Your PSA Delegates and industrial staff recently met with the Office of Sport for our regular Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) on 22 July 2022, the following is a report back to members from that meeting.

1. COVID-19 vaccination risk assessment

The PSA was advised the Office of Sport is currently in the process of reviewing the current risk assessment and that they will consult with the PSA further, we will provide further updates to members when we have the assessment.

2. Myuna Bay/Morisset update

The Chief Executive advised the Committee that the Project Director had been recruited to oversee the decommissioning of the Myuna Bay and construction of the new centre. The Project Director is on a two-year contract and will be based at Newcastle for the duration of the project.

Commitments were given to the PSA in relation to consultation, particularly with regards to the new centre, as well as consultation with the broader community. The PSA has requested to meet with the new Project Director at the earliest opportunity.

The Chief Executive also confirmed the displaced Myuna Bay staff would still have first option for roles at the Morisset centre.

3. Flood impacts

An overview was provided as to the ongoing impacts across the Office of Sport due to the flood events of 2022.

There have been a number of short-term closures across a large number of facilities. Noticeable areas to report back on include the Regatta Centre, which has just been given an all-clear in relation to the water quality and will hopefully be able to re-open soon.

The Lake Ainsworth site is currently being repurposed to accommodate displaced persons from the Lismore/Ballina regions through to the end of September. Until the lake recedes and the sewage situation can be resolved, the dormitory accommodation remains unavailable.

There was a discussion about the competing needs and also the importance of the educational contribution that the site makes in its usual capacity but it is anticipated that the need for emergency accommodation will likely continue beyond September at this time.

The PSA will continue to work with members affected by this on a case by case basis as required.

4. At height activity

The audit across these facilities was delayed due to COVID and is currently a quarter of the way through. It is anticipated to be finished by the end of September.

5. Use of gyms at Office of Sport centres

Concerns were raised with the Chief Executive that this has now been on the agenda for upwards of a year. A commitment was given to have a report back to the JCC on this matter at the next meeting of the JCC in late September.

6. Shared Services

The Chief Executive advised that due to the machinery of government changes and the Office of Sport moving into a different cluster that they had made representations to request that Office of Sport Shared Services be moved into the Wave 2 phase, which would not see a move into a shared service model until towards the end of 2023.

7. Award interpretation

Both the PSA and the Office of Sport will meet as soon as it is practical and before the next JCC to discuss differences of interpretation as to how the Office of Sport – Program Officers Award is applied, the PSA will report back to members separately following that meeting.