Towards 2030 – Proposed Community Service Delivery
The PSA met with CSNSW 8 May 2023 regarding the Community Service Delivery model pursuant to the current restructure. The Change Management Plan and a Factsheet can be found here, here, and full documentation can be found on the Department’s intranet.
In the proposed new model, 30 percent of SAPOs will be assigned to a community-based role and report to a Community Corrections office. The remaining 70 percent will stay within the custodial structure and deliver programs within a Correctional Centre.
The PSA raised many questions about the industrial arrangements for the proposed community SAPO role. This included questions about hours, flex time, work on weekends, and the environmental allowance. None of these questions were given a substantive response by CSNSW (except for the Environmental Allowance which CSNSW have offered to maintain for 3 months). Instead CSNSW referred the PSA to a future CSNSW workshop where such matters would be decided. CSNSW also stated that the SAPO role description did not need to change. The PSA has requested that members be afforded a PSA representative on this workshop twice (once last week and again this week). However, CSNSW still have not provided an answer.
In response to this, the PSA advised that the proposed community based service delivery model presented by CSNSW had been designed without sufficient regard to the role SAPOs will play and what they will do as part of a Community Corrections office, thereby putting SAPOs who are assigned to the community structure at significant disadvantage. The PSA also emphasised that understanding what the industrial arrangements of community based SAPOs will be, is a key aspect of consultation. It would be patently unfair for SAPOs applying for a community SAPO role to not know what they are agreeing to.
As set out in the change management plan, CSNSW have proposed that the community SAPO roles be filled by an expression of interest process. However, when the PSA asked what would happen if roles remained unfilled, CSNSW did not provide a substantial answer.
The proposed timeline only allows for a three week consultation period, in which feedback is due on Friday 26 May 2023. CSNSW is then requesting SAPO’S respond to an EOI process on Monday 29 May 2023, in which their roles will significantly change, have unknown working conditions and possibly lower remuneration, without considering any of the feedback submitted 1 working day prior. The PSA considers this to be unworkable and disingenuous.
The PSA then requested information regarding the alignment of Community Corrections and Custodial policies. CSNSW advised that there was a team within CSNSW to look at this and they could not provide the PSA with a deadline as to when the policies would be harmonized.
The PSA also raised the issue of the level of complexity of work for psychologists in the community compared with the custodial setting, and the implications this had for senior/specialist roles. CSNSW advised that the model for what level of psychology staffing is required in each community location was provided by the Chief Psychologists of each region. The PSA understands that as part of the documentation released on the Department’s intranet, there was a document titled Tab B which did not include many current Senior Pyschologist positions, causing much distress to members who naturally assumed that their positions have been deleted. CSNSW assured that in regard to Psychologists there are changes to reporting lines only, and no changes to the number of roles. The PSA requested that the information presented was obviously confusing and causing distress and requests that CSNSW distribute information that clarifies there are no deleted Psychology roles.
The PSA still has not received answers to questions put to CSNSW regarding the restructure. Delegates have now provided a revised list of questions (in light of additional information being issued by CSNSW) which the PSA will seek written answers to from CSNSW.
We welcome further member feedback. This is best done through the delegate structure as outlined below.
PSA Delegates – Non Custodial
PSA Delegates – Community Corrections
PSA Industrial Staff
Monika Wunderlin – Industrial Officer