UNION WINS RECLASSIFICATION SUCCESS AT DCP AND WCHN |Public Sector Review | August 2023

In May, the PSA was advised that its application for reclassification of Department for Child Protection (DCP) Case Workers from OPS3 to OPS4 had been successful.

The application was lodged on behalf of 16 members in roles including Case Workers, Youth Workers — Transition from Care, and Care and Protection Workers. They were all classified as OPS3 staff with no option to move to a higher classification without tertiary education.

However, in recent years Case Workers have been exposed to matters of increased complexity and taken on greater risk and responsibility in their roles. DCP has a risk framework with behaviours and issues rated from Category 1 to Category 4. Case Workers are only meant to have input in

Category 1 and 2 matters. In reality, they operate across all areas and have no ability to transfer a matter when it changes from Cat 1 to Cat 4 overnight.

Children in Cat 4 may also have significant intellectual disabilities, which Case Workers would not normally be exposed to if they were only operating at the OPS3 level.

The reclassification is an important win for Case Workers, which opens up a whole new bracket in the OPS stream and scope for better retention rates in these vital child protection roles.

The PSA would like to acknowledge the significant role our OPS 3 members played in achieving this outcome. It is testament to the fact that members in DCP have the power to make a real difference.

Meanwhile Health Support Officer (HSO) members at the Women’s and Children’s Health Network (WCHN) who were part of a PSA-led application have been successful in being reclassified from OPS1 to OPS2.

As part of their campaign for reclassification, HSOs argued that they do not work under close direction, were often working on-site alone, and the only access to support from a registered nurse was over the phone, meaning their roles had been mis-classified at the base level of OPS1.

The win will also see applicants receive backpay at the OPS2 level from 23 May 2022.