Publication:Sea Talk Summer 2007/So where’s my certificate of commission?

By Chris Ferguson*

Your Certificate of Commission is an important document that officially records your appointment as an officer in the Navy and is signed by the Minister for Defence and the Governor General.

The Navy Officers’ Career Management Manual, ABR 6289, notes that the issue of certificates of commission “is an automatic administrative process managed by DNOP (Directorate of Naval Officers’ Postings) that should occur within 12 months of expiration of [your] probationary period.” So where is your certificate of commission? Well the deceptively simple statement in ABR 6289 covers a complex staffing process that ultimately ends with the delivery of your certificate to your CO for presentation to you.

The first point to note is that the process really only begins once you have completed your probationary period. All new entry officers are appointed on probation.

The probationary period can be up to five years long but normally expires on award of your primary qualification. If you join with a recognised PQ, the probationary period is normally 12 months of effective service.

Each year DNOP compiles a list of all officers completing their probationary period. This list is checked against the appointment instruments, which contain the date of appointment and probation period for each officer. The list is then split into smaller groups for processing at intervals throughout the year, primarily for the benefit of the Governor General and the Minister who personally sign each individual certificate. DNOP liaises with the Executive Council Secretariat to clear each batch of certificates and the supporting documentation and set a date for tabling the certificates for the Governor General’s signature.

With this date set, the certificates and supporting documentation are released by the Director General Navy Personnel and Training and dispatched to the Minister’s office for his consideration and signature.

With the Minister’s approval and signature, the certificates are returned to DNOP for staffing back through the Executive Council to the Governor General for his approval, signature and embossing with the Great Seal of Australia.

The certificates are then returned again to DNOP from where they are dispatched to the member’s CO for presentation.

So this is where your certificate of commission is. Having read this, if you believe you should have a Certificate of Commission by now, or worse, you have your certificate of commission but despite all the double checking that occurs it has an error, then please get in touch with DNOP and they will look into the matter for you.

SO LOP, Directorate of Naval Officers’ Postings - 02 6265 2043