Thank you and Merry Christmas from the PSA

The PSA Executive, industrial staff and delegates would like to thank you for your service supporting the mental health and wellbeing of students in NSW schools throughout 2025. We wish you all a peaceful festive season and refreshing break over the Christmas holidays.

The PSA would like to especially thank your dedicated School Psychologist (SP) PSA delegates on the SP Advisory Group: Kris Marsh, Tim Smith and David Taplin. We appreciate your unwavering dedication and efforts this year on behalf of members and for ensuring PSA industrial staff are tuned in to your concerns.

 In this update

• Survey and self care
• Your pay rise
• Flexible working
• Christmas shutdown and concession leave
• Working during January school vacation period

Survey and Self Care

Thank you to those who completed the PSA survey. Your feedback has confirmed that SPs continue to face significant challenges including heavy workloads with frequent interruptions, navigating differing referral processes, difficulties taking breaks and accessing flexibility, and being required to work outside normal hours to respond to critical incidents. Your feedback on these important workplace issues is critical in informing PSA advocacy for SPs, including current discussions with the Department concerning recording and payment of overtime; flexible working arrangements and negotiating a new Flexible Working Hours Agreement.

The PSA is also mindful of AHPRA’s update to the Professional Competencies for Psychologists from 1 December 2025, introducing explicit Self-Care Competency. This provides an additional lever for the PSA to advocate for an effective, sustainable workplace environment that supports your safe and ethical professional practice.

Your pay rise

When the PSA became aware your pay rise was not paid in the first pay period on or after 9 October 2025, we contacted Employee Relations. We notified them the parties are in dispute due to the Department’s failure to pay the 3 per cent pay rise to all staff covered by the Crown Employees (School Psychologists – Department of Education) Salaries Award 2022. We asked for explanation by the following day including assurances that the pay rise will be administered as soon as possible and back paid from 10 October 2025.

On 23 October 2025 Employee Relations apologised on behalf of the Department and thanked the PSA for bringing it to their attention. They confirmed with payroll that the scheduled increase was not applied due to a technical error. The PSA was assured the error was rectified, and your pay increase would be processed in the period ending 6 November 2025 along with backpay from 10 October 2025. The PSA required the Department to provide an explanation and apology to the School Psychology staff inconvenienced by the delay.

Since we fought hard for your annual pay increases and a three-year Award to enforce them, we can assure members that the PSA will continue to track your 2026-2027 pay-rises, and we advised the department we expect next year’s increase to be paid on time.

Flexible working

Flexible Working Arrangements: PSA industrial staff and delegates have been advocating for the Department to allow SPs to work remotely or from home after school operational hours within bandwidth, during the school term. We are seeking this flexibility in addition to the previous win, enabling working remotely during school vacation periods. We believe this practice would better support access to your entitlement to flexible start and finish times and reasonable accrual of flex leave. This is the subject of ongoing discussions with the Department which will continue in 2026.

Time in lieu and overtime: The PSA is aware SPs may be expected to attend to critical student incidents involving working hours outside of bandwidth (such as after 6:00pm or on a weekend). Being required to be on duty at these times attracts payment at overtime rates or time in lieu (TIL) in accordance with the Crown Employees (Public Service Conditions of Employment) Award 2009 (“the Conditions Award”). Currently the PSA is not convinced that members are recording and being properly remunerated for any such overtime hours and so we are addressing this through both the JCC forums and in current negotiations for a new Flexible Working Hours Agreement which allows for TIL as an adjustment on your flex sheets.

New Flexible Working Hours Agreement: The current Flexible Working Hours Agreement 2022 between the PSA and the Department is due to expire, as a three-year ‘local arrangement’, pursuant to clause 10 of the Conditions Award. The parties commenced negotiations for a new agreement. PSA industrial staff and delegates have had six meetings and exchanged correspondence with industrial relations through November and December 2025.

The PSA is paying particular attention to the school-based wellbeing roles, noting as School Psychologists that you work school operational hours during term but also have access to flexible start and finish times and a bandwidth from 7:30am-6:00pm and want to be able to maximise your flex leave during school vacations.  These discussions have been constructive and will continue in the new year, with the parties agreeing that the current agreement remains operational until we reach a fresh agreement.

Christmas shutdown periods and concessional leave

For your information, the Public Service Holiday has automatically been added in SAP. However, if you are working on 24 December (Christmas Eve) then you are entitled to a half day of concessional leave from midday or after three-and-a-half hours from your start time.

There is no requirement to enter this leave into SAP. However, to ensure your timesheets are not negatively affected, please follow the instructions below:

• Staff members working flexible hours should record the half-day concessional leave on their flex sheet.
• In the “adjustments” column, under “details”, enter: “½ day concessional leave”.
• In the “adjustments” column, under “hh:mm”, enter: 3:30.
• Arrival and departure times should still be recorded so that the time worked, combined with the adjustment, prevents any debit to your flex balance.

Working during the January school vacation period

As Term 4 draws to a close, those working through the January 2026 school vacation period are reminded to ask about working remotely from an alternative location. This may include working from home, at a local office, or another school where others are working onsite.

If you are planning to work onsite at school and believe you may be alone for any or all of the time, a Working Alone Risk Assessment must be conducted and any risks mitigated with approval prior to attendance at the school. If you are unsure where to find this, you should contact the Health and Safety directorate or your school’s designated Health and Safety Advisor.

PSA Staff

Katy Ambler Industrial Officer

Alison Crittenden Organiser