Forensicare campaign update 1: Forensicare EBA bargaining begins

Forensicare EBA bargaining begins

ANMF visiting Forensicare sites during November

The ANMF log of claims for their new enterprise agreement has been endorsed, and ANMF has now served the claims to the employers’ bargaining representative, the Victorian Hospitals’ Industrial Association (VHIA).

The ANMF members’ log of claims for the Victorian Institute of Forensic Mental Health 2025–2028 enterprise agreement features more than 70 items and aims to maintain parity with general public sector nurses, with respect to the improvements achieved during their recent EBA campaign – inclusive of their wages outcome.

Among the claims specific to the Forensicare and the mental health sector are:

1. A provision that clearly sets out the minimum staffing profiles for all bed-based services.
2. Improved position descriptors and/or improved classification structures for positions including Nurse Unit Managers, Directors of Nursing, Research Nurse, Senior Mental Health Nurse, and Nurse Practitioners.
3. Expansion of graduate nurse support pilot to Forensicare with allocation at each service seven days a week for all acute inpatient units.

Read the log of claims via anmfvic.asn.au/forensicareloc.

You may have noticed that Forensicare has issued a document called the ‘Notice of Employee Representational Rights’ or ‘NERR’. Forensicare has now provided this NERR to the ANMF and other bargaining representatives. This is a requirement of the Fair Work Act when an employer agrees to negotiate a new EBA. Nursing staff who are members of the ANMF need take no action regarding the NERR, as the ANMF is your default bargaining representative by law.

To retain, recruit and rebuild our Forensicare nursing workforce we must have an enterprise agreement that values and rewards nurses, improves our working conditions with a focus on safety and gender equality in the workplace.

A valued Forensicare mental health nursing workforce will deliver the improved outcomes needed for consumers, and the broader Victorian community.

Negotiating for the replacement Forensicare agreement will be taking place with the negotiations for public mental health nurses, with ANMF (Vic Branch) elected officials and the mental health nursing officer and industrial officer attending weekly meetings with the VHIA.

In addition to ANMF (Vic Branch), other parties involved in bargaining include the Department of Health and the Health and Community Services Union (HACSU), which also represents allied health professionals, lived and living experience workers and disability support workers as well as admin and other support workers in the mental health, disability and AOD sectors and Victorian Psychologists Association (VPA).

Forensicare visits

The Branch has scheduled multiple visits to Forensicare sites through November, with the aim of updating members on the EBA, and provide opportunities for members to ask questions and get involved. See the schedule below for your ANMF workplace visit.

The success of the new Forensicare agreement depends on our ANMF members and Job Reps.

Do you have at least two Job Reps?

It’s a great time to become an ANMF Job Rep, get to know your current entitlements better and get involved in our EBA campaign. Job Reps are the life force of our union and can attend the yearly ANMF delegates conference as well as put forward motions for consideration on the ANMF log of claims. To nominate as an ANMF Job Rep yourself (ideally there would be at least two Job Reps per ward/area) please read the information and download a Job Rep nomination form via anmfvic.asn.au/Jobrep.

To see who your ANMF Job Rep is, login to the Member Portalvia members.anmfvic.asn.au and then click the ‘My Delegates’ tab under ‘My Membership’.

Update your details

Should we need to take further steps during negotiations, it is critically important that you make sure ANMF has your correct details. If there have been any changes, please update your contact details on the member portal via members.anmfvic.asn.au.

Please check and update if required your:

• workplace and second or additional workplace if you have one
• family name, given name, middle name
• date of birth
• work and private email address
• mobile and postal address

If you and your colleagues determine it necessary to vote to take protected industrial action as part of your enterprise bargaining campaign, your ANMF member details will need to match the details held by your employer in order for you to get a vote.

If you work at Forensicare and are not receiving newsflashes and updates, you may have unsubscribed from our publication communications at some stage. You will need to fill in our resubscribe form to make sure you are kept up to date with all the important news and developments.

Are all nurses on your ward or unit members?

Now is the time to get engaged and get involved! We need strong collective action and commitment from members at the workplace and the more members there are, the stronger your voices will be. All nurses are encouraged to join ANMF, non-members can join online at members.anmfvic.asn.au/join.

If members have any questions or feedback please email records@anmfvic.asn.au attention to ANMF Industrial Officer Michelle Baldini or your ANMF Industrial Relations Organiser (see below) via email at records@anmfvic.asn.au.