A valued Principal colleague via Yammer recently asked about an ambiguous aspect of the Private & Secondary Employment Procedure.

Questions: As a Principal do I have delegated authority to approve a secondary employment application for an AP? I have read through the guidelines and they seem to be contradictory.

Answer: Yes! You have authority or more to our employer's need you are performing a clerical duty and making a decision for the Department as what you believe to be accurate. A requirement is to forward the documentation off to a central record keeping area. Happy to be proven wrong with the post...

Private and secondary employment procedure (nsw.gov.au)

Secondary employment (not private employment) means any work or position within the department that is in addition to an employee’s principal full-time employment in the department.

As you have sourced the attached is the correct document. The applicant's immediate supervisor contributes to the applicant's declaration. If it is absent of a perceived conflict no problem keep the completed original document secure as a school record but also scan it and send to EdConnect for your area. If a perceived conflict arises or for further advice consult EdConnect.

If you seek advice from what you see as a perceived conflict ask for an email confirming the advice received. Don't just rely on a telephone conversation. A written response provides you with a document trail that led to your approval or not. I have found that we don't always get the same advice from different people in the same directorate similar to the reality that schools operate differently.

Private employment refers to any employment outside of the department.