During scheduled bargaining on Tuesday 17 December, ANMF was advised that a settlement offer has been authorised by Government and would be presented to all parties for consideration.
The offer was very brief and included the below:
- Wages and Allowances – RN and EN – providing a 28.4% uplift (compounded) from the current rates across the life of the agreement.
- First Full Pay Period On Or After (FFPPOA) 1 January 2025 – 3.0%
- FFPPOA – 16 January 2025 – 1.86% Equity Uplift
- FFPPOA 30 November 2025 – 3.0%
- FFPPOA 16 June 2026 1.22% Equity Uplift
- FFPPOA 30 November 2026 3.0%
- FFPPOA 16 June 2027 1.20% Equity Uplift
- FFPPOA 30 November 2027 3.0%
- FFPPOA 15 June 2028 9.64% Equity Uplift
The wages and allowances for non nurses was:
- FFPPOA 1 January 2025 – 3 per cent
- FFPPOA 1 January 2026 – 3 per cent
- FFPPOA 1 January 2027 – 3 per cent
- FFPPOA 1 January 2028 – 3 per cent
Lump sum payment – $6232 per FTE to be distributed as agreed between parties. (non nurses).
The offer also included a few agreed non-cost items outlined below:
1. Additional classifications added to section two including RUSONs, pre-qualified enrolled nurse, indigenous nursing cadet
2. Changes to various definitions
3. Gender neutral language to be used throughout the agreement
4. Improved anti-discrimination clause to reflect gender diversity, expanding protected attributes to include intersex status
5. Improved consultation clause, to include temporary or urgent change in the definition of major change
6. Improved consultation about rostered hours of work, including additional detail about information the employer must provide
7. Confirmation that first attempt at resolving collective disputes must be at the local level
8. Further limitations on fixed term and maximum term contracts aligned to the General Nurses outcome
9. Elaboration of business grounds available to refuse extension of unpaid parental leave and requirement this be in writing along with alternative extension options and, information about the right to dispute a refusal
10. Confirmation of the right to seek additional paid work with the employer while on parental leave
11. Ability to access long service leave in days
12. Strengthening hours of work provisions to enable ADOs to be taken on dates requested
13. Other items to implement changes to the Fair Work Act 2009.
Whilst ANMF acknowledge and welcome wage parity with public sector general nurses, there are 70 ANMF claims that are not included, both parity claims with the public sector, and mental health specific claims. See the full list below.
ANMF response to offer and next steps
Based on previous member feedback and the members’ resolution passed on 4 December (as communicated in EBA update 3), ANMF has formally rejected the inadequate offer of settlement on behalf of members. Members made it very clear at the members’ meeting that ANMF was to continue to hold further negotiations on the unresolved aspects of the claim, with a particular emphasis on wages and allowances that would ensure parity with general nursing and commitments around staffing in bed-based services and community.
ANMF is seeking urgent clarification from government around the offer excluding significant employment conditions achieved by ANMF for nurses in general nursing which is at odds with recruiting and retaining mental health nurses in the public mental health system.
We have also written to Premier Jacinta Allan explaining that our claims are designed to retain and recruit a permanent early career and experienced mental health nursing workforce – to reduce agency costs, meet the current demand and ensure the successful implementation of the mental health royal commission reforms.
Formal bargaining meetings have concluded for 2024, and are set to reconvene on 14 January 2025, however, ANMF continue to make itself available to meet from week commencing 6 January.
ANMF will seek answers on why this offer does not include 70 of your claims.
ANMF remains committed to achieving a resolution, but will not shy away from commencing the process for a protected industrial action ballot, as instructed by members. ANMF will provide communications regarding this process, and proposed timelines, after the nominal expiry date has passed. As members would recall from our meeting, you cannot take industrial action until after such time that the nominal expiry date (31 December 2024) has passed.
ANMF claims not included in the offer
Below are the 70 mental health nurses claims that are not included in the offer. These include parity claims with the general public sector and mental health specific claims:
1. Qualification allowance to increase and provision amended to improve and streamline application, to align with general nurses EBA outcome.
2. Expansion of the change-of-roster allowance to be paid when the 28-day roster is not posted 28 days in advance and amendments to the provision to align with general nurses and midwives EBA outcome, consistent with the general nurses EBA outcome
3. Increase to night shift allowances, consistent with the general nurses EBA outcome
4. Introduce a clause for permanent night shift and associated entitlements to align with general nurses and midwives EBA outcome.
5. Amendments to the annual leave provision (including annual leave loading to be applied to five weeks annual leave entitlement), to align with general nurses and midwives EBA outcome.
6. An increase in the number of single-day absences without evidence per year (from three to five) and the occasions that a statutory declaration can be used (from three to five), consistent with the general nurses EBA outcome.
7. Improved parental leave provision, including the removal of qualifying period, consistent with the general nurses EBA outcome.
8. Improved transition-to-retirement provision, consistent with the general nurses EBA outcome.
9. Improved ceremonial leave for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nurses, including recognition and support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ periods of mourning.
10. Introduce foster and kinship care clause, including paid leave.
11. Weekend casual rate to be to be standardised at 187.5%.
12. Introduce redeployment (change-of-ward/unit) allowance.
13. A minimum 47-hour break following night shifts before returning to work for an AM/PM shift.
14. Improved overtime provision to align with general nurses and midwives EBA outcome.
15. Improved entitlements when working away from home to align with general nurses and midwives EBA outcome.
16. Portability of service when relocating from interstate public health sector to Victorian public health sector.
17. Ability to access a minimum of two consecutive days off a week for employees working above 0.8 EFT.
18. Simplify application of four clear days off provision by introducing an allowance to align with the general nurses and midwives EBA.
19. Amended public holiday clause to expressly refer to Easter Sunday and Grand Final Eve. Update to ‘Kings’ Birthday.
20. Some improved definitions within the agreement.
21. Superannuation to be paid during workers compensation, defence leave, jury duty and no safe job leave (whether paid or not paid).
22. Amendments to family violence leave provision to align with general nurses and midwives EBA outcome, including to be paid as if at work and extend paid entitlement to casual employees.
23. Payment of disaster leave to apply per disaster ‘occasion’ rather than ‘per year’.
24. Telephone allowance to be rolled into on-call allowance.
25. Positive obligation on the employer to recover overpayment to salary packaging.
26. Employers to cover the cost of employer-required checks to align with general nurses and midwives EBA outcome.
27. Amendments to improve access to long service leave and annual leave records.
28. Introduce a new right-to-disconnect clause.
29. Review and consolidate clauses dealing with vacancies and backfill.
30. Improved on-call and re-call provisions to align with general nurses and midwives EBA outcome.
31. Improved access to flexible working arrangements aligned with general nurses and midwives EBA outcome.
32. Pre-natal leave to be expanded to cover assisted reproduction appointments.
33. Amendments to letter-of-appointment provision and Schedule 8 to align with general nurses and midwives EBA outcome.
34. Improved provisions addressing occupational health and safety (OHS), equal opportunity and anti-discrimination, including:
a) New provisions to better facilitate return to work from illness or injury, particularly psychological injury.
b) Lists of Designated Work Groups (DWGs), Health and Safety Reps (HSRs), their training dates and vacancies will be provided to ANMF at set points in a year.
c) Provisions aimed at preventing and addressing gendered violence, focusing particularly on an agreed approach to prevent sexual harassment.
d) Greater access by ANMF to participate in the occupational violence and aggression (OVA) prevention and management committee, including to discuss specific workplace issues relating to OVA.
e) Audits of manual handling incidents to take place to inform whether manual handling training can be improved.
f) Amend accident make-up pay to reflect WorkCover-scheme determined pre-injury average weekly earnings. New WorkCover clause AIP.
g) Improved anti-discrimination clause to reflect and respect diversity i.e. expanding protected attributes and intersex status.
h) Improved gender based standing committee clause i.e. gender equity activities to be a standing agenda item at local WIC.
35. Improved RUSON provision to align with general nurses and midwives EBA outcome, including RUSON rate to increase to 81.5% of the graduate rate.
36. Improved criteria and application process for CNS to align with general nurses and midwives EBA outcome.
37. Review and amend professional development and associated entitlements provision to align with general nursing and midwives EBA outcome, including improvements to accessing professional development and study leave.
38. Introduce new climate change clause that acknowledges climate change as a health issue to align with general nurses and midwives EBA outcome.
39. Establish a central building consultative committee to ensure consultation on construction and refurbishment.
40. Introduction of a personal leave pool.
41. Introduce research nurse classification structure.
42. Address pay anomaly for EN level 4 commencing as RNs to avoid disadvantage.
43. NUMs to translate to two-level structure with agreed definitions.
44. Introduction of a new yearly increment for nurse practitioners and updating classification descriptor.
45. Improved descriptor for director of nurses (DON).
46. Amend senior mental health nurse provision to reflect agreed changes to descriptor
47. Expanding the obligation to maintain a staffing profile based on EFT of nurses for all community mental health teams.
48. To transition to a minimum number of nurses working in each community mental team during the life of the agreement so that the community has access to mental health nurses
49. Minimum allocation of one (1) EFT of senior nurse (RPN 4) in each community mental health team to ensure ready access to discipline leads and specific expertise.
50. Community mental health team intake roles to be classified at RPN 4.
51. Review and amend existing community workload management system (CWMS) clause to provide for an improved mechanism to measure workload and facilitate allocation of time to complete organisational and practitioner development.
52. Review and amend crisis team workload management system (CTWMS) clause to reduce ambiguity around its practical application.
53. Re-introduce standalone community assessment and treatment teams (CATT) for all mental health services.
54. Provision that clearly sets out the minimum staffing profiles for all bed-based services (including all inpatient units, MBU, CCU, SECU, PARC and TSU) in accordance with previously mapped and agreed staffing arrangements recorded in MOU/Deed as part of the agreed matters to be implemented alongside the making of the current 2020–2024 enterprise agreement. *Schedule or by Incorporation
55. HITH to be included in minimum staffing profiles provision to reflect status as a bed-based service.
56. Expansion of graduate support nurse at each health service across seven days for all acute inpatient units, following the successful pilot.
57. Each HDU to have an in charge rostered on each shift and paid an allowance for being in charge.
58. ANUMs on each unit to be supernumerary.
59. Include agreed nursing positions of the previously agreed 800 EFT outcome from signed MOU between the department, VHIA and unions arising out of the outcome for the current 2020–2024 enterprise agreement.
60. The appointment of a minimum of two mental health nurse practitioner (NP) positions in all mental health services (where they do not already exist) with special consideration to regional areas.
61. Consistent number of nursing staff rostered across all shifts for mother–baby units to ensure the delivery of safe and effective 24/7 care to consumers.
62. The expansion of the successful mental health HITH program to all services, as a discipline-specific model of care.
63. Amend meal breaks clause so that meal breaks are counted as time worked.
64. Introduce a fitness-for-work clause to align with general nurses and midwives EBA.
65. Amendments to the reasonable adjustments clause to align with improvements in general nurses and midwives EBA outcome.
66. Introduce new comprehensive 12-hour rosters clause to mitigate fatigue.
67. Portion of accrued personal leave entitlement to be paid out on retirement.
68. Increase to paid parental leave.
69. Increase entitlement to paid compassionate leave from four to seven days per occasion.
70. A nominal expiry date of 30 June 2028 to align more closely with the general nurses and midwives EBA.
Update your details
To be eligible to vote in a protected industrial action ballot in the future, ANMF members’ details must be up to date and match with their details on the employer-provided list. Members need to check their surname, first name, middle name, date of birth, work and private email, mobile and postal address.
Members whose workplace and contact details don’t match won’t be eligible to vote, which may limit everyone’s ability to participate in a campaign.
To update your details, visit the member portal via members.anmfvic.asn.au .
Become a Job Rep
Job Reps are an important communication link between ANMF and its members in the workplace. During a campaign, Job Reps work with their Organiser to help distribute information, promote members meetings and encourage participation.
Members can find their Job Reps on their ANMF (Vic Branch) member portal page via members.anmfvic.asn.au.
If you don’t have at least two, consider nominating yourself.
To find out more about the Job Rep role and how to nominate scan the QR code or visit anmfvic.asn.au/jobrep.
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Find and follow ANMF (Vic Branch) via @anmfvic
