The Sheriff’s Officers Vocational Branch Advisory Group (SOVBAG) met with management on 25 November for the Joint Consultative Committee (JCC), the main topics of discussion were:

1. Vacancies across the state

The Sheriff’s Office is experiencing critical staff shortages around NSW. Some centres are down 50-75 per cent in actual staffing numbers.

The main knock-on effects from these critical staffing shortages are the restricting of access to recreational/flex leave and reduced security at court houses, as private contract security are limited in what duties they can perform.

Members are encouraged to contact the PSA or Delegates if they have been negatively impacted due to recent staffing shortages.

SOVBAG has requested that management look into formalising a retention policy and re-evaluate how it approaches the issues around staff retention.

2. Pay

SOVBAG strongly opposes the current pay that Sheriff’s Officers/Court Officers receive. The lack of proper remuneration for the work that staff do has to some extent caused such large vacancies in the department, along with other factors.

At the JCC management acknowledged that the Sheriff’s Office cannot compete with other law or justice agencies in relation to pay, development opportunities and career progression. Whilst this remains the case, it appears unlikely that these issues will be fully resolved.

3. PMES results

SOVBAG requested to discuss the PMES and view the results. However, management declined to release the PMES results until it has concluded an internal review and drafted action plans.

Management advised that once this is complete, SOVBAG will have access to the PMES and a possible extraordinary meeting will be arranged in January 2022 to discuss further.

4. Drug and Alcohol Policy

There is no finalised draft proposal in place yet, however it is expected that in early next year SOVBAG will receive a Drug and Alcohol Policy for consultation before implementation in 2022.

5. Heat Management

SOVBAG called upon management to release an updated SPV and Heat Management WHS reminder, in line with previous years and in time for summer .

If members require assistance or have issues with heat at their work locations, they are strongly encouraged to contact the PSA/local Delegate or local HSR/WHS Committee.

SOVBAG and the PSA would like to extend our thanks to all of the members this year for all the hard work in challenging circumstances. It’s been a tough two years, and all of us have had to improvise, adapt and overcome constantly changing policies, procedures and deadlines. We can only wait and see how 2022 pans out, but we’re sure that whatever comes our way next year, we will be able to overcome it together.

In addition, we would like to thank to work of delegates who will be stepping down from SOVBAG, Tian and Stephanie.

We also congratulate Marko Petrovic on being appointed to a full-time role with the PSA as an Organiser. Marko has been a hard-working Chairperson and assisted many members with individual issues.

If any members are interested in potentially filling a vacancy in SOVBAG, they are strongly encouraged to email Latu Sailosi at or reach out to one of the delegates.

We wish all members and their families a merry, happy and safe Christmas Holiday break.