The Department revised its offer on 13 August. Delegates have gone through it again, line by line. Their recommendation is clear: vote NO
An SMS poll opens on Tuesday the 18th and closes Wednesday the 19th of August. When you receive it, reply NO.
The Department's key revision was to strip out all its workload management commitments for Child Safety workers.
The original offer drew criticism for proposing to scrap the existing workload tool and start again from scratch. Members and delegates were clear about why that was wrong.
What the revised offer delivers for Child Safety workers on workload is this: the existing tool stays, and nothing else changes.
There's no commitment in the agreement to lower workloads.No new resources. No commitment to lower the workloads members experience every day. Nothing new locked into the agreement at all.
Keeping the existing tool was the floor, not the ceiling.
On admin and casework support, the offer still proposes a review — due in 18 months. Members have already identified what's needed. Previous reviews have already examined these issues. There's no funding attached, and no commitment to deliver positions after the review is done.
Nothing has changed here from the original offer.
Pay parity has been one of the clearest issues raised by Youth Justice workers. It isn't addressed in this revised offer, despite the Department acknowledging real attraction and retention problems in those roles.
The workload approach for Youth Justice still relies on a framework referencing the generic Queensland Government workload management guide — a tool that already applies today. It doesn't reflect the complexity of Youth Justice service delivery, and it doesn't provide any commitment to properly resource the work.
Most of what's on the table — meal breaks, accrued time management, physical resourcing, psychological safety — still sits outside the certified agreement. Outside the agreement means it's not legally enforceable. It's a promise. If the Department doesn't follow through, there's no mechanism to hold them to it.
The cultural safety commitments are largely unchanged from the original offer. Members' claims for acknowledgement of country, zero tolerance for racism and lateral violence, cultural loading allowances, paid cultural leave and paid cultural supervision remain absent from this offer.
You can read the full revised offer letter here.
| In the Agreement | Outside the Agreement | Not Addressed |
|---|---|---|
| No change to coverage; three-year term to 31 July 2029 | Child Safety: existing workload management tool retained — no new commitments | Pay parity for Youth Justice workers |
| Wages: 3.5% from 1 August 2026; 2.5% in 2027; 2.5% in 2028; CPI top-ups possible | Meal breaks: promote awareness of existing entitlements | Cultural loading allowance, paid cultural leave, paid cultural supervision |
| Youth Justice: Cultural Safety Policy within 12 months | Accrued time: projection tool and manager education | Acknowledgement of Country in the agreement |
| Youth Justice: Workload management framework within 3 months of certification | Physical resourcing: Building Working Group (Child Safety); intranet resources (Youth Justice) | Zero tolerance clause for racism, discrimination and lateral violence |
| Child Safety: explore frontline relief model within 6 months | Psychological safety: explore education and capability initiatives | New resources to address Child Safety workloads |
| Youth Justice: Regional and Remote Incentive Scheme review within 12 months | Child Safety: administrative and casework support review within 18 months | |
| No further claims clause | Cultural safety incidents: central reporting to People and Culture / HR |
The Departments had a choice in this revised offer. It could genuinely invest in the staff, systems and resourcing that Child Safety and Youth Justice actually need. Or it could stick with the status quo.
This is still the status quo. More reviews of problems we've already proven. More education about entitlements we already have.
For Child Safety workers, the revised offer removes the most damaging elements of the original — but replaces them with nothing. The Department is calling that progress. Delegates don't.
What to do next: Vote NO when the SMS arrives
The SMS poll is open from 18th August to 19 August 2026. When you receive the text, reply NO to reject this offer and keep the pressure on.