NPWS proposed restructure – July 2017 (PDF version)

The PSA has significant concerns with the OEH proposal for Future NPWS released on Tuesday 18 July 2017.

The PSA supports, in principle, the return of specialist roles to Park Operations. However, the structure proposal released this morning appears to move towards lowering the grading of several classifications across NPWS. The PSA believes this undervalues the skills and experience of existing staff. The reclassified roles appearing in the proposed structure have not been discussed with the PSA nor have ‘new’ role descriptions been made available to the PSA.

The PSA does not support the expanded Area boundaries due to the significant additional workload this creates, and believes the proposed boundaries are unmanageable and will not support the operational needs of parks and reserves or the expectations of the communities.

There are significant concerns about the proposed EOI process for recruitment of the new manager roles.

The PSA also seeks clarity on positions described as ‘new’, ‘substantially changed’, and ‘substantially unchanged’, and consequences for placement of individuals within Future NPWS. It is offensive that NPWS employees will be required to apply for positions described as above, at a lower grading for the same work, while being expected to pick up additional functions due to the reduction in administrative positions and expanded Area boundaries.

The PSA does not believe that three weeks is adequate for consultation on a proposal of such significance and scale, particularly given the major gaps in the information provided. The PSA is concerned about OEH’s commitment to genuine consultation given that only three days have been allocated to review all submissions and finalise a new structure.

The PSA is available at short notice to meet with OEH and is committed to genuine consultation. We will continue to engage with the membership to seek your participation to influence the decisions which directly affect you.

The PSA encourages all members to engage non-members and ask that they join up and support the fight to retain our jobs; pay and conditions.

Could you please provide feedback to the following email or your NPS Delegates.

NPWS Delegates

Steve Carter
Ben Owers
Alex Deura
Janet Cavanaugh
Alexandra Wyatt
George Malolaki
John Holcombe
Ken England
Kim De Govrik
Peter Clark
Tegan Burton
Anita Zubovic
Sarah Sabil
Trish Swain
Martin Smith