August 16, 2026

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Christmas is around the corner – is your roster ready?

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I’m unsure which Award I’m employed under, but I’ve noticed that our Christmas roster has not yet been displayed or provided to staff. With only three weeks left, it’s becoming difficult to plan work-life balance. What steps can I take to ensure the roster is made available as soon as possible? 

All Nurses and Midwives are employed under an Award or Enterprise Bargaining Agreement (EBA), which outlines your working entitlements regarding rosters and other conditions. 

For example, under the Public Health System Nurses’ and Midwives’ (State) Award 2023, Clause 8 – Rosters states: 

  • (i) The ordinary hours of work for each employee, other than the Director of Nursing, will be displayed on a roster in a place conveniently accessible to employees. 
  • (ii) The roster will be displayed at least four weeks prior to the commencing date of the first working period in the roster. 

Please note that each Award or EBA is different, so you should refer to your specific agreement to confirm the required timeframe for roster display. 

If you find that your manager or roster coordinator has not displayed the roster within the required timeframe, we recommend that you: 

  1. Email your manager or roster person directly, referring to the relevant clause in your Award or EBA requesting that the breaches of the Award or EBA be rectified as a matter of urgency 
  2. Keep a copy of your communication for your records. 
  3. If necessary, also refer this matter to your local branch delegate to raise to management as a collective.  

If the issue is not resolved or continues, contact us for assistance so we can support you in escalating the matter. 

If you are a member of NSWNMA, you can contact us at gensec@nswnma.asn.au  

Not a member yet? Sign up here! 

Being informed about your entitlements and addressing issues early helps ensure compliance and fairness for all members. 

Pay rises to match inflation

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Coal Services members set up an NSWNMA branch, as 5.1 per cent pay increase flows to nurses.

Nurses providing healthcare services to the coal mining industry have won annual pay increases of 3 per cent or equal to inflation, whichever is greater.

The pay deal is part of a new enterprise bargaining agreement (EBA) negotiated between the NSWNMA and Coal Services Pty Ltd, which employs about 45 nurses.

Under the agreement, their first increase from 1 July this year was 5.1 per cent – in line with inflation as measured by the consumer price index.

The union surveyed nurses about their priorities for the new agree-ment and invited members to take part in a bargaining organising committee (BOC).

Six nurses joined the BOC, took part in bargaining meetings with management and reported back to members.

Bargaining meetings ran from February to June and the new agreement was supported by 98 per cent of Coal Services employees who voted.

BOC members also collected signatures to form a new NSWNMA branch at Coal Services.

It covers members at all five office locations: Lithgow, Mudgee, Singleton, Speers Point and Woonona. A sixth office is soon to open at Gunnedah.

Branch secretary and delegate Helen Sparke said Coal Services members now had a local union structure to represent them and participate in.

“We are scattered across a wide geographical area so we will hold branch meetings by teleconference,” Helen said.

“Coal Services nurses have been represented by the NSWNMA since 2012 and it’s been very positive for us.”

She said an NSWNMA officer helped nurses formulate a log of claims and was involved in discussions with management during the negotiations, “resulting in a good outcome for nurses”.

“Having our union’s advice and involvement in our EBA was beneficial and it would have been difficult without that support.”

An impressive display of union power

NSWNMA Assistant General Secretary, Shaye Candish, congratulated Coal Services members on achieving the EBA and setting up a new branch in the same week, describing this as “an impressive display of union power”.

Problems surrounding the payment of a $40-per-day on-site allowance to Coal Services nurses was also taken up by the NSWNMA.

The allowance has been paid since 2012 to compensate for dust, noise and other conditions.

Helen said management recently adopted a “practice note” with a narrow interpretation of the allowance clause and some nurses believed they were unfairly denied the payment.

After negotiations, Coal Services agreed to revise the practice note and consult with industry clients and nurses to determine which sites would give rise to payment of the allowance.

The consultation will include site inspections.

Helen said a list of applicable sites would be published to ensure fairness and consistency of payment.

Coal Services and its subsidiaries are private companies created by statute (the Coal Industry Act 2001 (NSW)), with statutory responsibilities that are administered by the NSW Government.

Coal Services nurses mainly carry out pre-employment and periodic medicals, drug and alcohol testing, fit-testing for masks and hearing protection, and immunisations.

At a glance: the gains in the new Ramsay enterprise agreement

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Ramsay has not agreed to ratios this time but the following improvements provide the tools for safer staffing at Ramsay facilities:

  • Stronger recognition of professional standards and obligations.
  • On-call for emergencies not routine theatre lists.
  • Protection for existing supernumerary In-Charge of Hospital, and new criteria for patient load when In-Charge of Hospital and In-Charge of Ward.
  • New Professional Standards clause with consideration of ACORN Standards.
  • Where NUM/MUM identifies that patient needs can’t be sufficiently met, a process to follow.
  • NUM/MUMs to prioritise access to meal and rest breaks when establishing rosters.
  • Replacement of leave absences with a nurse/midwife of the same level.
  • Dedicated staff for ‘specials’ in addition to the numbers.
  • Face-to-face training upon request for de-escalation/mental health/emergencies.
  • Protection for new graduates – can refuse In-Charge of Ward if considered unsafe practice.

The pay increases won

  • 2.5 per cent increase to pay and allowances from July 2018.
  • 2.5 per cent increase to pay and allowances from July 2019 (with no strings attached).

Other improvements to conditions

  • All existing conditions protected.
  • Ten minute paid change time now at the start of shift and 10 minutes at the end of shift.
  • Where a meal break is not taken by six hours due to employer direction, the employee is entitled to a paid missed meal break at overtime rates regardless of any breaks taken after six hours. Where employee agrees to finish shift early then missed meal break is not paid.
  • A nurse or midwife working alone will be paid for missed meal break unless specific rostering arrangements ensure they are covered for breaks.
  • Extra paid time for tea breaks for 12-hour shifts.
  • Improved paid parental leave to 10 weeks.
  • Employee can request access to pro-rata long service leave after five years.
  • Commitment to full-time employee ADOs.
  • Increase to $40 In-Charge of hospital and ward rates.
  • Higher duties payment for all shifts if you regularly act up.
  • Team leader to be recognised and paid as in-charge (not in team nursing context).
  • Up to five days paid leave and support measures for staff experiencing family violence.
  • Up to five days paid natural disaster leave.
  • Annual Leave requests will be responded to in a fortnight except for high demand holiday periods.
  • Part-timers able to request a review of contracted hours once every six months.
  • Consecutive days off unless agreed otherwise.

Letters to the Editor
Share your thoughts on this article or anything else important to you as nurses and midwives by sending a Letter to the Editor.

Four letters are published in the Lamp each month and the letter chosen as Letter of the Month will win a gift card. Please include a high-resolution photo along with your name, address, phone and membership number. You can submit your letter by emailing the Lamp:lamp@nswnma.asn.au

Allity hard line boosts union strength

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Company unable to quash member action.

“We stand a better chance of winning our claims when more people join the union,” says Lucy Murphy, NSWNMA branch secretary at Allity’s Beechwood nursing home.

“We are attracting new members because staff realise that more people joining the union strengthens our negotiating position,” she says.

Lucy works as a registered nurse at the Allity facility in the south western Sydney suburb of Revesby.

After more than a year of trying to negotiate a new agreement, Lucy says, “more people understand that nothing much will change without action on our part.

“They can see the company is to blame for the delay in getting a new agreement.

“They are angry and fed up with always having to work short staffed while being pressured to accept ridiculous pay offers.”

Many Beechwood staff did not know their enterprise agreement was about to expire until notified by the NSWNMA.

“That’s when we started a petition to get Allity to negotiate with us,” Lucy says.

“Instead of negotiating seriously, they forced us to have a vote on their offer of a piddling 1.8 per cent wage increase with no back pay, which members found insulting.

“As the petitions went around, more people got interested in what the union was doing to achieve a better deal.”

She says that as a branch official, it’s her role to keep fellow staff members informed about campaign developments and educate people about what the union does.

“We also ask staff members for their views on the campaign and ask if they have any issues or grievances they want us to bring up with management or union organisers.

“During the campaigns leading up to the first and second ballots, our ‘Vote No’ posters were taken down from the lunch room wall.

“Posters I put up just before my shift would be gone by the tea break.

“The union staff quickly got us more posters – they have been very effective in keeping us in the know and helping us put up a good fight.

“Management would come past and say, ‘You’re not allowed to persuade people how to vote’, yet they had no problem putting up ‘Vote Yes’ posters and wearing ‘Yes’ badges.”

Lucy said staff were also upset when a senior manager told them they had no choice but to accept the second offer because they would never get a better deal.

“In saying that they shot themselves in the foot because they really got people’s backs up.”

No vote brings Allity to the bargaining table

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After refusing to negotiate for nine months, and trying to force a low-pay offer onto nurses, aged care provider Allity finally entered into talks about a new enterprise agreement.

Allity operates in four states with 15 nursing homes in NSW. It is owned by Archer Capital, which bought Lend Lease’s aged care business for $270 million in 2013.

The NSWNMA tried repeatedly to negotiate with Allity starting in February 2017.

When the company’s enterprise agreement expired in June and negotiations still had not started, NSWNMA members at all 15 facilities signed a petition calling on the company to enter talks.

However, instead of talking to nurses, Allity told the NSWNMA it wanted to extend the existing enterprise agreement with two wage increases of 1.8 per cent in 2017 and 2018, and that they would put this offer to their staff.

In response, NSWNMA members ran a successful ‘NO’ vote campaign within Allity facilities. They talked to their workmates, they put up posters and handed out flyers, and they stood up when Allity tried to say that their offer was a good deal. As a result, a majority of nurses voted to reject the offer in October.

Following the vote, NSWNMA General Secretary Brett Holmes wrote to Allity CEO David Armstrong seeking an immediate start to negotiations.

“Allity employees have clearly rejected your ‘no negotiation, low pay offer variation’ by voting no,” Brett wrote.

“This result reflects our advice to you that nurses want Allity to respect their right to have a say in negotiations for their new enterprise agreement.

“Allity’s refusal to listen left nurses with no choice but to vote no for the proposed variation.

“It should now be very clear to Allity that it is time to respect nurses and immediately agree to commence negotiations for a new agreement.

“If Allity does not do this, we will apply to the Fair Work Commission for a majority support determination to legally require you to negotiate.”

A majority support determination is a ruling by the commission that a majority of employees who will be covered by an agreement wish to bargain with their employer.

The company finally agreed to negotiate late last year after the NSWNMA took a clear majority of petitions signed by staff to the commission.

Brett said it was significant that, in the first meeting between the members’ NSWNMA bargaining team and Allity, the company said it recognised that staff had clearly rejected the offer of a 1.8 per cent pay rise and no negotiations.

“This is a tribute to NSWNMA members who banded together and signed the petition that resulted in the company having to listen to their employees and bargain for a new agreement,” he said.

“In particular, it is a tribute to those workplace leaders who stepped up and did a great job to promote the petition and serve as the link between their fellow nurses and the union staff.”

In December and January, the NSWNMA negotiating team met again with Allity, who made a new pay offer of two per cent, but with no back pay.

There is no offer yet on members’ staffing and conditions claims, but Allity has agreed to provide a response in February.

 

What Allity nurses want

Safe Staffing

All facilities must have safe staffing and enough support staff to ensure nursing care needs are met for every resident, on every shift, every day.

A fair pay rise

A fair pay rise backdated to October 2017 that ensures that overtime and penalty rates in the current enterprise agreement are protected and expanded.

Career advancement

There must be genuine opportunities for nurses to share their nursing expertise and improve their careers
with higher pay points for medication-competent AiNs, more rights for casuals, and improved study leave.

Nurses stick together at Christadelphian Aged Care

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Nurses at Christadelphian Aged Care – a religious not-for-profit organisation – were shocked when management set out to abolish a range of long-standing benefits and rights after the company’s enterprise agreement expired.

Assisted by an aggressive law firm the company wanted to take away benefits protected in the enterprise agreement ranging from one week’s annual leave down to provision of tea and biscuits in staff rooms. And it wanted to impose additional conditions such as the right to force employees to move between different sites during a single shift.

During six months of tough negotiations many nurses joined  the NSWNMA for the first time.  Two new union branches were formed at workplaces and a group of union members gained valuable experience in negotiating with the employer and conducting campaigns in the workplace.

The nurses stand to gain an annual 2.5 per cent pay increase and saved many important conditions.

A new enterprise agreement covering all staff at seven nursing facilities was narrowly approved with 42 per cent voting against. The agreement is now in the commission waiting for approval.

The Lamp asked three Christadelphian Aged Care nurses to sum up their experiences and lessons learned during the campaign.

Big Health and Safety issues the catalyst to form union branch

Forming a branch of the NSWNMA was high on the agenda  when members at the Southhaven Aged Care facility first met  to discuss their campaign for a new enterprise agreement.

Nurses got together and agreed a NSWNMA branch with a stronger union presence would help them push for improvements at the 130-bed facility in Padstow Heights.

They decided to recruit more nurses to the union during the campaign in preparation for setting up a branch.

“There was a good roll-up at that first meeting because there were so many issues we needed to address, especially in workplace health and safety,” said registered nurse Julia Bundy.

“Construction work had been going on for years and some  of us had individually approached management about the  safety risks several times. We got a very negative response  with no improvements.”

Management lacked interest in health and safety

In another example, management installed ceiling-mounted lifts in every resident’s room but waited more than a year before training nurses on how to use them.

“These cases showed management’s complete lack of interest in occupational health and safety, which is still a very big issue for nurses. That’s partly why nurses felt passionately about  talking to the union,” Julia said.

NSWNMA staff conducted health and safety inspections accompanied by representatives from Christadelphian Aged Care head office, which “shook things up a lot” and produced some improvements.

Once enterprise agreement negotiations got underway Julia joined NSWNMA representatives from other Christadelphian facilities and NSWNMA staff at negotiations with management and their lawyer.

“I had no idea that the negotiation process was so complex and drawn out – it was a real eye opener and an education for me,” Julia said.

“I had a new understanding and respect for the union and what they do. The union officials were extremely well educated and very polished and professional.”

New union presence kept staff informed of attempted rollbacks

Julia was the main link between the negotiating team and Southhaven nurses.

“After each negotiating session the negotiating team would discuss the outcome and the next steps in the campaign. I would take a summary of the negotiations back to the members at Southhaven and relay any advice from the union.

“The most difficult thing was having to go back to my co-workers and tell them what rights and benefits the Christadelphians intended to take away from them.

“The nurses were shocked and disappointed to learn the details.

“For example, the company wanted to abolish one week’s annual leave and reduce our uniform allowance so we weren’t paid it while we were on holidays. They even wanted to remove tea, coffee and biscuits to staff from the agreement.

“At one stage management told me not to talk to staff about the negotiations. I answered that everything I’ve told the staff is true, and just reflects the written demands the Christadelphians have put to the union.

“I said the staff have a right to know what they stand to lose when it comes time to vote on the agreement.

“The nurses were very appreciative of me being involved in the negotiations. I’ve worked there for 30 years and I’ve got a good rapport with the staff.”

The prospect of losing a swag of benefits prompted more nurses to join the union during the course of the campaign. Julia and other members called a meeting in the tearoom to form a branch and elected a president, secretary (Julia) and two delegates.

“I was very impressed with the support the union gave to the staff. The employer will usually have the upper hand in negotiations so  I think the union did a great job.”

 

Outrage led to boost  in union numbers

“We wouldn’t have got anywhere near what we wanted without the union, that’s for sure,” said Helen Kennedy,  a registered nurse at Ridgeview Aged Care facility.

Ridgeview is a 150-bed nursing home run by the Christadelphians at Albion Park in the Illawarra region.

Helen got involved in EBA negotiations when they started in October.

“People were outraged at what they (Christadelphians’ management) were trying to take away from us. That inspired me and a lot of other people to get actively involved in the campaign,” she said.

“The company wanted to cut a week’s annual leave.

“We couldn’t understand why they wanted to take this and other things away from us. We are working harder than we have ever worked. Many of us have worked  here for years.

“A lot more is expected of us than there ever used to be. It’s more like a medical ward than a home for the aged now. Our skills are expected to be a lot closer to those  of a medical nurse in a public hospital yet we are paid well below public health system nurses.

“People are living longer, residents are sicker and  older and relatives have higher expectations. Plus  our documentation gets more and more demanding.

“The workload is very heavy and it just seemed so  unfair they wanted to take conditions away from us.”

She said the EBA campaign resulted in a stronger  union in the workplace with a lot of new members  and forming the first NSWNMA branch at Ridgeview. Elected office bearers include Linda Cruickshank  as president, Rebecca Lawyer as assistant secretary and Helen as secretary.

Helen and Linda are attending union training courses and delegates meetings in Sydney to learn how to better represent nurses and improve working conditions.

“We work hard without complaining but when the company said we couldn’t go to Fair Work over workload issues, we felt our voice was being taken away.”

Information key to  bargaining progress

Registered nurse Helen Sharpe has worked at Courtlands North Parramatta nursing home under various owners since 1998. But even she was taken aback when management set out to remove longstanding conditions from the enterprise agreement that Courtlands was to become a part of.

“The company expected us to fight for everything that had already been achieved,” she said.

As a member of the NSWNMA bargaining committee Helen’s role included keeping her fellow nurses informed of progress  in EBA negotiations.

“I do night shift so I was able to talk to some of the afternoon nurses, the night nurses and the morning shift in one day.

“When I told them the company intended to take everything off us they could see it was so unfair.

“We picked up quite a few new members who joined after the union ran information sessions at the nursing home.”

Helen said another positive aspect of the campaign was a recent union health and safety inspection of the workplace.

“One of the things we were looking at was the health and safety impact of understaffing, partly due to people on annual leave not being replaced.

“With six nurses caring for 39 or so residents, and some of them requiring two staff members to assist them, it can be really difficult to provide proper care.

“Working one short on night shifts and having to cover three areas is really hard. If someone has a fall or similar it really impacts on the rest of the residents and it leaves us vulnerable in the event of an emergency.”

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