Your union met again on 11 June and covered a lot of ground across both Together Queensland and AWU claims. Here’s what you need to know.
On physical resources and infrastructure, the departments agreed in principle with the intent of the Claim, recognising the problem of unfit offices, outdated IT, and inadequate fleet, but won’t put it in the agreement.
They say existing processes are enough. They knocked back the Claim entirely, arguing the Office Accommodation Management Framework covers it.
Your union does not accept that existing frameworks have been sufficient, and union delegates will keep pushing for real accountability.
On cultural safety, the departments acknowledged the importance of every issue but refused to put any of them in the certified agreement.
For external investigation of cultural safety incidents, they say case-by-case is enough.
For zero tolerance on racism and lateral violence, they say it’s already in policy.
For the Acknowledgement of Country in the agreement, they respect the intent but won’t include it.
Your union put the position on the record firmly. Words in policy without accountability in an agreement are not enough.
On paid cultural supervision, the departments asked for more detail on what your union is seeking.
On psychological safety training, both departments refused to include face-to-face psych safety training for supervisors in the agreement. DFSDSCS said face-to-face delivery is ‘operationally unviable.’ Your union disagrees.
Both departments listed existing programs, but programs without agreed commitments and reporting are not the same thing.
On Allied Health PO to HP reclassification, Together noted the HP stream has eight increment levels versus four in PO, meaning workers fall behind after four years. The Department of Education made this move in 2022. This claim has been noted for further discussion, with OIR supporting the departments on this claim.
On missed lunch breaks: both departments committed to reviewing the Aurion timekeeper system to allow the s16.1(b) Award provision to be properly applied.