The PSA has been advised by Court Services that it may have underpaid full-time relievers their temporary assignment allowance (TAA) entitlements for almost a decade since 24 February 2014.

This is apparently because the NSW Department of Communities and Justice misinterpreted Regulation 20 of the Government Sector Employment Regulation 2014 (the GSE Regulation) and continued to apply the repealed Public Sector Employment and Management Act 2002 determining that full-time relievers were somehow ineligible for TAA entitlements.

What is happening now?

The PSA understands that current and former affected employees have now been contacted by Court Services to advise them that they may have been underpaid their TAA entitlements and has detailed the process to request payment of the underpayments. The steps being undertaken by Court Services and the process for making a claim for a back-payment are set out in the department’s bulletin dated 26 April 2023 found HERE.

Next steps

If you are an affected employee and have undertaken any periods of relief since 24 February 2014, you should check your records to determine whether you have:

1. Relieved in a role which was a higher grade than your usual role; and
2. The period of relief was at least five ordinary working days.

If you identify any relieving periods that meet the above criteria, then you will be entitled to payment of TAA under the GSE Regulation.

If you do not have access to relevant records, you should contact your manager, relevant hub registrar or the nominated project coordinator for assistance to access records such as historical relief and leave calendars and rosters. There may be tax implications, which you should discuss with your accountant or tax agent.

If you do not receive assistance from the Department to access your records or have other concerns in relation to the underpayments, please contact your PSA industrial staff listed below.

Your PSA industrial staff

Dean Allen Industrial officer

Lachlan Good Organiser