6.2 Probationary Employment

1. The provisions in this Agreement applying to unsatisfactory performance and misconduct do not apply to employees during their minimum employment period.

Probationary periods

2. An employee, other than one who is employed on a casual basis, may be subject to a specified period of probationary employment in accordance with this clause.

3. Continuing appointments will be subject to the following maximum probationary periods:

   Employee classification	Probationary period
   Professional employees	Six (6) months
   Academic employee	Three (3) years

4. The University may reduce or waive a probationary period.

5. Fixed-term professional employees who are appointed to a second or subsequent contract will not be required to undergo a further probationary period. However, in the case of a fixed-term academic employee whose initial appointment did not include the full range of academic probationary requirements of a continuing appointment, a further probationary period of up to eighteen (18) months may be required.

6. A probationary period may be extended by up to three (3) months for a professional employee where the employee has been absent from the workplace due to unanticipated absence of more than twenty (20) working days to the extent that it has not been possible to assess their performance, or to raise performance concerns during their initial probationary period.

Probation Reviews

7. A probationary employee’s performance will be reviewed as follows:

   1. A professional employee will normally have their performance reviewed at the midpoint of their probationary period and again at least six (6) weeks prior to the anticipated date of confirmation.

   2. An academic employee employed on a probationary basis and on a fixed-term contract of employment will normally have their performance reviewed at the midpoint of their probationary period and again prior to the anticipated date of confirmation.

   3. A continuing academic employee employed on a probationary basis will normally have their performance reviewed annually with a final review occurring normally no later than three (3) months prior to the anticipated date of confirmation.

8. If the supervisor has raised concerns about the employee’s performance at any stage during the probationary period, the employee will be notified and provided with a reasonable opportunity to improve. The employee will be advised of the performance concerns and the standards required in writing.

9. If the supervisor has concerns about the employee’s conduct at any stage during the probationary period, the employee will be advised of these concerns in writing and will be provided with a reasonable opportunity to respond to the concerns and any adverse materials.

10. Employees will be advised of their right to have an Employee Representative attend any meetings.

Termination during probationary period

11. If an employee continues to not meet their probationary criteria, or their performance has not improved to the required standard, and/or conduct concerns still remain, a recommendation to terminate the employee’s employment may be made to the relevant Member of the Senior Executive. A copy of the recommendation will be provided to the employee at the same time as it is shared with the Senior Executive.

12. The employee will have ten (10) working days to respond to the recommendation.

13. Following their review of the recommendation and any written response from the employee, if the relevant Member of the Senior Executive is satisfied that:

    1. appropriate steps have been taken to bring the unsatisfactory performance to the employee’s attention;

       and

    2. a reasonable opportunity has been afforded to the employee to improve to the required standard; or

    3. an employee has been advised of and provided an opportunity to respond to any conduct concerns,

       they may determine to take no further action, refer the matter back to the supervisor, or make a termination recommendation to the Vice-Chancellor and President (or their nominee). Any termination recommendation will be in writing and will be provided to the employee at the same time as it is provided to the Vice-Chancellor and President (or their nominee).

14. Prior to the Vice-Chancellor’s determination, an employee will have five (5) working days to respond to the termination recommendation and any adverse material about the employee which the University intends to take into account if proposing termination of employment before the expiry of the period of probation.

15. If termination is proposed and the employee does not respond within five (5) working days, the employee will be terminated in writing and provided with the relevant notice periods in sub-clause 6.2(p).

16. If the Vice-Chancellor and President (or their nominee) proposes to dismiss a probationary employee, the University will advise the employee of the decision and of the proposed date of termination. The employee will be entitled to notice, or payment of Salary in lieu of notice in accordance with sub-clause 8.6(c).

17. Subject to a review as outlined at clause 8.3, all actions of the Vice-Chancellor and President (or their nominee) to discipline a probationary employee will be final and not subject to the Dispute Settlement Procedure of this Agreement, except that any disputes regarding the process leading up to the Vice-Chancellor and President’s (or their nominee’s) actions and decisions may be dealt with in accordance with the disputes settling procedures of this Agreement.

18. Nothing in this sub-clause will be construed as excluding the jurisdiction of any external court or tribunal which, but for this sub-clause, would be competent to deal with the matter.