PSA members are advised that union industrial staff and local Delegates met with Office of The Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) management for our regular Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) meeting.

The main industrial issues discussed at JCC were:

Workplace Health & Safety (WHS)

The PSA is concerned about WHS issues at the ODPP and has requested information on the total number of Workers Compensation claims.

The ODPP were concerned that providing this information may lead to individuals being identified, due to low claim numbers.

The PSA shares this commitment to privacy, and enquired whether the ODPP could simply provide the total number of active claims, broken down by type (Solicitors, Administrative Staff, Statutory Appointment and Senior Executives).

The PSA is also interested in learning whether the workplace injuries are physical or psychological. This data will allow the PSA to compare the ODPP’s performance against other agencies within the sector and monitor both short and longer-term trends.

The ODPP is considering the union’s request and will provide advice in due course.

IRC dispute update

The PSA advised ODPP that some members were having difficulty in accessing historical flex information from the legacy system.

The ODPP has liaised with Shared Services and report that those members seeking historical flex information have been provided with the requested data. If you have requested, but not yet received your historical flex information, please contact the union who can raise your matter with ODPP for you.

ODPP indicated that Staff compliance in submitting timesheets has improved since the introduction of the intranet post reminders, but it is still not at a level that the Office would like. PSA members are reminded that it is a condition of employment that staff complete flex sheets in a timely manner in order to comply with relevant employment instruments.

The PSA also raised the issue of the Solicitor Advocates and top-level Managing Solicitors classification and pay rates being set by a Determination. A review was to be conducted after 12 months (mid-2024) aiming to include these classifications and pay rates into the Award.

The ODPP indicated that discussions on this issue had been held with similar NSW agencies (e.g. Legal Aid) but at this point, there is no ETA on when that is likely to occur. The ODPP did indicate that it is committed to continuing to honour existing employment conditions regardless of whether Solicitor Advocates and top-level Managing Solicitors were covered by a Determination or an Award.

In relation to the backpay claim currently before the Industrial Court of NSW, the matter was to be listed before the NSW Industrial Court for conciliation on 8 October 2024. However, the PSA has been approached by ODPP to vacate that date for the matter to be relisted within a fortnight to give the parties more time to prepare for the conciliation.

The PSA has consented to the request, which will allow for members to have some additional time to compile their historical flex sheets and other supporting material, and for the PSA to review the flex data documents produced by the ODPP under the Notice to Produce.

The parties wrote to the Industrial Court, and members are advised that the following new dates to progress this matter are:

1. Matter listed for Directions (Teleconference) at 10:00am on 23 October 2024;
2. Conciliation listed at 10:00am on 14 November 2024 (in person).

Update on Sydney office relocation

The relocation is delayed due to a number of unavoidable issues. The ODPP have been told that the fit out should be completed by the end of October.

The ODPP has informed the PSA that the relocation probably won’t occur until either Christmas/NY 2024, or otherwise February 2025.

Preliminary discussions have occurred between the ODPP and Property and Development NSW around occupying an additional floor based on a boost to staff numbers, however the ODPP now needs to develop and submit a business case for further funding before those discussions can progress further.

The ODPP confirmed that arrangements have been made for staff to utilise rooms at the Downing Centre for use between trials/during lunchtime. The ODPP confirmed two rooms are available and should be online before Christmas 2024. These rooms will have printers/copiers and ODPP network connectivity.

Workload management

The ODPP advised that the Optimum Practice Size (OPS) review had stalled earlier this year due to poor data entry.

In May this year, the ODPP invited staff to contribute feedback on the OPS, and 21 responses were received.

The ODPP is looking to complete its final report and recommendations on the OPS by 30 October 2024.

The PSA has requested a copy of the final report and recommendations for further consultation with members.

Current flex forfeiture (Legal Officers)

Excessive workload remains a high priority issue for PSA members.

The most recent (anonymised) data provided by the ODPP indicates that, since the new Award came into effect in January 2024, in excess of 16,000 hours that would have previously been forfeited have now resulted in payments to legal officers.

While it is pleasing that these excess hours are now being paid, it is still a concerning number of additional hours being worked.

Current flex forfeiture (Non-Legal Officers)

The ODPP agreed to provide the data in an anonymised form.

Separately, whist the new Award only applies to legal officers, the PSA continues to press for parity in flex provisions for all staff across the ODPP, regardless of role or classification. The ODPP has also indicated its desire to have all staff on the same flex provisions and previously advised in an Intranet post that it will approach the relevant central government agencies to ascertain what can done to have the provisions of the new Award apply to other ODPP staff.

Regardless of the work performed, the PSA believes that there is no place for unpaid work in modern workplaces.

The NSW Government and its employing agencies should not expect forfeited hours to bolster ever tightening budgets.

Update on temporary and casual staff; contractors and consultants; Senior Executive Services staff

The PSA continues to seek data on temporary and casual staff, contractors and consultants, and Senior Executive Services staff. The ODPP has agreed to continue providing this information.

Further, PSA members will see an article in the latest edition of Red Tape which reports back the union’s activities and submissions to the NSW Government to reduce reliance on contractors, consultants, temporary and casual staff.

The union maintains its long held position that NSW Government programs and services are better, and more efficiently delivered into our communities by permanent public servants.

Cessation of the Legal Development Program (LDP)

With the cessation of the LDP program and expansion of the paralegal program, the PSA queried whether current LDPs needed to apply for paralegal roles, what would happen at the end of their current contracts, and whether there was a transition plan in place.

The ODPP indicated that LDPs would remain on their current contracts and did not need to apply for the new paralegal roles.

LDPs who are in the Level 1 talent pool at the end of their contract may have those contracts extended, but that will depend on business needs, availability of positions, and individual performance. The ODPP advised that there are currently plenty of spaces available.

Welcome boost to staff numbers

The PSA welcomes the recent announcement by the ODPP of approval for an additional 63 full-time equivalent positions for the 2024-2025 financial year and hopes that the additional positions that form part of that announcement can be filled as quickly as possible to help alleviate work-related pressures and improve the overall health and wellbeing of members.