The quarterly Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) meeting was held on 6 August 2026 for the Housing Response Centre (HRC) and Maintenance Response Centre (MRC). JCCs are an important platform for discussions on matters affecting our members and PSA staff attend with your elected delegates and management from these centres.
Members are encouraged to share workplace issues and concerns with PSA delegates and staff so they can be appropriately addressed at JCC meetings. The more PSA members engage with the process, the better the outcomes will be.
Key discussions on 6 August included:
Use of personal devices
Members raised concerns about the new directive to staff to not use personal devices. Concerns centred around the need to use them in certain instances such as for two-factor authentication (2FA). Management said they had confirmed with staff that personal devices could be used for 2FA and Tempo. If there are any ongoing issues with the use of personal devices, please let the PSA know.
Log in times at the MRC and allocated admin time
The PSA heard reports that members from the MRC were expected to log in 10 minutes before the scheduled start time to prepare for shift. Management said staff were not expected to do that and if they do log in earlier, they have to go into code.
Staff across the HRC and MRC have 20 minutes daily to do admin work; 10 minutes before shift starts and 10 minutes when it finishes. Members have shared that it’s often not possible to use the 10 minutes at the end of the day as staff use the time to finalise after call work for the last client. Members are reminded to please raise any concerns about the time allotted for admin work so it can be addressed with management.
Lunchbreaks
Members raised some issues about lunchbreaks as legitimate hold ups mean they sometimes can’t be taken on time, particularly if work involves a client with complex needs. One suggestion was to move staff from queue 30 minutes ahead of scheduled time. Management said the problem is when staff go on lunch a considerable time before or after scheduled lunchbreak; a few minutes is not an issue. They also said staff are not expected to finish after call work until after lunchbreak, to allow them to go to lunch on time. If members feel management’s response doesn’t adequately address the issue, please speak up.
Training
Based on member feedback, the PSA suggested staff be provided refresher training every 12 months. Members have indicated that it can be difficult to keep up to date with process and workflow changes and that the 20 minutes a day allocated to admin is not enough time to do so. At times, changes have to be reviewed while staff are on a call. Members would like a clear schedule and that these skills are given equal importance to the other DCJ required training, so they don’t misinterpret what it is management wants them to learn.
The other issue members raised around training concerned the way it was scheduled on the calendar. Sometimes the name of the course was included and sometimes it wasn’t. The PSA asked management if the name of the training can be consistently included on the calendar invite and also a link to it, if possible.
Use of artificial intelligence and intelligent automation
The future is here and with it comes further technological disruption in the workplace. Homes NSW has told the PSA that the only approved use of artificial intelligence (AI) is Microsoft Copilot. Discussion around the use of intelligent automation (IA) has also started at the HRC and MRC. There are plans for minimal use of IA but none of it is live at the moment.
IA is different to AI in that it is designed to automate structured and repetitive tasks. While the focus of AI is to train machines to think and work like human beings, IA centres around the development of processes to optimise and streamline workflows with minimal human intervention.
The PSA continues to monitor AI and IA use across the public service and members are reminded to let us know of any developments. Your union wants to make sure that management appropriately consults on any AI or IA adoption.
Personal Development Plans
In February, the PSA raised member concerns around the three set goals they are required to meet as part of their Personal Development Plans (PDPs) and was told it would be reviewed in May. Management confirmed that it has been reviewed and that most staff have now completed the first stage of the PDP process for 2026/27.
The PSA has since heard additional concerns from members that line managers are reviewing PDPs and making changes that don’t align with the intentions of employees.
Members are reminded to please reach out to workplace delegates or PSA staff if they continue to have issues with the PDP process so they can be raised at the next JCC.
Reminder to members: Psychosocial Action Plan
The PSA reminds members about its workplace’s Psychosocial Action Plan. Since the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 commenced on 22 August 2025, the requirements of employers to manage psychosocial risks in the workplace has strengthened. It’s an important change to be across, particularly in light of the recent reforms to workers’ comp for psychological claims.
Your workplace’s Psychosocial Action Plan lists the controls it has in place to manage workplace issues such as role overload, change consultation, workplace bullying and work-related violence. The WHS Regulation is clear: workplaces “must implement control measures to eliminate psychosocial risks so far as is reasonably practicable”.
The next JCC will be in November.
It’s important that we work together so we can have issues raised and addressed with management as soon as possible. Please reach out to your workplace delegates or PSA organiser if you have any questions, concerns or comments, particularly around any of the points raised here.
Contacts
Delegates
Renica Adam
[email protected]
Donna Jimeno
[email protected]
Khaled El Cheikh
[email protected]
PSA industrial staff
Greg Corrigan
Senior industrial officer
[email protected]
Rachel Eldred
Organiser
[email protected]