The PSA would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to all PSA Members and employees of Resilience NSW. We know you are working hard to support impacted communities and will continue to do so after the TV cameras leave.

The politicisation of the work performed by Resilience NSW by politicians and the media does nothing to help manage community expectations of an organisation with fewer than 250 staff during a natural disaster of far-reaching consequences. Please look after your mental health during this time, take media and community social media posting with a grain of salt or switch off if you can.

Members have raised concerns regarding how staff deployed to impacted communities seek reimbursement for costs incurred. This has been raised in situations where staff are unable to use their P Cards or obtain receipts to purchase meals due to a general lack of infrastructure. The PSA will write to Resilience NSW requesting clarification regarding how claims should be made. In our view, where this is not clarified employees should be able to claim the Meal Allowance they are entitled to under the Crown Employees Public Service Conditions of Employment Award.

The P Card policy allows purchases under $82.50 without a receipt, advising that situations where receipts cannot be obtained will be rare. However, the policy provides no clarification on the correct procedure should this happen. We hope this clarification will be provided to staff soon.

While we all brace ourselves and wait for the waters to properly recede, there are already concerns about the impending workload and the lack of trained staff to efficiently and accurately process Disaster Relief Grants, for example. Training and data management concerns have still not been addressed. The PSA raised WHS concerns in regards to this February and was advised the department was prioritising a review of related procedures,. We will keep you updated on any response.

You can read the previous bulletin HERE.

Employees within Resilience NSW are clearly (forgive me) incredibly resilient and are willing to adapt to community needs. While the results of the People Matter Survey show many working within Resilience NSW have high job satisfaction and are motivated to contribute more than is normally required at work, only “44 per cent of staff felt they had the received the training and development I need to do my job”. We trust these concerns will addressed by using the wealth of knowledge within the organisation from those experienced in Emergency Management, so you can continue to support impacted communities as your agency grows.

Our next PSA meeting for members will be in April. In the meantime, please continue to reach out to your Delegates and the PSA for support and remember to take time to look after yourselves where possible.