Upcoming Visit and Member Engagement – Bradfield Development Authority
Your PSA Organiser will be visiting Department of Planning Housing and Infrastructure (DPHI) Bradfield Development Authority this week to discuss important matters, and strengthen our collective voice. Please come along and take advantage of this excellent opportunity for all of us to connect!
What’s Happening?
Union Visit
A representative will be visiting this week to engage with members and hear any concerns, feedback, or suggestions you may have.
Open Discussion
This is your chance to raise any issues you’re facing at work or within the union. We value your input and want to ensure everyone’s voice is heard.
Bring a Non-Member
If you know a co-worker who’s not yet part of the union, invite them to join the conversation! It’s a great opportunity to show them what being a part of the union means.
Date of Visit
Thursday 10 July Location: Your lunchroom Time: 12.00pm-1.30pm
We are counting on you to make this a productive and engaging session. Bring your ideas, concerns, and a friend who could benefit from becoming a member!
The National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee (NAIDOC) Week celebrations are held across Australia in the first week of July each year (Sunday to Sunday), to celebrate and recognise the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
NAIDOC Week is an opportunity for all Australians to learn about First Nations cultures and histories and participate in celebrations of the oldest, continuous living cultures on earth. You can support and get to know your local Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander communities through activities and events held across the country.
NAIDOC Week, as a week-long celebration, began in 1975. However, its origins trace back to the 1938 Day of Mourning, a protest organised by Aboriginal leaders to mark the 150th anniversary of the First Fleet’s arrival in Australia. This event was pivotal in advocating for Indigenous rights and recognition. This year we mark NAIDOC Week’s 50-year anniversary with the theme “The Next Generation: Strength, Vision & Legacy,” celebrating not only the achievements of the past but the future ahead.
Every year, the NSW Public Service celebrates the importance of NAIDOC week, and PSA members are holding events to recognise 50 years of honoring and elevating Indigenous voices, culture, and resilience.
There are NAIDOC Week events all across NSW, some of which you can find HERE. They are a great way to support and celebrate your local indigenous colleagues and community.
Contact
Ricky Walford
Aboriginal Liaison Officer and Community Engagement
It’s time to reconnect with your union and other union members within the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) with a hybrid meeting to discuss your upcoming Joint Consultative Committee. In attendance will be your Industrial Officer Katy Ambler and your Organiser Michael George.
The Joint Consultative Committee is a meeting between senior representatives of NESA and your union to discuss matters of mutual interest.
Date: Thursday 17July 2025 Time: 12:00pm-1:00pm Location:Level 4 Meeting Room 2 Clarence Street Office and online
Members would be aware that the PSA has been in discussions with Crown Solicitors Office (CSO) to negotiate a new Flex Award.
The PSA is committed to ensuring that the CSO Flex Award will be an improvement on your present Flex Agreement which came into existence in 2006. The union has advised CSO that this new flex entitlement should contain the same entitlements as the hard fought Flex Award for the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Your union has a proud tradition of leading the way in working entitlements for members. If improvements beyond the entitlements contained in the ODPP Flex Award can be secured at CSO, even better.
To assist with negotiations with the CSO management team on a new Flex Award, we’re asking members to take the time to complete a survey.
The survey covers taking flex leave generally, enhanced flex provisions and overtime at CSO. We ask that you please consider to provide your contact details in your survey response.
We’ve heard that there is inconsistency across the teams with respect to approval to work overtime. CSO have advised that a consistent approach across the agency should be applied. If we can identify which teams have problems with overtime, we can seek CSO to ensure that all of its staff are treated equally.
The PSA takes its privacy and confidentiality obligations to members seriously. While survey information will be shared with the CSO, no personal identifying information will be provided to the CSO.
The CSO provided a presentation to your local delegates and industrial staff by way of the flex award consultation. To help frame your responses to certain questions in the member survey, a copy of the CSO Operating Model can be found here
The PSA encourages all members to complete the survey so we can authoritatively represent members during negotiations with the CSO on your new flex conditions.
On 2 July PSA members and Industrial staff attended a briefing by the NSW Electoral Commission (NSWEC) regarding the 2025-26 budget and a proposed restructure.
A copy of the Consultation Change Management Plan has been provided to the PSA and placed on the NSWEC intranet please seeHERE.
The Commission has had an increase in its budget which will result in an increase in roles – total ongoing roles (excluding Electoral Commissioner) current (165) proposed (218).
There will however be a reduction in roles within the Integrity and Safeguards group currently (44) proposed (42), impacting 2 staff.
Key points for filling roles within the new structure
NSWEC proposes that once the structure is finalised and approved, the following process will take place:
Confirmation of ongoing substantive roles in the new structure
Where there is no substantial change or impact to an ongoing employee’s substantive role, the employee will receive written confirmation that they will remain in their substantive ongoing role. This includes where the employee’s role may have been moved to a new business unit or group in the new structure.
Direct appointment
Where there is a substantial change or impact to an employee’s substantive role, the Electoral Commission will seek to redeploy the impacted employee to a suitable alternative role by direct appointment where possible.
Appointment to an ongoing role through an EOI process
Where there is a substantial change or impact to an employee’s substantive role and direct appointment is not considered appropriate, an employee may be invited to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) for an alternative role/s. An example of this may be where there is more than one impacted employee who may be suitable for an available role.
Employees’ suitability will be assessed using a merit-based selection process compliant with GSE Rules.
4. Internal advertising
Any roles remaining vacant after an internal EOI process will be advertised internally to all employees (including temporary officers). Priority will be given to ongoing employees first and then to temporary employees. A merit-based selection process compliant with GSE Rules will apply.
External advertising
For remaining vacant roles.
The PSA supports the NSWEC intention to exhaust all internal placement pathways prior to advertising roles externally. The PSA has an expectation that impacted staff should be matched to suitable roles internally as there has been an increase in the roles proposed in the revised NSW EC organisational structure. The possible use of the NSW Government mobility placement process should only be an absolute option of last resort. The PSA will be monitoring the placement process and advocating internal placement on behalf of impacted members throughout the entire placement process.
Next steps:
The PSA intends to provide feedback to the NSWEC prior to the end of the proposed consultation period on 29 July 2025. A members meeting will also be held prior to this date, separate meeting notice will be forwarded to members advising of details.
Any member who has concerns or has feedback in relation to this CMP proposal please forward to or for Industrial Support call 1800772679. Please quote C10007797.
PSA members Crown Solicitors Office Flexible Working Hours Survey
The PSA would like to once again thank our Crown Solicitor’s Office (CSO) members who provided feedback in the CSO Flexible Working Hours Survey which was sent out on 30 June 2025.
Your detailed responses and survey results summary can be seen HERE.
PSA CSO members’ Meeting
We have arranged with PSA Delegates to hold a members’ meeting to update you on the survey results, to discuss a joint CSO / PSA Flexible Working Hours Instrument and to meet new PSA representatives Sharny and Vivette.
The meeting is 4:00pm–5:00pm
Wednesday, 16 July 2025
Attendance is either in person at CSO-L9.1 Kosciuszko (CR8VC) or via Teams at:
We are currently calling for nominations for more delegates from our CSO members, support and training will be provided. Please contact Vivette for more information.
If you need advice, please contact our members support centre on and or 1800772679.
Revenue NSW – Optimisation and Project Delivery team – Change Management Plan
The PSA has been notified of a Change Management Plan (CMP) for the Optimisation and Project Delivery (OPD) Plan.
We understand that affected staff have also been notified.
The reasons provided by Revenue NSW for the proposed change are to:
Ensure readiness to deliver on the Fines and Debt New Policy Proposal (NPP), and
Move roles that are currently sitting vacant within OPD to NPP Squad to ensure resource efficiency.
According to the proposed CMP, reporting lines (see page 10) and approval processes will change. However, there is no proposal to reduce roles, although one vacant role from Hardship Support (HSP) will move to the Program Office. The number of occupied roles within the HSP remains the same. The CMP states that the type of work will remain the same, and there are no changes proposed to the functionality of HSP.
Feedback
Staff are encouraged to provide feedback as outlined in on p.14 of the CMP.
The PSA has until COB 17 July 2025 to provide our feedback. If you have concerns and comments that you wish the PSA to consider in its feedback to Revenue NSW, please email PSA Senior Organiser and A/Industrial Officer, Anne Kennelly
Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure – Proposed consolidation of flexible working hours agreements
Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure (DPHI) representatives have provided the PSA with its intention to consolidate several current Flexible Working Hours Agreements (FWHA) that exist across the agency. This has been a by-product of several FWHA that operate simultaneously.
The agency posed consolidation of the FWHA in 2021 that was met with concerns from the PSA and angst from various sections of our membership. However,the consolidation posed by DPHI in this instance is different.
It is not envisaged to change any arrangement that has flex provisions derived from respective Awards. So those agencies can continue in the knowledge that nothing will change for them from this proposed consolidation.
Clause 10 Local Arrangements Crown Employees (Public Sector Conditions of Employment) Award are the vehicles for flex negotiations. That is because they have three main drivers:
there is agreement between the parties i.e. the DPHI Secretary and the General Secretary of the PSA;
they are in writing; and
are subject to termination by either party by providing 12 months’ notice.
As DPHI has sought an amicable and negotiated resolution to the proposed consolidation, the agency has not provided the PSA with any notice to terminate.
What Next?
The PSA asks that our members turn their mind to what they want from a flexible working hours agreement. There is no correlation with the Government’s Workplace Presence Policy. The hours that staff work have no bearing on where they are worked – whether it be in an office or at home.
For our Sydney Olympic Park Authority members the agency has proposed including administrative staff in this agreement. This is finally a big step in the right direction after several false starts. However, it does pose questions regarding who is covered and who is not.
Your Union – Your Say
Once there is an in-principle settlement of the proposed FWHA between the PSA membership, its workplace delegates and DPHI, the in-principle FWHA is provided to the PSA membership for final endorsement. This means that members are involved in the negotiation but also the acceptance or rejection of the FWHA. That this the democratic processes that exist in your union and where your voice is heard. Non-members of the PSA have no say in this process.
Be on the lookout for further communication from DPHI and the PSA and speak to your colleagues and if you have any questions reach out to the PSA workplace delegates or the PSA directly.
Upcoming General Assistants Advisory Group election
The PSA General Assistants (GA) Advisory Group is due for their election.
If you are member of the PSA and interested in becoming an advisory group delegate, we encourage you to nominate in the upcoming election.
Delegates work closely with the PSA representing members’ interests and fighting for better working conditions.
For more information regarding the role of a delegate, more information can be found HERE.
Achievements of the General Assistant’s Advisory Group
Negotiated the return of conferences and continued professional learning for GAs
Raised the profile of the workload many GAs are dealing with
Put the inadequate staffing formula on the agenda with the Department Secretary and Minister for Education
Raised the need for a pay rise for all GAs directly with the Minister for Education
But there is still much more to do, so if you are interested in making a difference to the working lives of GAs you should consider becoming a PSA delegate.
How many delegates do we need?
The upcoming election will consist of seven electorates in total, the number of delegates required depends on the number of members in each electorate.
Below is the breakdown of the electorates and delegates required:
Electorate 1 Metro 5 Delegates Electorate 2 Central West 1 Delegate Electorate 3 Newcastle/Hunter 1 Delegate Electorate 4 North Coast 1 Delegate Electorate 5 North West 1 Delegate Electorate 6 South East 1 Delegate Electorate 7 South West 1 Delegate
Please keep an eye out for the official call for nominations that will follow shortly.
If you are interested in becoming a delegate and would like more information, please contact the General Assistant PSA organiser Monique Anderson
Members endorse making of new Child Protection Award
The votes are in, an overwhelming majority (90 per cent) of members have endorsed the making of a new standalone Child Protection Award.
The new Award is the result of years of campaigning and negotiations which led to the recently announced $1.2 Billion Child Protection Package from the NSW Government.
Next steps
The PSA and DCJ will immediately takes steps to draft and lodge the new Award in the Industrial Relations Commission. We will keep you up to date with progress.
Members should receive an immediate 3 per cent pay rise from the first full pay period after 1 July 2025.
Work will also begin on the salary transition and advancement of increments as outlined in the offer letter. We will update members with timelines for this transition over the coming week.
More work to do
Of course, there is more work to do for Child Protection workers across the state. As per the information distributed, the PSA will also begin negotiating on the matters that are still unresolved, such as the allocation and duties of administrative roles and their current classifications. There will also be an education campaign around the new overtime provisions, and how they will provide for a greater work life balance, or at least pay you for those extra hours.
Thank you to members and delegates
The Industrial staff thank all PSA members for their hard work and dedication over the years to highlight a system in crisis. Whether you attended one of the many PSA rally’s, participated in Industrial action in 2024, assisted us with responding to various surveys, or attended a members meeting to discuss your concerns, your actions have resulted in the NSW Government finally putting Child Protection front and centre, and directly resulted in the current NSW Government making the largest ever investment in child protection and out-of-home care in the state’s history.
We would like to particularly thank all your amazing PSA delegates, past and current, for their tireless dedication and incredible passion for affecting change not only for workers, but vulnerable children across NSW.
Members will have seen that the New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council has formally notified staff of the commencement of bargaining for a new Enterprise Agreement. They have done this by distributing the “Notice of Representational Rights”, or NERR. It is a formal requirement under the Fair Work Act for the employer to send this notice out.
If I’m a CPSU NSW member what do I need to do?
There is no requirement for you to fill anything out. As a member of a union that is entitled to represent your industrial interests, we are automatically your bargaining representative.
When will negotiations take place?
The CPSU NSW has had an initial discussion with New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council, simply around the timing for any bargaining meetings. We expect that an initial meeting will be held towards the end of July.
How do I get involved?
The CPSU NSW will be scheduling member meetings over the coming weeks, to discuss with members the current Enterprise Agreement, and a “log of claims” for the upcoming negotiations.
These meetings will be held via MS Teams to allow as many as possible to participate, although we will also be visiting worksites in person over the coming months. Please keep an eye out for details of these member meetings in a separate communication, which will be finalised shortly.
In the meantime, if you have any initial feedback on the upcoming bargaining, or like to register your interest in assisting with negotiations, you can contact CPSU NSW Industrial Manager Nathan Bradshaw on
Portable Long Service Leave Scheme for Community Services workers
The NSW Government has introduced a new Community Services Industry (CSI) portable long service leave scheme effective from 1 July 2025.
CPSU NSW members who work in the Disability sector are eligible for this scheme.
What is portable long service leave?
Traditionally, long service leave requires 10 years of continuous employment with a single employer. However, many community and disability sector workers frequently move between organisations.
Under the CSI scheme, workers become eligible for up to six weeks of paid long service leave after seven years of service within the industry, regardless of how many employers they’ve had during that time, making the long service leave “portable”. This applies to full-time, part-time and casual employees. The scheme is managed by the Long Service Leave Corporation, a NSW Government body established under the Long Service Corporation Act.
Your employer is responsible for registering you for the scheme
You do not need to do anything immediately to register for the scheme. It is the responsibility of your employer to register you in the scheme, and there are fines for the employer if they do not do so.
Foundation worker bonus
The CSI scheme enables eligible workers to claim up to 6 weeks of paid leave after 7 years (2555 days) of service to the industry. However, foundation workers will receive one year of bonus service credits, meaning they may claim their long service leave a year earlier.
Foundation workers are:
registered workers who were employed in the first 6 months of the scheme’s commencement (1 July to 31 December 2025)
Does this scheme affect my past service?
Only service performed after 1 July 2025 will count toward portable long service leave. However, your employer remains responsible for any prior service under existing laws.
This means that unfortunately your already-accrued Long Service Leave is not portable. The LSL portability is only proactive from 1 July 2025.
You do not “lose” any previously accrued Long Service Leave entitlements.
Where can I get further information on the scheme and how it affects me?
The CPSU NSW encourages you to view the Long Service Corporation website for the CSI scheme here which has further information. There are some Frequently Asked Questions or “FAQs” here.
