2,000 Voices. One Agenda. Bargaining Begins.

Over the past few weeks, more than 2,000 Child Safety and Youth Justice workers took the time to complete the Enterprise Bargaining survey. That is a powerful response, and it sends a clear message to the department: workers are engaged, organised, and ready to build a better future.

Every response matters. Your experiences, priorities, and ideas are shaping Together Queensland's bargaining agenda, and they will directly inform the claims we take to the table.

What You Told Us

The survey results are in, and they paint a clear picture of what Child Safety and Youth Justice workers need.  Across both workforces, the top priorities were consistent:

• Workload and caseloads — by far the most common thread. The system is stretched, case numbers are unsustainable, and the administrative burden is taking time away from the work that actually matters.

• Pay equity and classification — particularly strong in Youth Justice, where workers are doing equivalent or harder work than Child Safety colleagues for less pay. The call to abolish PO2 and reclassify youth worker roles was loud and consistent.

• Staffing — not enough people, high turnover, and vacant positions sitting unfilled for months. Members are being asked to carry more because there simply aren't enough colleagues to share the load.

• Flexible work — members want greater access to WFH, compressed work weeks, and flexibility that reflects the reality of modern working life.

• Career progression — too many workers stuck at the top of their pay scale with nowhere to go, and not enough pathways forward.

These aren't isolated complaints. They are structural issues — and they are exactly what enterprise bargaining exists to fix.

First Bargaining Meeting Held

Last week, unions and the department met for the first bargaining meeting, formally kicking off negotiations for a new agreement.

As expected, this initial meeting focused on setting the process for bargaining, how often meetings will occur, how claims will be exchanged, and how negotiations will run. Importantly, we also began raising the issues that matter to members.

One of the first priorities discussed was gender pay equity. The parties acknowledged that there are equity issues at some classification levels and committed to further discussions.

Secondly, who the agreement covers has been identified as an important discussion. The departments will provide its views in upcoming meetings, allowing union delegates to properly consider options while member consultation continues. We know there are employees working beside each other - being paid on different agreements as an outcome of the MOG.

What Happens Next: EB Conference

The next major step is the Enterprise Bargaining Conference, where more than 100 delegates from across Queensland will convene.

At the conference, delegates will:

• Review and analyse the survey results
• Identify shared priorities across Child Safety and Youth Justice
• Refine proposed claims
• Help shape the strategy we take into negotiations

This is a critical moment in the bargaining process. It's where your collective voice is turned into a clear, strong set of claims that reflect the reality of your work and the changes needed to make it safer, fairer, and more sustainable.

This Is Member-Led Bargaining

Enterprise Bargaining only works when members are involved — and this round is being built from the ground up.

• You spoke through the survey
• Delegates will do the hard work of shaping the claims
• Next, union members will vote to endorse the claims that your union takes to the table. 

We'll continue to keep members updated as negotiations progress and as key issues, like workloads, pay equity, job security, and career progression, are taken forward.