Executive fixed-term contracts: a new term is not a simple expiry-date edit
By Brian AJ Newman, LLB, Employment and Human Rights Advocate | Reviewed 12 November 2026
At executive level, the legal basis of employment matters as much as the job title. Queensland’s Fixed term contracts of employment – executive employees Directive 04/26, effective from 1 July 2026, governs a particular contract pathway, not all senior leadership appointments.
Identify the employment pathway
The directive concerns public service officers employed under section 152 of the Public Sector Act 2022 on fixed-term contracts made under section 155, at remuneration equal to or above senior-officer level.
It does not apply to senior executives employed under the Act’s separate Senior Executive Service provisions. It also places responsibilities on chief executives in their employing capacity.
Do not assume that being paid at an SES-equivalent rate makes the employee a member of the SES. Check the appointment instrument and contract.
Fixed terms have limits and approval requirements
The directive requires compliance with recruitment and selection rules. Ordinarily, fixed-term contracts must not be used for ongoing roles that should sit within the SES, exceed five years, or be extended by simply varying the expiry date.
After expiry, a new contract for the same role may be entered into without Commissioner approval where the cumulative term remains within five years. That is permission within the framework, not an employee’s automatic right to renewal.
There are also pre-advertising consultation requirements for specified longer, senior-executive-level roles. Arrangements outside the directive’s provisions require prior Commissioner approval under its exemption process. The five-year rules should therefore not be described as having no possible exception.
Remuneration must be justified, not merely negotiated
Before engagement, the chief executive must use job evaluation, benchmarking or a market assessment to determine an appropriate remuneration level. Conditions must be documented, transparent and justifiable.
The directive links pay and increases to the relevant published remuneration frameworks. SES-equivalent roles ordinarily use SES rates. High-Level Senior Executive rates require the specified exceptional approval; they are not an automatic consequence of a senior title.
Initial package-point rules, preservation of an existing officer’s package point and approval of departures must be considered together. A chief executive may also decide not to increase remuneration. This article does not quote a salary or determine a person’s package.
Check closure leave and existing contracts separately
Eligible officers participating in the Christmas/New Year compulsory closure receive specified granted leave days without a leave debit. The directive distinguishes recreation and long service leave from other leave categories and includes an exceptional exclusion power. It is not a general extra holiday entitlement for every senior employee.
Importantly, the replacement of Directive 11/23 does not alter existing contracts. Do not assume that the new directive automatically rewrites an agreement already in force.
Questions to resolve before signing
Ask which statutory employment pathway applies, why a fixed term is appropriate, how the cumulative term was calculated, which remuneration framework was used and whether any Commissioner approval is needed.
Confirm the approved contract form, any reversion arrangements and the treatment of existing contractual rights through individual advice. A general guide cannot determine whether a proposed contract is in someone’s interests.
Official source
The official PDF is linked rather than embedded because permission to reproduce the complete document, including its branding, has not been cleared. This is independent educational commentary, not government-endorsed guidance or personal contract advice.
~bajn~
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