Maternity Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Act 1973

A female employee who absents herself from duty in accordance with a permission granted under paragraph 6(1)(a) or 6(1)(c) may, at any time after the expiration of the period during which she is required in accordance with paragraph 6(1)(b), to absent herself from duty, make application, in writing, to the leave officer for permission to resume duty on a day specified in the application.

Where application is made to the leave officer under subsection (1), the leave officer shall, within 7 business days after receipt of the application:

subject to subsections (3) and (6), grant or refuse to grant the application; and

inform the applicant, in writing, whether he or she has granted or refused to grant the application.

A leave officer shall not grant an application made to him or her under subsection (1) to resume duty on a day that is less than 7 days after the application is received by him or her unless he or she is satisfied that there are special circumstances justifying his or her granting the application.

Where a leave officer refuses to grant an application for permission to resume duty made under subsection (1) and the application was received by the leave officer not less than 21 business days before the date on which the applicant wished to resume duty:

the leave officer shall furnish to the applicant, when informing the applicant that he or she has refused to grant the application, particulars of the grounds on which it would not, in his or her opinion, be in the interests of the Service for her to resume duty on that date; and

the applicant may, within 7 business days after she has received the particulars referred to in paragraph (a), request the Agency Head, in writing, to review the decision of the leave officer and furnish, with her request, particulars of any matters that she wishes the Agency Head to consider in making the review.

Where the Agency Head receives a request under subsection (4), the Agency Head shall, within 7 business days after it receives the request:

subject to subsection (6):

affirm the decision of the leave officer; or

quash the decision of the leave officer and grant the applicant the permission sought in her application; and

inform the applicant, in writing, of its decision.

An application under subsection (1) shall be granted by the leave officer to whom the application is made, or by the Agency Head in reviewing a refusal by the leave officer to grant the application, unless the leave officer or the Agency Head, as the case may be, is satisfied that it would not be in the interests of the Service to grant the application.

Where an applicant is granted, under this section, permission to resume duty before the expiration of a period in respect of which she had been granted permission to absent herself from duty, that period shall be treated as having expired immediately before the date upon which she resumes duty.