Allied Health Professionals Network

Important news for SA Government Allied Health Professionals and Allied Health Assistants

30 June 2025

The proposed separate agreement is going to a voting ballot starting Monday 30 June 2025.

The PSA does not support this separate agreement, and we're asking you to VOTE NO because you deserve so much better than this.

SA public sector AHPs and AHAs are urgently encouraged to come to a PSA online meeting this week.

If this separate EA is voted up, it will strip away essential workplace protections that PSA members have fought for over 30 years.

SA public sector Allied Health Professionals and Allied Health Assistants are urgently encouraged to come to a PSA online meeting this week.

Register here

What's at stake?

• Inequitable wage increases that don't make up for what's been lost to inflation – and won't keep up with the cost-of-living crisis.
• Slashed job security provisions ('Triple R’) – leaving you vulnerable to job losses, privatisations and reduced job security.
• No right to take industrial action during a dispute.
• Watered down consultation rights – giving you little say in how your workplace runs.
• Forced 24/7 rosters, with 3 months notice and no consultation - effectively forcing members on to a 38 hour week roster.
• No more protections from unreasonable workloads, that PSA members fought for and won.
• Increased inequities between professions.
• Watered down or lost rights and conditions.

Here's a more detailed breakdown of the major issues with the proposed separate agreement.

Download our 'what happens when I vote no" flyer.

What will happen if i vote no to the AHP + AHA separate agreement.pdf

SA Public Sector Allied Health Professionals and Allied Health Assistants are encouraged to come to a PSA online meeting this week, to learn more about why you should VOTE NO to a separate AHP AHA enterprise agreement.

Register for an online meeting here

All AHP/AHA employees are all welcome to attend. 

SA Public Sector AHP & AHA Online Meeting times:

• Tuesday, 24 June, 2025 at    12:00 noon
• Wednesday, 25 June, 2025 at    12:00 noon 
• Wednesday, 25 June, 2025 at    5:30pm 
• Thursday, 26 June,2025 at    12:00 noon 
• Thursday, 26 June, 2025 at    5:30pm 
• Friday, 27 June, 2025 at    12:00 noon 
• Monday, 30 June, 2025 at    12:00 noon 
• Monday, 30 June, 2025 at    5:30pm 
• Tuesday, 1 July, 2025 at   12:00 noon

If you can't make it to one of these meetings, but are still interested in receiving information on this, please get in touch email enquiries@psaofsa.asn.au  or call 8205 3200

Help spread the word!

Share our social media content, about our urgent meetings 

Download our flyer to help stop the spread of misinformation and encourage AHPs and AHAs to get more information about this separate agreement. 

DOWNLOAD THE FLYER.pdf

FAQs: Why AHPs and AHAs should VOTE NO on the separate agreement

Q: Why do the PSA and PSA members urge you to VOTE NO to the proposed separate agreement?

This separate agreement has an inadequate wage offer that will not keep up with inflation. It also removes or waters down critical workplace rights.

Overall, the proposed separate agreement dramatically shifts the balance of power in favour of the employer.  

The proposed agreement strips out most of the accountability on your employer, and leaves you, as an employee, with very little say about the things that will affect you in your everyday working life.

Q: What’s wrong with the proposed wage rise?

The proposed wage rise is 13.5% over four years (4% in the first year, 3.5% in the second and third year respectively, and 2.5% in the last year). When you consider that wages have eroded by 10% since before the pandemic (as at the end of 2024), in real terms it’s a pathetic 3.5% wage rise.

While the new agreement gives some AHPs an extra 4%, the PSA  believes ALL our AHP/AHA members deserve a strong wage outcome that:

    • restores the real value of public sector wages – which, as at the end of 2024, have eroded by 10% since before the pandemic.

    • protects against future inflation and recognises the value that public servants contribute to South Australia.

    • addresses the current attraction and retention crisis across the state’s public sector by bringing wages into parity with federal and other state public servants and the private sector – and ensures that current conditions are kept or improved.

Q: I’ve heard there are no reduction in conditions in the separate agreement.

This is simply NOT true. Here’s just some of what you stand to lose:

Watered down consultation rights

In the current agreement: employees must be consulted about any change that affects them. This gives you a genuine opportunity to influence decision-making processes about your workplace and conditions. 

If there are problems with the consultation process, the PSA can – and does – lodge disputes and takes agencies to the South Australian Employment Tribunal (SAET) when necessary to fight for your right to real consultation.

The separate agreement: confines the things that need to be consulted on by:

    • empowering the employer to decide whether the change meets their new definition for workplace change

    • empowering the employer to decide whether a change is significant enough to get your feedback

    • removing your right to take industrial action when there is a dispute on

    • stating that a decision to move to seven-day work is exempt from consultation

    • denying the status quo provisions when in a dispute about seven-day work.

Heavily reduced RRR clauses (job security)

The current agreement: Redeployment, Retraining and Redundancy (also known as RRR) offer strong protections to ensure you:

    • don’t get declared excess unnecessarily

    • get proper case management if you’re declared excess 

    • get the support of your employer to be placed in a genuine vacancy

    • receive training for a new role if necessary

    • receive a redundancy payout if there isn’t a suitable role for you, or you choose to move on from the public sector. 

The separate agreement: has reduced the RRR 12 page appendix down to three pages, completely watering down all these protections. If this agreement goes through, all your employer needs to do if you’re declared excess is to:

    • make sure that you're aware of the “I work for SA” website

    • help you access to the pre-employment list, and

    • training (this is not defined in any way).

The onus will be on your to find yourself a job within 12 months, with no accountability on your employer. 

Watered down protection against unreasonable workloads

The current agreement: provides strong protections from excessive workloads, and includes strong avenues members can use to raise disputes about your workloads, including establishing Local Workload Consultative Forums (LWCFs).

The separate agreement: removes the strong protections members previously won, with protections watered down to say ‘workloads shouldn’t be excessive’. It has removed Local Workload Consultative Forums (LWCFs) and moves the dispute process back to conditions from 10 years ago. Basically, it’s removed employer accountability – with no new measures to protect workers. 

Increased ordinary hours or work:

In the new agreement: the default position for ordinary hours of work (the hours you can be expected to work) are 38 hours a week and can be averaged out over a four-week period, rather than the usual 37.5 hours. This is a 1.3% increase in your work hours – with no extra pay.

Ordinary hours for shifts can be from 7.5 up to 12 hours. If you work a 12-hour shift, you won’t receive any overtime for doing so.

Q: Will my current Monday to Friday hours stay the same?

Under the new agreement, your work hours can be changed from Monday to Fridays to a seven-day roster with three months’ notice. This will majorly disrupt your work / life balance.

Under this agreement, no consultation is required about a decision to move to seven-day work.

If you lodge a dispute about the roster, the shifts can be implemented anyway, rather than your hours remaining the same until the grievance is resolved (as it is in the current agreement).

Q: But won’t a separate Agreement for AHPs/AHAs give us wages and conditions that are more relevant just to our profession?

There’s no evidence to support this – in fact:

    • There is nothing in the proposed Separate Agreement that can’t be dealt with in the current Agreement. It already contains specific clauses relevant to AHPs and AHAs which can be kept, expanded and improved on.

    • Separating workers goes against every union’s experience that there is always strength in numbers. 

Q: What happens if we vote NO?

We can go back to the negotiating table to continue to advocate for a strong wage outcome and without removal of critical work conditions. 

In fact, that’s what workers at SA Water and Parliament House recently did when they received  poor offers. They voted them down and went back to demand a better offer. 

Remember, almost every public sector agreement is currently up for negotiation. This proposed separate agreement is the first one going to ballot. It’s the litmus test for all other agreements – including the Salaried Agreement. 

Don’t let the government get away with paying you less than you’re worth and removing your critical work conditions! VOTE NO.

Q. When will we get the voting ballot?

The ballot will open on Monday, 30 June 2025. The PSA strongly recommends that you VOTE NO, and that you encourage your AHP and AHA colleagues to VOTE NO too!

The PSA of SA is the union for Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) working in the South Australian Public Sector.

By joining the PSA AHP network, we can work together on the issues that matter, achieving better outcomes for AHPs and the community we care for. 

• Events & Activities - co-design events that you want to attend.
• Stay in the loop - our network helps members stay on top of new and relevant workplace legislation.
• Networking - take the opportunities to meet like-minded AHPs across the public sector. 

Join the AHP network today!

Help spread the word.

Download our AHP network flyer to email to a colleague or pin on your union noticeboard.

Download the flyer

SA Public Sector Allied Health Professionals and Allied Health Assistants are encouraged to come to a PSA online meeting this week, to learn more about why you should VOTE NO to a separate AHP AHA enterprise agreement.

Register for an online meeting here

All AHP/AHA employees are all welcome to attend. 

SA Public Sector AHP & AHA Online Meeting times:

• Tuesday, 24 June, 2025 at    12:00 noon
• Wednesday, 25 June, 2025 at    12:00 noon 
• Wednesday, 25 June, 2025 at    5:30pm 
• Thursday, 26 June,2025 at    12:00 noon 
• Thursday, 26 June, 2025 at    5:30pm 
• Friday, 27 June, 2025 at    12:00 noon 
• Monday, 30 June, 2025 at    12:00 noon 
• Monday, 30 June, 2025 at    5:30pm 
• Tuesday, 1 July, 2025 at   12:00 noon

If you can't make it to one of these meetings, but are still interested in receiving information on this, please get in touch email enquiries@psaofsa.asn.au  or call 8205 3200

AHP News Feed

To read more general Enterprise Agreement updates - check out our campaign page

1 July 2025 - What will happen when I vote NO to the AHP + AHA separate agreement?

30 June 2025 - VOTE NO: The ballot for the separate enterprise agreement for AHPs + AHAs is about to open

30 June 2025 - VOTE NO - why the AHP + AHA separate agreement is a bad deal

30 June 2025 - MEDIA RELEASE Allied Health workers sold out in proposed new enterprise agreement

27 June 2025 - VOTE NO: Allied Health Agreement - why the rush? You Deserve so much better

27 June 2025 - FAQs: Why AHPs and AHAs should VOTE NO on the separate agreement

24 June 2025 - Vote NO to the AHP AHA Separate Agreement Sellout

23 June 2025 - Urgent Meeting invitation to all SA Public Sector AHPs & AHAs re: Separate Enterprise Agreement and potential ballot

16 June 2025 - The PSA rejects the so called 'Final' offer for public sector Allied Health Professionals and Allied Health Assistants

1 May 2025 - Government’s True Colours Revealed In Revised Offer For AHPs-AHAs

24 April 2025 - AHP—AHA Separate Enterprise Agreement – Revised Offer

28 March 2025

PART 1

On Tuesday 18 March 2025, the PSA met with SA government enterprise agreement negotiators to advocate for the PSA’s position and the matters of importance for our members. 

In short - The PSA told the SA government:

• The PSA supports keeping a single agreement for all salaried employees / SA public sector workers
  
  
• A significant wage increase is the no 1# priority for PSA members, as our members have experienced an 8-10% decrease in the real value of our wages. Making up the difference of this needs to be the starting point BEOFORE additional wage increases are applied to keep above inflation in future years.
  
  
• Attraction and retention remain a significant issue to address
  
  

Read more about the rest of this meeting with the SA government here: EA Update - Appaling Separate Agreement Offer - Part 1

28 March 2025

PART 2

On Thursday 27 March 2025, the SA government wrote the PSA, providing an offer for a new separate enterprise agreement for AHPs and AHAs. 

Prior to this letter, the PSA had not been provided with these terms, are are appalled by them.

This offer in short:

• Slashes job security protections - that we fought hard to protect last EA
• Wages that don't address the 10% decline of 'real wage value' that SA public sector employees are experiencing
• An outrageous proposal to BAN industrial action during disputes 

And this is just the start of it, get the full details here Read:  EA Update - Appaling Separate Agreement offer - Part 2

17 March 2025  

• Meeting Notice: PSA Enterprise Agreement Update | Important PSA Health Worksite Representative Session about AHP and AHA Matters 
  Following our recent successful Zoom meetings for all PSA Allied Health Professional (AHP) and Allied Health Assistant (AHA) members across the public sector, the PSA is now holding a specific Health Worksite Representative session.
  
  This session is for those Health Worksite Representatives who represent AHPs or AHAs in their worksite, or who interact with AHPs and AHAs.

14 March 2025

AHP and AHA Separate Enterprise Agreement Meeting held today.  

Whether there is a single agreement or a separate agreement, the PSA remains the only union who can enter into an agreement on behalf of members.

A single agreement or a separate agreement will have no effect on your PSA membership, nor the PSA’s commitment to represent you as a member, nor our determination to achieve an agreement that meets your needs.

At the meeting, PSA General Secretary Natasha Brown asked the government whether the current Salaried Enterprise Agreement would form the basis of negotiations for improvements in their proposed separate agreement. In response, the government would not commit to retaining all the conditions currently contained in the Salaried Enterprise Agreement.

The government did not provide any further details about what may or may not be included in their proposed separate agreement. Instead, they stated that they would meet with the various interested parties separately. The PSA has requested a further meeting with the government as soon as possible.

The PSA will not accept any reduction in conditions for our members.

PSA General Secretarys Statement – AHP and AHA Separate Enterprise Agreement Negotiations 14 March 2025.pdf from PSA General Secretary Natasha Brown as delivered to the meeting held today, 14 March 2025, for negotiation of an enterprise agreement exclusively for AHPs and AHAs. 

Read the full update here 

24 February 2025

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR PSA MEMBERS - GOVERNMENT MOVE IS UNDERMINING, DIVISIVE, AND POLITICAL

The government last week issued a new Notice of Intention to Negotiate an Enterprise Agreement for Allied Health Professionals and Allied Health Assistants across the public sector.

This is the most hostile approach from a government in more than 25 years of negotiating the salaried agreement. It is a clear attempt by the government to “divide and conquer” their own workforce.

This is the government which still refuses to acknowledge that PSA members are suffering from a cost of living crisis, and refuses to accept that significant wage increases are required to address PSA members’ issues and the current attraction and retention crisis plaguing our public sector.

Allied Health Professionals and Allied Health Assistants are currently part of the salaried agreement. They are PSA members who the PSA represents and for whom the PSA advocates and negotiates. The employer’s notice does not change this.

The position of the PSA and our broad membership remains for a single agreement for all those employees covered by the current salaried agreement. This position is derived from the thorough all-member engagement the PSA undertook in the lead-up to these negotiations. It was confirmed by PSA members’ elected PSA Council through the union’s democratic processes. It was not determined by the whims of a few individual members.

Read the full update here

19 February 2025

SA Government opts for division

The government today has issued a new Notice of Intention to Negotiate an Enterprise Agreement for Allied Health Professionals and Allied Health Assistants across the public sector.

This is a serious development which signals the government’s preference to create division and disruption instead of dealing with PSA members’ critical issues.

Read the full update here