PSA Departmental Committee delegates of the Local Land Services (LLS) met at PSA House on Tuesday and Wednesday 11 and 12 November to discuss current industrial and WHS matters, as well as the stagnated LLS Award negotiations.

As most members would be aware, the PSA and LLS management spent a considerable amount of time during 2024 and early 2025 undertaking a root and branch review of the Local Land Services Award. The rationale being that the LLS Award was an amalgam of several different Awards serving as a transitionary instrument that never really matured with the agency. LLS are now forced to shoehorn classifications and operations to fit the Award, not the other way around. It is not consistent, efficient or effective.

The PSA has been reliably informed by senior representatives of LLS that the bargaining parameters have been sought through the Expenditure Review Committee of NSW Treasury as early as April this year. However, no parameters have been provided to LLS to begin bargaining.  This is concerning considering NSW Government commentary on issues such as the veterinary workforce shortage response focused upon Award changes to address or alleviate the identified deficiencies. These are the same Award negotiations, now being held up by NSW Government and Treasury.

The story outline would unfortunately make a great basis for an episode of Utopia!

Concerned regarding the lack of progress, the PSA has written to the A/CEO seeking to understand the hold-up and to seek commitment for the negotiations to begin in earnest.

The PSA has also made it crystal clear that should the NSW Government and by extension LLS, not come to the negotiating table, the PSA would go it alone and use the next 18 months to arbitrate the LLS Award.

To be prepared for that contingency, LLS DC members and PSA representatives spent considerable time further developing and refining our claims on the basis that the PSA may be required to file its own application for Award variation without consent from LLS. This isn’t an ideal situation; however, it is one that the PSA is becoming increasingly conversant in. Recent endeavors to obtain consent applications to Award variations in other parts of DPIRD for Fisheries employees have been ‘like pulling teeth with chopsticks’.

By not engaging, it fails to recognise that changes to the LLS Award are as much the interests of LLS and the NSW Government as it is PSA members. There is a general consensus amongst the parties that the LLS Award is deficient in many areas that are causing resourcing as well as service delivery impediments to rate payers and primary industries.

Members with questions, comments or suggestions on all sorts of industrial matters as well as the LLS Award should reach out to the workplace delegates.

Contacts

Delegates

Administration and Customer Service

Jane Cystal 

Donna Donehue

Biosecurity and Emergency Management

Matthew Kennedy

Mal Leeson

Land Services and Natural Resource Management

Chris Sheen

Julie Dart

Paul Simpson

Veterinary and Emergency Management

Lisa Martin

Shaun Slattery

PSA staff

Shane Howes Industrial Officer

Graydon Plumridge Organiser