Your union, the Public Service Association of NSW (PSA), is providing an important campaign update to all Customer Service Representative Driver Testers (CSRDTs) across Service NSW regarding our collective industrial dispute.
PSA firmly rebuts department’s ‘no consultation required’ claim
Following strong dispute representations served by the PSA, Department of Customer Service (DCS) Industrial Relations has provided a formal response dated 24 September 2026.
In its letter, the department attempts to justify its failure to consult by advancing the deeply flawed claim that the new QA Check-In Framework merely represents a ‘delivery format change’ and therefore ‘falls below the threshold for mandatory union consultation.’
The PSA has forcefully rejected this argument
Unilaterally abolishing in-vehicle assessments, enforcing continuous five-day monitoring cycles, introducing desktop audits, and mandating in-car physical hand gestures directly alters your day-to-day duties, performance benchmarks, and workplace safety. Under Clause 3 of the DCS Consultative Framework Guidelines, Premier’s Memorandum M2025-07, and Clause 45 of the Service NSW (Salaries and Conditions) Employees Award 2024, management is legally and industrially required to consult genuinely with the PSA before implementing changes of this magnitude.
Frontline member feedback and psychosocial safety demands tabled
The detailed, deidentified feedback submitted by Driver Testers across regional and metropolitan centres has exposed the critical operational and safety flaws of the unconsulted regime. The PSA has placed executive management on formal notice regarding:
- In-car safety hazards and applicant distraction: mandating rigid hand signals (such as drawing circles in the air for roundabouts) forces learner drivers to take their eyes off the road during critical manoeuvres, creating active collision risks.
- Ergonomic strain & repetitive strain injury (RSI): repeating unnatural physical gestures 8–10 times per test across full daily rosters without an ergonomic risk assessment creates unacceptable physical strain and RSI risks.
- Severe psychosocial hazards: Testers are subjected to high-stakes monitoring with as little as 24 hours’ notice and left in anxious limbo for up to two months (eight-plus weeks) waiting for scorecards. Excessive workload pressures (eight to nine tests per 7-hour shift combined with counter service and licence processing) leave zero protected time for training.
- Unfair double-marking and contradictions: Examiners are being marked down on physical gestures rather than testing standards, while dealing with unexplained TOM hazard marking rules and contradictory documentation.
- Loss of face-to-face collaborative learning: replacing collaborative regional “Enhancement Days” with passive screen-based modules has undermined professional alignment and damaged workplace morale.
Formal request for Psychosocial Risk Assessment under WHS Act 2011
Under Section 19 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW) and the SafeWork NSW Code of Practice: Managing Psychosocial Hazards at Work (which is admissible in legal proceedings under Section 275 of the WHS Act), Service NSW has a positive primary duty of care to eliminate or minimise risks to psychological and physical health. The PSA has formally demanded that the department produce all Psychosocial and Ergonomic Risk Assessments conducted prior to rolling out the QA framework.
Urgent consultative meeting scheduled
The PSA has written to DCS IR confirming our availability for a formal consultative meeting on either:
- Wednesday, 30 September 2026 (9:30am – 11:00am), or
- Thursday, 1 October 2026 (9:30am – 11:00am).
The PSA is currently finalising the availability of elected PSA Driver Tester Departmental Committee Delegates to form our negotiating delegation.
Job security and individual member protections
Alongside our collective campaign, the PSA is actively defending individual members subjected to unfair assessment conditions and verbal threats. Through direct union intervention, management has formally conceded in writing that substantive Driver Tester classifications and salary rates remain fully protected, and unlawful attempts to force role reassignments or geographical displacement have been halted.
What you should do
- Prioritise road safety: your safety and the safety of the public in the vehicle always come first.
- Continue submitting feedback: if you experience issues with QA check-ins, conflicting trainer directives, or hand signal pressures, email quoting Ref: C10022517.
- Do not attend performance meetings alone: if management invites you to discuss assessment outcomes or capability reviews, contact the PSA Member Support Centre immediately for union advice and representation.
- Encourage colleagues to join: strong collective membership gives us the power to protect your rights. Encourage non-members to join today.
Stronger Together in the Workplace.
In solidarity
Contacts
Your PSA Industrial Team and Departmental Committee delegate
Kieren Streat PSA Delegate and SNSW DC Chair