Any officer of the Post Office, or any person who is employed and has then been employed continuously (whether before or after the commencement of this section) for an immediately preceding period of not less than 2 years in any Division of the New Zealand Government Railways Department or in the Legislative Department or in the Hospital service or in the Education service, may be appointed to any vacancy in the Public Service as if he were an officer thereof, and subsection (1) of section 27 of this Act shall not apply to his appointment; but he shall not have any right of appeal under section 64 of this Act nor, except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, be deemed to be an officer of the Public Service for any other purpose until he has been so appointed:

“Provided that a person employed by the Post Office or the New Zealand Government Railways Department or the Legislative Department or in the Hospital service or in the Education service may be so appointed if he has been so employed continuously for an immediately preceding period of less than 2 years, if that period has been immediately preceded by a continuous period of employment as a probationer or officer in the Public Service and the combined length of those periods of employment has been not less than 2 years.

Where any person to whom subsection (1) of this section applies is appointed to any office or position specified in the Third Schedule to this Act, the provisions of subsection (2) of section 64 of this Act shall apply as if he were an officer immediately before that appointment.”