Public servants moving into the Home Affairs mega-department face losing workplace conditions as its future boss signals he wants them to join Immigration's industrial agreement.
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An email sent to staff last month, seen by Fairfax Media, explained Home Affairs secretary-designate Michael Pezzullo wants employees moving into the new department to adopt Immigration's existing workplace deal, potentially seeing them lose some more generous conditions.
Under Australian Public Service guidelines, staff transferring from one department to another must receive the more lucrative of salaries that applied for their classification immediately before and after their move.
But most commonly they have to adopt conditions set in the workplace agreement of the receiving agency.
It is understood that, under recent estimates subject to change, the new super-size department would absorb 500 staff from the Attorney-General's department, 300 from the Office of Transport Security in Infrastructure, 30 from the department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, and 18 from Social Services.
Department of Immigration and Border Protection chief operating officer and deputy secretary corporate Jenet Connell told DIBP staff that employment conditions for public servants transferring into Home Affairs would "be set in a manner consistent with APS guidelines for machinery of government changes."
Staff from independent statutory agencies moving into the broader Home Affairs portfolio, including the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, the AFP, ASIO and AUSTRAC will remain employees of their own agency and will retain their employment arrangements.
Other public servants moving into Home Affairs from outside the Immigration department could inherit conditions set in an enterprise agreement due to expire in 2014 but not replaced as DIBP workers remain locked with their bosses in a dispute that has entered Fair Work arbitration.
Mr Pezzullo has indicated that, subject to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's decision, the Home Affairs department would be formed before February, while Fair Work is expected to finish hearings into Immigration's workplace dispute by the end of 2017.
Staff transferring to Home Affairs have raised fears they will lose conditions enshrined in their old agreements.
The move into Home Affairs could leave former Infrastructure staff with less paid maternity leave, while both Attorney-General's and Infrastructure workers could receive less generous Christmas period leave.
The main public sector union said the latest machinery of government shake-up was more confusing and messy than previous mergers and had left many workers in the dark.
Community and Public Sector Union acting deputy secretary Brooke Muscat-Bentley said the largest problem for its members was a lack of information about the changes, for both staff already working in Immigration and Border Force and those who will transfer from agencies including Infrastructure and the Attorney-General's Department.
"We've been seeking as much information as we can on this process to share with members," she said.
"People understandably want to know what is going to happen when, along with simple practicalities like where they'll be working and who they'll be reporting to.
"There's also a fair bit of concern from those who will be transferred into Home Affairs about the stringent integrity requirements that will be applied."
An Immigration department spokeswoman said regular communication with staff had been a key priority throughout the creation of Home Affairs.
"Staff from each of the departments that may transfer to the Department of Home Affairs have been informed of the changes, including through staff information sessions," she said.
Ms Muscat-Bentley said the anxiety of people facing transfer into Home Affairs wasn't helped by ongoing uncertainty about future employment conditions as the arbitration case continued in Fair Work.
