The Commission set aside the Department of Education's refusal to convert the appellant's acting HP4 position to permanent, finding the decision was not fair and reasonable. The decision failed to substantiate the assertion that the role was tied to a project with a 'known end date' — the general nature of the assertion without supporting material was insufficient, particularly where the appellant's contract had been extended beyond the stated project end date. The Commission also held that the employer's failure to comply with the mandatory requirement under s 120(5)(c) of the Public Sector Act 2022 to state how many times the acting arrangement had been extended could not be excused by citing limitations in HR reporting systems, and that at minimum evidence of steps taken to obtain the information should have been provided.
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