On 29 June PSA industrial staff attended the Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) meeting with workplace delegates and management from Aboriginal Housing Office (AHO).
JCCs are an important platform to address workplace concerns and members are encouraged to reach out to PSA delegates and staff about any workplace issues they would like raised at the meetings. They are an opportunity for members to speak out and ask any questions they may have about workplace rights. Please note only collective issues are discussed at JCCs. Individual matters are managed privately.
Key discussions on 29 June included:
Functional Review
The PSA raised concerns around siloing and lack of communication since the Functional Review. Management agreed there were still a few teething problems and that they were working on a cross-functional toolkit to help address these concerns. Members are encouraged to engage with the toolkit and let the PSA know how successful it is in addressing the issues.
Management also committed to providing clearer communications around functions. They agreed more work needs to be done to support teams to talk to each other as it’s not clear where the demarcation lines are for some areas of the business since the functional review. For example, between external builders, the property team and the vacant land team.
Backfilling roles
Management confirmed they are following a similar backfilling process to Housing Services, to support fairer recruitment to vacant roles. Members are asked to keep an eye out for the new guidelines and to reach out to the PSA if they don’t receive them or can’t locate them.
Training
Management were reviewing the training offered by the Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ) to see what was suitable to roll out across AHO. This included the Lead the Way training for leaders in response to feedback from last year’s People Matter Employee Survey (PMES). Management said they were also developing new cultural safety training and that it would be on the intranet soon.
The PSA asked about further training around the use of Safety Suite. At the last JCC in March, management said they would look into it as members had raised concerns that it was difficult to use and not fit for purpose. Members also raised concerns that there were no options for Aboriginal staff to choose to report to an Aboriginal staff member, particularly if they are reporting cultural safety issues. Management confirmed that they would see what they could do about it and members are encouraged to provide updates to the PSA to make sure it is addressed.
It is important members know how to use the AHO reporting system to log work incidents. The PSA sent out a bulletin last year to remind members across Homes NSW about the importance of incident reporting: A reminder – The importance of incident reporting | PSA CPSU NSW
Reports help your union advocate for safer workplaces.
Work Health and Safety
In addition to reporting incidents, members are reminded to reach out to the workplace health and safety representative (HSR) with any work health and safety (WHS) issues. HSRs play a vital role in the workplace to make sure WHS concerns are acted on and resolved. If your workplace does not have an HSR, you can ask management for one to be elected. More information can be found on the SafeWork NSW website.
Psychosocial Action Plan
From 1 July 2026 SafeWork NSW’s codes of practice became mandatory compliance benchmarks. Employers are obliged to adopt the approved code of practice or demonstrate a higher standard of risk management.
AHO management has confirmed its Psychosocial Action Plan has been endorsed by its steering committee. Members should familiarise themselves with the action plan as it should include information about how the workplace is managing psychosocial risks such as role overload, work-related violence and emotional demands.
The Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 that commenced on 22 August 2025 is clear: workplaces ‘must implement control measures to eliminate psychosocial risks so far as is reasonably practicable’.
Stronger Families Stronger Communities
Management recently announced that the Stronger Families Stronger Communities program did not receive the ongoing funding it needed to continue. The PSA asked what the plan was to address the issue and appropriately support any members who were directly affected. Management said that they were providing updates to team members who are affected. They said they are also looking at a new strategy to see how funded programs can be supported through BAU and therefore based on money they can count on.
Let’s Talk model
There were member concerns about the Let’s Talk model being used to address racism in the workplace as DCJ’s Anti-Racism Unit had said staff shouldn’t be forced to use the model for such incidents. Management asked what alternative pathways could be used instead. Members can reach out to the PSA to discuss further.
The next JCC meeting will be in September. Members are encouraged to share any issues they have with workplace delegates, particularly around any of the points raised here. You can also reach out to your organiser or come along to the next statewide members’ meeting. Unionised workplaces can negotiate and address workplace issues more effectively to make sure there are better outcomes for everyone.