As you may be aware, your union, the PSA, raised a dispute with the Department regarding its expectation of the Helpline and Domestic Violence (DV) Line returning to the office ‘principally‘. This would mean attending the Liverpool office, or a local Community Services Centre if you are a regional Helpline Caseworker, at least 50 per cent of your shifts.

The Department provided the PSA with its operational grounds to bring staff back into the Liverpool office by 6 June 2025. You can view a copy of that HERE.

The only additional information provided in the correspondence was around the wellbeing of staff. We are acutely aware of the difficulties of the work the Helpline and DV Line are involved in, and wellbeing is of paramount importance. Members have advised however that structures, strategies and supports for their wellbeing are already in place and these already existing structure often offer better support when members are working remotely than in the office.

We had a further conciliation on Tuesday 17 June 2025, where staff wellbeing was discussed. The Department has maintained its position, however, that staff are to return 50 per cent of their shifts with staff able to request individual arrangements for ‘defined periods and regularly reviewed’.

On Tuesday 24 June 2025, we are back in the Industrial Relations Commission for a report back with a possible way forward. When we have the details, we will communicate with members as to next steps.