioner. Many are resolved through discussion and negotiation with your agency. These discussions are managed by the principal advisor.

Your agency will normally be made aware of the grievance. Further information may be sought by the principal advisor to better understand the circumstances.

If a decision is required by the commissioner, the principal advisor will prepare a file for their review and determination.

The commissioner is required to complete the review within 3 months.  They have the power to extend that period if they think it is necessary.

Most cases are resolved in less than 6 weeks.

Outcomes of grievance reviews

At the end of the review the commissioner may do one of the following:

• confirm the action, intended action or decision
• direct the CEO of your agency to take or not to take a specified action.

Many grievances are resolved through discussion and negotiation without the need for the commissioner to make a determination.

Read the legislation

Read section 59 of the Public Sector Employment and Management Act and Regulations (PSEMA ) and Employment Instruction number 8 - internal agency complaints and Section 59 grievance reviews PDF (128.4 KB).

You can also read the following employment instructions.

Number 1 – filling vacancies
Number 2 - probation
Number 5 - medical examinations