Campus closures and natural disasters: Your rights to Special Leave

Campus closures are a normal fact of work life at TAFE NSW. Campuses can be closed for a variety of reasons, such as planned campus work, natural disasters and emergencies such as loss of power, water, or flooding.

Closures can be planned in advance or suddenly appear at short notice. However, one constant is that misinformation about your rights during a campus closure are frequently circulated.

Your rights

Working Frome Home and/or Special leave

Under Clause 92 Natural Disasters, Emergencies and Transport Disruptions.

92.2. Where paid leave is not available or has been exhausted, Special Leave may be granted to employees impacted by Natural Disasters / Emergencies as determined by TAFE NSW, or in the event that TAFE NSW cannot provide or facilitate work due to a natural disaster or emergency.

If TAFE NSW cannot provide you, the employee, a work facility Special Leave may be granted.

Working from home can constitute as being able to facilitate work, but only if your home is set up and available to work from there. If your home is not suited to remote working, then Special Leave should be granted in this circumstance.

If you have any questions, please reach out to your local delegate or CPSU NSW Industrial Staff.

Contacts

Lisa Nelson CPSU NSW Senior Industrial Officer

Michael George CPSU NSW Organiser

0473 658 074

Brook Down TAFE Delegate Council Chair

TAFE Delegate Council

Reminder: CPSU NSW work overload survey at Australian Unity

As reported to members in the previous bulletin, the CPSU NSW has been meeting with Australian Unity (AU) management as part of the restructure of your workplace.

Members have reported they are facing increased pressure with workloads and claim AU management have unreasonable expectations on the volume of work that can be output in a day.

The CPSU NSW is presently surveying members to gain valuable data from your lived experiences around your workloads.

The survey results will assist your local workplace representatives and industrial staff to effectively advocate on your workplace concerns.

The union will share de-identified information with AU management at the conclusion of the survey. Your confidentiality will be maintained and no personal or other identifiable information will be shared with your employer.

If you have not yet completed the survey, there is still time to provide your feedback and for your views to be heard.

The survey will close this Friday, 6 June 2025.

ALL members are encouraged to complete the survey.

Please complete the survey here.

Land Registry Services: We are coming to visit you

Your union recognises and appreciates your dedication and hard work, and we are eager to meet you and hear from you.

CPSU NSW Organiser Alex Sala will be visiting members on site on Wednesday 6 June 2025, on both level’s kitchen areas.

Come talk about the CPSU NSW’s role in your workplace and what the union can do to help when you engage with us.

Everyone is welcome, so feel free to bring a non-member to show them the benefits of being part of your union.

Details

Date Wednesday 4 June 2025
Time 12:00pm-1:00pm

If you are working remotely but would like to talk to us, please log in via Microsoft Teams at this link. Meeting ID 452 031 653 340 0
Passcode Yy9Gy2bk

Contact

Alex Sala Organiser

Stronger together!

Our union has 125 years of proud history, and you stand on the shoulders of more than 40,000 members who know we are stronger together.

Did you know your union also offers you:

Free emergency ambulance cover
Free Journey Insurance
Substantial shopping discounts
Osara cancer care
Legal services and many other benefits

Check these benefits, and more, at www.psa.asn.au/member-benefits

CPSU NSW visit for members in Illawarra South

The CPSU NSW is visiting members at the Australian Unity Illawarra South site.

Regional Organiser Shane Elliott will be attending, with your Industrial Organiser Anthony Wright and delegates Julie Smith and Leonie Bere joining us online.

The meeting will give us the chance to discuss issues such as work overload.

Non-members invited to see the benefits of joining the CPSU NSW.

Details

Date Wednesday 4 June 2025
Time 12:00pm-1:00pm
Location 35 Holloway Road Nowra

Contact

Shane Elliott Regional Organiser

Survey reminder

The CPSU NSW has been meeting with management as part of the restructure of your workplace.

Members have reported they are facing increased pressure with workloads and claim management have unreasonable expectations on the volume of work that can be output in a day.

The CPSU NSW is presently surveying members to gain valuable data from your lived experiences around your workloads.

ALL members are encouraged to complete the survey.

Please complete the survey here.

Office of the NSW Ombudsman Members Meeting Notice

Join your PSA organiser and delegates for a members’ meeting to discuss how your union can best support your workplace.

This is an opportunity for members and non-members to meet with your PSA organsier and delegates to learn about the role of the PSA in your workplace and discuss any issues.

Members are encouraged to send any agenda items that they would like discussed to

If you know any non-members’ that would like to learn more about your union, invite them to attend.

Meeting Details:

Date: 2 June 2025

Time: 12:00- 1:00pm

Location: Teams

Microsoft Teams Need help?

Join the meeting now

Meeting ID: 459 486 861 016 8

Passcode: jj9ff9nj

Workplace Delegates:

Mathew Bright

Erin Hoyer

Nathan Rodrigues

John Braddick

Claudia Bianchi – PSA Organiser

The PSA NSW has 125 years of proud history, and you stand on the shoulders of more than 40,000 members who know we are stronger together.

Did you know your union also offers you:

Free emergency ambulance cover
Free Journey Insurance
Substantial shopping discounts
Legal services and many other benefits
Member Benefits

Multicultural NSW Language Services JCC subcommittee

Following on from yesterday’s bulletin on the wider Multicultural NSW JCC, the PSA also met in May for Language Services matters. Please find a report back below on this meeting.

Senior practitioner project

The PSA requested an update from MNSW on the Senior Practitioner project.

MNSW advised the project has been successful and MNSW is considering offering more term-based employment rather than casual employment for translator and interpreters in relation to languages in demand such as Mandarin and Arabic. These extra roles will be subject to comparative assessment not just EOI and are envisaged for the new financial year.

New offers of casual appointment for upcoming financial year

MNSW advised that there will be two mandatory modules – one on cyber security and one on code of conduct. This should take ninety minutes to complete and will be paid.

Accreditation

Under the Crown Employees (Interpreters and Translators, Multicultural NSW) Award, MNSW may consider a commencement rate above the Year 1 rate depending on the individual’s qualifications, skills, knowledge and experience. Such consideration is dependent on accreditation by the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NATTI). However, delegates have identified that there is no consistency or standardised processes to assess practitioners’ levels through NATTI. MNSW agreed to look into this an come back to the PSA.

Extended leave

The PSA advised MNSW that casual employees have an entitlement to extended leave (long service leave) under the Government Sector Employment Act (NSW) 2013. The PSA requested an audit from MNSW to determine whether some long-term interpreters and translators would be eligible for extended leave. MNSW will look into this with a view to putting out information to clarify any questions members have about being entitled to extended leave.

Don’t forget your right to disconnect

Following the Union movement’s win legislating the right to disconnect for federal workers, employers across the board, including the Department of Education have recognised the importance of switching off devices outside of work for state based employees.

The Secretary of the Department of Education, Murat Dizdar, has made his commitment to protecting uninterrupted personal time and restricting non-emergency communication outside of school operating hours clear to all school – based support staff, the school counselling service and wellbeing support.

The PSA have regularly had workload and work creep impacting staff raised by our members, including using personal phones outside of work hours or staying back late after hours, putting you at risk of burn out. We remind all members not to work additional unpaid hours.

You are important to the workforce and have a right to disconnect, just like teachers.

Make sure you familiarize yourself with the policies and procedures that support your right to disconnect. You can find them HERE and HERE.

PSA takes DCJ to the Industrial Relations Commission

As previously distributed, the PSA raised a dispute with Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ) regarding their expectation of the Helpline and DV Line returning to the office ‘principally”. This would mean attending the Liverpool office, or a local Community Service Centre (CSC) if you are a regional Helpline Caseworker, at least 50 per cent of your shifts. This policy came about in response to the Premiers Circular distributed last August titled “NSW Government Sector workplace presence”

The Circular does not strictly prescribe patterns of attendance and allows for ad hoc variations for the needs of employees and organisations. As per the dispute resolution process, we met with DCJ and asked for feedback as to why they would not consider you for an ad-hoc exemption. They have not provided any formal response yet.

Due to a lack of response, we have sought the assistance of the NSW Industrial Relations Commission with the first conciliation meeting held on Wednesday 28 May 2025. Your Delegates, Sheldon Sowter and Morteza Ebrahimi attended with PSA Industrial Officer Graydon Welsh and Senior Organiser Belinda Tsirekas.

IRC seeks to understand what the operational requirements are

The outcome of the dispute is that DCJ are to provide the specific operational grounds they are using to deny the ad hoc exemption by 6 June 2025 and a further conciliation hearing to be held on the 17 June 2025. Yet there have been no operational requirements provided, other than simply the Premier’s Circular.

Your Delegates and the PSA do not believe there is any valid operational requirement for an increase in office attendance, as the work you perform has been structured around remote working for the past 4 years or longer. You work in the same manner in the office, as you do from home, with the same processes, practices, and structures.

We will be holding a meeting for Helpline and DV Line members on Monday 2 June 2025 to discuss further.

KPI’s and Workload update

PSA met with management recently to discuss member concerns around key performance indicators (KPI) and workload. We have now received a response from Industrial Relations detailed below.

If, after reading the response, you still have concerns please contact Member Support on or 1800 772 679 quoting reference number 10002178. We are happy to organise a member meeting to discuss this matter further if required.

Management Response to Concerns Raised by Members:

KPI Increase:

Issue: KPIs have increased from 70 to 90 applications per day.
Response: The KPI range is 70-90 applications. If team meetings or training sessions occur, they are recorded to explain any shortfall in targets. At one point, the target was 110 applications, but it was adjusted based on team capabilities. The KPI is a team agreement, and a board is used to track progress.

Some team members raised concerns when the team agreement was established. The concerns were addressed by using data modelling to validate the number of applications that can reasonably be assessed.

The business performance team determined the reasonable output through data modelling, which was ratified by leaders. The aim is to achieve 90 applications. There are no severe repercussions for not meeting KPIs, the Leader would simply have a discussion with the team member to understand any contributing factors and provide support if required.

Mandatory Training:

Issue: Employees have been advised to complete mandatory training in their own time.
Response: The Director confirmed that no one has been asked to do mandatory training outside of work hours. Time is also booked in team calendars during work hours to allow employees to complete mandatory training.

Background:

Bots and Application Processing:

Issue: Bots process simple online applications, while employees handle complex ones.
Response: Yes, bots handle the easy tasks. A change to the proof of ID policy is coming, which will simplify the process.

Achievability of Targets:

Issue: Targets are only achievable if there are no unforeseen circumstances, staff work through breaks, and mandatory training is not completed during work hours. Overtime is no longer offered.
Response: Overtime is not offered to those not meeting targets. BDM previously found too much reliance on overtime, with staff not meeting targets during the day with the intention to be offered overtime to meet the targets. Business performance team pull data on outputs and overtime is offered to high-output team members to assist with the backlog and meet customer wait times.

Performance Management:

Issue: Performance management was discussed in a Town Hall meeting if targets are not met.
Response: There was previous evidence amongst the team of discrepancies (3+ hours) in SAP start times and when first transactions were recorded in the lifelink system without a justifiable reason. Evidence that flex time was claimed on top. Performance monitoring was referenced in the Town Hall, showing de-identified outputs across the team. The intention was to state to team members that Leaders have visibility of various data sources including lifelink to indicate when staff are being idle with no justification.

Office Presence – one month on…

The PSA has been keeping a close eye on how the transition back to office presence for Education Support Staff is progressing under the new Flexible Working Arrangements Procedure.

We will continue to work with delegates and members to track issues and concerns impacting members, as well as identifying any hotspot areas or sites, where barriers to flexibility are imposed which do not align with the procedure.

Review the PSA FACT SHEET

PSA delegates and staff have prepared this FACT SHEET to assist members in navigating the changes.

The PSA advises all members seeking flexible arrangements to discuss their proposed arrangement with their manager and submit the Flexible Work Arrangement Application Form.

We are committed to ensuring that flexibility is not withheld from members unreasonably and that all efforts are made by the Department to continue to support maximum flexibility wherever possible.

If your request is denied, please log this with the PSA Member Support Centre providing them with a copy of the application and reasons for the rejection. PSA industrial staff will review the matter and can make representations on your behalf.

Current Concerns and Next Steps

The union has received feedback from delegates and in member meetings, specifically around lack of access to certain office sites, incorrect application of approval levels, and in some parts of the department, communications implying that flexible work arrangements should not be sought or that the availability of the baseline 50% work from home will not be considered in a particular directorate.

The PSA anticipated that the department would need to audit available office sites to ensure fair and equitable access to appropriate, safe and fit for purpose office spaces for all staff.

We have documented members concerns and will continue to do so as the new procedure is implemented throughout this transition period.

PSA staff will be discussing these issues with your elected Departmental Committee delegates at their meeting this week and will raise the concerns of members at the next departmental consultative committee meeting on 4 June 2025.

PSA and Multicultural NSW – Joint Consultative Committee Meeting May

Please find the below report back for the May meeting between the PSA and Multicultural NSW (MNSW) which occurred on 13 May 2025.

Work, Health and Safety (standing item)

MNSW conducted an evacuation drill in early May. MNSW advised it was successful, and MNSW will send out additional communication to members in the case of an emergency or a drill.

MNSW also advised that the vicarious trauma training set originally for April is now scheduled for 5 June at 2pm. MNSW informed the PSA that there are sessions provided by employee assistance programs (EAPs) which can be accessed on the intranet for various Work Health and Safety (WHS) issues. Further, MSNW has also engaged the Black Dog institute for further mental health support to members.

Flexible working policy

The PSA advised that broadly, members did not have an issue with the updated MNSW flexible working policy.

Recruitment (standing item)

MNSW advised that a number of temporary employees have been converted to ongoing employment.

IT issues and the time it takes to resolve matters

MNSW acknowledges that there have been problems with working from home and internet connectivity over the last month. MNSW have sought to address this by investigating server issues and VPN issues. However, hard wired ethernet is the best solution for connectivity as it limits the problems with WIFI. MNSW also advised that one on one service by IT has been offered to members, and MNSW will issue a trouble shooting guide on the intranet regarding connectivity.

Payroll and shared services – delays in getting back to members

The PSA advised MNSW members are experiencing delays of many months regarding requests for service. This is affecting leave balances for members, especially those who have transferred from outside MNSW.

In response, MNSW acknowledged that the transfer of leave balances has been an issue. The PSA advised that members would like MNSW to assist with leave balances that have not been transferred. MNSW advised that if there is evidence of the leave balance, such a screen shot, MNSW will acknowledge the leave balance without the leave having been transferred.

MNSW will seek a discussion with DCJ regarding the issue.

Overtime regarding events and regional engagements

The PSA advised that members are experiencing issues with getting overtime approved for events and regional engagements. MNSW agreed to review the policy and get back to the PSA.

Rally against changes to our workers’ compensation protections

The NSW workers’ compensation system that protects NSW workers is broken. Now, NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey wants to make it worse by cutting off long-term support and mental health care for seriously injured workers.

These changes won’t prevent injuries or support frontline workers like you. Instead they will just make it harder for people to access the care they need to recover.

Before the election, Labor MPs and MLCs pledged to stand with injured workers. Now they’re backing cost-cutting reforms that break that promise.

Join us to send a clear message: You don’t fix workers’ compensation by cutting it.

Injured workers deserve care. They don’t deserve cuts.

Join us to protest against these changes

On Thursday, Unions NSW is organising rallies in Penrith, Liverpool and Gosford to protect our workers’ compensation system.

Join other unionists to send a message to the Treasurer that long-term support and mental health care for seriously injured workers should be protected.

Penrith

Date Thursday 29 May 2025
Time 8:00am
Location Penrith City Park
More information HERE

Liverpool

Date Thursday 29 May 2025
Time 4:00pm
Location Bigge Park
More information HERE

Gosford

Date Thursday 29 May 2025
Time 4:00pm
Location Kibble Park
More information HERE

Campus closures and natural disasters: Your rights to Special Leave

Your rights

Contacts

Recent News

Reminder: CPSU NSW work overload survey at Australian Unity

Recent News

Land Registry Services: We are coming to visit you

Details

Contact

Stronger together!

Recent News

CPSU NSW visit for members in Illawarra South

Details

Contact

Survey reminder

Recent News

Office of the NSW Ombudsman Members Meeting Notice

Recent News

Multicultural NSW Language Services JCC subcommittee

Senior practitioner project

New offers of casual appointment for upcoming financial year

Accreditation

Extended leave

Recent News

Don’t forget your right to disconnect

Recent News

PSA takes DCJ to the Industrial Relations Commission

Recent News

KPI’s and Workload update

Recent News

Office Presence – one month on…

Review the PSA FACT SHEET

Current Concerns and Next Steps

Recent News

PSA and Multicultural NSW – Joint Consultative Committee Meeting May

Recent News

Rally against changes to our workers’ compensation protections

Join us to protest against these changes

Penrith

Liverpool

Gosford

Recent News

Become a member today