Healthscope EBA update: Ballot opens soon – ANMF recommend YES vote

ANMF (Vic Branch) members will be aware that ANMF has been in negotiations with Healthscope for a replacement enterprise agreement to cover nurses and midwives in Victoria since June 2025.

We have now reached the end of negotiations, with the ANMF and Healthscope having reached in-principle agreement in late January. This was followed by a brief period of drafting, with the final agreement now being put to a ballot of all staff.

There will be a seven-day ‘access period’ (commencing Wednesday 11 February) during which you can read and consider the proposed Agreement.

It is your right to see the whole Agreement, as well as the summary provided by management.

A ballot of all employees will then take place from 9.00am on Thursday 19 February to 8.00am on Thursday 26 February.

Before outlining the details of the proposed EBA, the ANMF wishes to make a special mention of our fantastic ANMF Job Representatives, who have worked tirelessly through these negotiations and advocated strongly for our members. Thank you for all the work that you do.

For the reasons outlined below, the ANMF recommends that members vote YES for this proposed Agreement.

Improvements to the Agreement

The following key improvements were achieved during bargaining and are part of the proposed Agreement:

1. Salary increases as follows:

• 1 July 2025 – 4.25% (plus market adjustment to some classifications)
• 1 January 2026 – 2.25%
• 1 July 2026 – 4.25% (plus market adjustment to some classifications)
• 1 January 2027 – 1.00%
• 1 July 2027 – 4.25%

Backpay is payable for the July 2025 and January 2026 increases.

These increases will effectively result in public sector parity in July 2027, at which time Healthscope rates will match the public sector rates from May 2027.

2. Nominal Expiry Date of 31 March 2028, with a clause requiring parties to exchange claims for the next EBA by mid-November 2027 and to commence bargaining by December 2027.

3. The following staffing improvements, to take effect from 1 July 2026:

a) After Hours Coordinators to not have a patient allocation, except in emergencies

b) N/MUMs on AM shifts to not have a patient allocation, except in emergencies

4. One day (7.6 hours) dedicated administration/management time for NUM/MUMs of wards of at least 20 beds.

5. Employees with employer allocated portfolio work or administrative duties will have reasonable paid time to undertake such responsibilities (including rostering).

6. Introduction of a new Nursing and Midwifery Agreement Implementation and Staffing Committee which will consider workload/staffing issues and provide a consultative mechanism for resolution of these. This Committee will be expressly required to consider patient allocation for nurses in charge on night duty.

7. Improvement to the definition of experience which will achieve quicker pay point progression for part time staff. Specifically, progression to occur once an employee has worked 1248 hours, rather than needing to wait a further 12 months if those hours aren’t achieved in a given year. In addition, a midwife who is not a registered nurse, but later becomes one, will have their experience as a midwife count as experience towards their registered nurse increments.

8. Improvements in minimum classification:

a) Nurse Educators, Outreach Nurses, Floor Coordinators and ECT Coordinators will all be classified at a minimum Grade 4B; and

b) Nurses/midwives who act as a Team Leader (but are not an appointed ANUM), will be paid at the appropriate ANUM rate for the shift.

9. Inclusion of a clause to govern the redeployment of nurses and midwives between wards, with available casual/bank and agency staff to be utilised before permanent staff are redeployed, and that scope of practice is considered appropriately. Clinical Educators will not be redeployed in ad hoc circumstances unless emergency circumstances require.

10. Include an ECT Coordinator classification and classification descriptor, which includes the requirement for an employee in this role to be a registered nurse and have completed appropriate ECT training. Minimum classification will be Grade 4B.

11. Employees rostered on call for the purposes of recall to staff an emergency in a Catheter Laboratory or Operating Theatre (including anaesthetics and recovery) will not be required to work overtime or be otherwise recalled, other than for an emergency or complication during that on-call period.

12. Improvements to parental leave entitlements:

a) an increase in paid parental leave to 14 weeks for primary carers (to be phased in with 13 weeks on approval and 14 weeks from 1 July 2026) and 2 weeks for non-primary carer.

b) Subsequent periods of parental leave (where there has been a return to work on temporary reduced hours) will be paid based on the contracted hours prior to the initial parental leave, not on the temporarily reduced worked hours.

c) Employees who suffer a miscarriage, who would otherwise have given birth to the child had the pregnancy run to full-term, shall be entitled to one week’s leave if the miscarriage occurs between 12 and 20 weeks gestation.

13. A sixth week of annual leave to employees who perform weekend on-call duty on 10 weekends per annum, from 1 July 2026.

14. An increase to paid compassionate leave to three days per occasion.

15. Expansion of the definition of immediate family to recognise foster carers and kinship care.

16. Long service leave: improvement to the definition of continuous service so that eligible periods of unpaid leave count as service. Casual loading to be paid to casual employees taking long service leave.

17. 20 days of paid family and domestic violence leave for full-time and part-time employees (such leave attracting penalties and allowances) and 10 days for casual employees for days they were rostered to work.

18. Study leave for approved courses of study will not be limited to post-graduate study. Requests will be made at least 6 weeks in advance and responded to within 14 days and will not be unreasonably refused. Introduction of a group clinical supervision entitlement for mental health nurses.

19. Introduction of a new Sunday night shift rate (an initial 12.5% more than general night shift allowance) and a new weekend on call allowance rate (paid at an additional 10%) for weekend/public holiday (defined as periods where the majority of on call hours are on a weekend or public holiday).

20. Accident makes up pay clause to reflect “Regular Earnings” rather than “ordinary pay”, up to 39 weeks.

21. Introduction of a group clinical supervision entitlement for mental health nurses.

22. Union delegates clause allowing for 5 days of paid leave for initial training and two days in subsequent years.

The proposed Agreement also includes Healthscope’s previously proposed salary packaging clause, however this now includes additional guardrails to ensure members understand that any salary packaging arrangement is opt-in.

ANMF members are encouraged to read the draft agreement and associated documents to ensure you have a clear understanding of what is being proposed.

ANMF encourages members to vote YES

The ANMF is pleased to note that significant improvements to wages and conditions have been achieved in these negotiations – in particular we recommend members review the non-salary related items above. We are therefore recommending that members vote YES. This is particularly the case given the extenuating circumstances surrounding these negotiations, which include:

• Healthscope having been in receivership since May last year. Despite the recent announcements regarding the proposed transition to not-for-profit status, and the increased likelihood of Healthscope sites remaining under the one banner (other than Holmesglen), there remains uncertainty around the financial situation of the organisation and the long-term future of certain sites.
• The announcement of Holmesglen being sold to Calvary prior to Christmas. If a new EBA isn’t achieved before the sale process is completed, Holmesglen members would move to Calvary on their current pay and conditions and would miss out on backpay.
• The lack of certainty referred to above increases the importance of locking in higher rates of pay.
• The fact that we will be back at the bargaining table for a new agreement next year.

Members’ meeting

ANMF have been holding onsite meetings over the past fortnight and will be holding an online Healthscope-wide members’ meeting at 4.00pm on Monday 16 February. Details will be provided in a separate communication.

Members with queries, concerns or feedback are invited to contact your local Job Rep or ANMF Industrial Relations Organiser (see table below), via records@anmfvic.asn.au  referencing Case ID: 1083422.