PSA members in Child Protection have voted to accept a 4 per cent 2024-2025 increase in salaries plus 0.5 per cent superannuation, as well as the creation of a separate Child Protection Award and updated role descriptions.

Eighty-nine percent of respondents to the PSA survey supported this option.

The offers are just the next steps in our long-running campaign to improve a child protection system that is in severe crisis.

The offer can only be paid once the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is signed and the Awards are altered and signed off by the Industrial Relations Commission (IRC).

The MOU provides that:

• Child Protection workers will receive a 4 per cent 2024-2025 increase in salaries plus 0.5 per cent superannuation (backdated to first full pay period after 1 July 2024).
• Throughout 2024-25 the parties agree to establishing a separate Crown Employees (Child Protection) Award including updated role descriptions for all employees engaged in Child Protection and specific conditions of employment for employees who work in child protection, such as Flexible Working Hours, Overtime, and safe working allocation guidelines/principles.
• Any dispute as to the terms of this Award will be resolved through the IRC.
• The Department will immediately recruit at Grade 4 instead of Grade 3 for the remainder of 2024-25 (due to expire on 1 July 2025) and all existing Grade 3 employees will be moved to Grade 4.

Next steps

Once the MOU is signed, the PSA will immediately begin discussions in relation to a stand-alone Award for Child Protection workers.

Other PSA members in DCJ will receive a compounded increase of 11.4 per cent over the three years.

This figure includes the two Federal Government-mandated 0.5 per cent increases to superannuation.

Their salaries offer is as follows:

• 4 per cent 2024-2025 increase in salaries plus 0.5 per cent superannuation
• 3 per cent 2025-2026 increase in salaries plus 0.5 per cent superannuation
• 3 per cent 2026-2027 increase in salaries

This offer will be backdated to the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2024.

The offer includes a safeguard mechanism to protect wage-earners if the Sydney Consumer Price Index exceeds 3.5 per cent (March quarter) in the second or third year of the deal. If this is the case, there will be negotiations for a one-off, non-cumulative, cost-of-living allowance (COLA).

If the Sydney Consumer Price Index exceeds 4 per cent (March quarter) in the second or third year exceeds members will receive a $1,000 taxable, one-off, non-cumulative cost-of-living adjustment payment, plus superannuation.