Better Workplaces

Better UNSW

After more than 18 months of campaigning by NTEU members, we’ve achieved a fantastic outcome for ALL UNSW staff. The more of us stand together, the more posititive changes like these we can win.

If that sounds good to you, why not STAND WITH US.

What’s in the Agreement?

Fairer pay

Pay increase of 18%

Following an administrative increase of (1%) made after the expiry of the current agreement we have secured:

6% on commencement of our agreements
3.5% 1 July 2024
3.5% 1 July 2025
4% 1 July 2026

These increases provide 18% across the life of the agreement, and provide the highest per annum increase in University agreements so far of 3.93%.

Better workplaces

Job security improvements for ALL staff

Involuntary retrenchment will be a last resort – this commitment will save jobs in any future restructure – and future workplace change documents have to show members how mitigation against forced job loss has occurred.
256 secure jobs for UNSW casuals – 90 professional staff and 166 academic staff secure jobs for UNSW casuals, equating to at least 20% of 2021 casual numbers.
Fixed term employees may apply after 2 years and will be converted to continuing work after 3 years when meeting criteria for ongoing work and satisfactory performance.
140 jobs for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees excluding casuals.
Right to apply to continuing contingent employment for Professional Staff Research staff after 3 years instead of 5 years.
Intellectual Freedom protections which ensure academic AND professional staff cannot be subjected to misconduct or serious misconduct when exercising intellectual freed.

Workload protections for ACADEMIC staff

Introduction of the commitment that an employee’s allocated workload can be undertaken in an average of 35 hours per week (1610 per annum).
Teaching activity protections such all modes of teaching delivery measured in hours, a broad definition of teaching activity in the limitation clauses, teaching reductions for new employees.
Allocated teaching activity work will be approximately 644 for a teaching and research academic and 1288 for an EF academic AND an EF can propose to do pedagogical innovation, discipline related education research and scholarship and reduce 1288 by 322 – this will not be unreasonably refused.

Workload protections for PROFESSIONAL staff

The agreement replaces current right to make a complaint with enforceable workload protections and review rights for individual and collective professional staff workloads.
UNSW will take reasonable steps to ensure that workloads are managed in a fair and equitable manner within the relevant work unit.
Workload review will consider the duties required of the position or positions, the hours worked to achieved required work compared with hours allocated, whether tasks require modification or reallocation without impacting classification, and other relevant matters Professional staff members have also won a workload review after restructure.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander members have workload protections and recognition of cultural load.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Employment

Increase in cultural leave from 5 days to 10 days paid leave
Introduction of dedicated employee to oversee efforts to to achieve targets
Extension of language allowance to casuals
Increase in financial compact from 1.5 million to $2 million
Introduction of cultural load recognition in workload and payment for additional work
Shift to use of ‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander’ instead of ‘Indigenous’

Better work/life balance

Gender Affirmation leave of 30 days per annum.
Stronger protections and greater clarity for work performed by academic casuals.
Right to disconnect from work (email, SMS, phone etc.) outside work time.
Introduction of on‐call rights and regulation for Professional Staff.