CPSU New South Wales

14/10/2025

𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐋𝐓𝐇𝐘 𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐒, 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐑 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐌𝐔𝐍𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐄𝐒
PSA CPSU NSW MENTAL HEALTH CONFERENCE 2025

We all know that healthy minds build stronger communities. Mental health is not just a personal issue, it’s a collective one. Every supportive workplace, every act of kindness, and every conversation that reduces stigma makes our workplaces fairer and our services stronger.

Nicole Jess, PSA President and Stewart Little, PSA General Secretary will welcome delegates and guests to the PSA CPSU NSW Mental Health Conference at 9:00am

We are honoured to have several excellent speakers today including:

• 𝗥𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗝𝗮𝗰𝗸𝘀𝗼𝗻, NSW Minister for Mental Health
• 𝗔𝗿𝗶𝗳 𝗢𝗻𝗴𝘂, Training Specialist in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Mental health and Wellbeing
• 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁 𝗘𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝘁𝘁, Founder and Director, The Change Room
• 𝗟𝗶𝗮𝗺 𝗢'𝗗𝘄𝘆𝗲𝗿, Team Coordinator, Work Health & Safety specialist, SafeWork NSW
• 𝗠𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗮 𝗕𝗼𝗱𝘆𝗰𝗼𝗮𝘁, Manager, Industry Partners, Aware Super
• 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗻 𝗠𝗰𝗟𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝗹𝗶𝗻, Physical Activity for Better Mental Health, PSA CPSU NSW
• 𝗟𝗶𝗮𝗺 𝗢'𝗕𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻, Assistant Secretary, ACTU
• 𝗖𝗵𝗹𝗼𝗲 𝗠𝗰𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗹, Ultra-marathon swimmer

Today is about listening, learning and acting, together. Because when our minds are healthy, our workplaces are safer, our communities are stronger, and our future is brighter.

13/10/2025

𝗪𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻 𝗦𝘆𝗱𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝗮𝗹𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 $𝟯𝗸 𝗮 𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗱𝗼𝗰𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄, 𝗮𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗺

As Western Sydney University (WSU) prepares to shed hundreds of staff, leaked documents have revealed it is paying consultants as much as $2,850 each a day.

Internal documents, seen by the ABC, show at least seven senior
consultants from a range of firms are being paid between $1,325 and $2,850 a day.

A single invoice for just over five weeks of work for one consultant totalled $85,000 at a rate of almost $3,000 a day, with the worker billing the university an extra $355 for "tolls and parking".

WSU is the latest university to experience protracted conflict between management and staff as the university prepares for 400 voluntary redundancies — more than 10 per cent of the total workforce of 3,500.

Universities rely on income from international student fees and are worried that the government's proposed caps on new international student numbers will limit growth in that revenue stream.

But now the Albanese government has abandoned plans for legislative caps on international students and in fact has a soft cap of 295,000 international students for 2026, up from 270,000 in 2024.

01/10/2025

19/09/2025

CPSU NSW members from Forestry Corporation were in PSA House today to discuss the future of their industry and the role plantation and native forestry has in NSW.

18/09/2025

𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐍 𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐒 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐔𝐍𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐘 𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐊𝐄-𝐔𝐏
Vice chancellor of University of Canberra, Bill Shorten, has urged Australia to create a system of specialist universities to nurture the innovation necessary to build a more resilient and complex economy.

“Reimagining our modern universities is not simply an architectural reform; it is a national security and foreign policy imperative,” he told the Australian Institute of International Affairs on Thursday evening.

UNSW (University of NSW) is developing a new campus in Canberra, similar to Shorten’s idea, offering a suite of degrees in highly technical and in-demand areas: cybersecurity, space, systems engineering, defence and national security.

Shorten also called for an overhaul of how credentials are offered, with faster learning pathways that speed up knowledge and skill acquisition to meet industry needs.

Personalised learning to upskill the existing workforce would “capitalise on new technologies, approaches and knowledge”, he said.

“We must break the tyranny of the three-year degree as the primary unit of educational currency,” Shorten said. “The future of learning is not monolithic; it is modular.”

That model would rely on a system of small and stackable credentials and modules to build subject credits, sub-degree qualifications that would lead to full degrees.

“This is not about devaluing a full university education, it is about creating multiple, flexible pathways to achieve it,” he said.

A system of highly specialised universities would nurture innovation that is essential to make Australia a more resilient and complex economy, he says.

18/09/2025

𝐓𝐚𝐦𝐚 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐄𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐋𝐢𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 University of Sydney. Her role is focused on developing information literacy, so she works with a range of staff to build this into curricula and is responsible for teaching classes too. Her role includes support that a lot of people don’t expect from libraries – delivering events to help students build social connections, food security initiatives, creative workshops, exhibitions - even helping students to borrow a laptop when their own breaks down. It’s a lot of problem-solving and helping people to navigate a big institution.

"University can be overwhelming, especially if you’ve moved from elsewhere or you’re the first person in your family to go to university," said Tama.

"The library is a central, safe space on campus that’s open late and free to access so students, staff and community members come to the library for help. That help doesn’t have to be about academic learning – we try to help wherever we can. We’re also great at finding information, so we help people to find, and connect with, the services they need," she said.

Without Professional Staff, universities can’t function. They are the hidden backbone of higher education, ensuring students succeed, research thrives, and Australia remains competitive in a global knowledge economy.

Library staff in particular build informed citizens, enable world-class research, and ensure equal access to knowledge. It's not an exaggeration to say that a nation that neglects its library workers risks weakening its democracy, economy, and culture.

Our members in libraries are true Champions of the State!

17/09/2025

𝐔𝐓𝐒 𝐕𝐂 𝐓𝐎 𝐂𝐋𝐎𝐒𝐄 𝐃𝐎𝐖𝐍 𝐒𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐎𝐋 𝐎𝐅 𝐄𝐃𝐔𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍
In an extraordinary move, Andrew Parfitt, Vice-Chancellor at : University of Technology Sydney is to push ahead with plans to shut down its school of education despite pleas from the state government to overturn the proposal.

Dozens of staff members were called to a meeting yesterday morning and told the university’s School of International Studies and Education would close and most of their jobs would disappear under the restructure proposal, which will be subject to a consultation period of at least four weeks.

The Community & Public Sector Union, which represents Professional Staff at UTS, is consulting with CPSU NSW members to find the best possible outcome.

Professional Staff at UTS, or at any other university in NSW, should contact the CPSU NSW Member Support Centre on 1800 772 679 or email membersupport@psa.asn.au

Staff were called to a meeting on Tuesday and told about the plans, to be officially unveiled tomorrow morning, which would “disestablish” the UTS school of education.

15/09/2025

𝐔𝐓𝐒: "𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐒𝐔𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐁𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐘 𝐈𝐍𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐄"
When UTS: University of Technology Sydney recently rammed through the purchase of 15 new laptops for people working on its $100 million cost-cutting program it sent the worst possible message to the 400 staff about to get sacked.

Here was the team leading vice chancellor Andrew Parfitt’s “Operational Sustainability Initiative” (OSI) getting preferential treatment when staff had for years been told to use recycled laptops or stick with old ones for five years instead of four.

A UTS spokesperson rejected a rumour floating around the sprawling university campus near Sydney’s central station that the laptops were for contractors from KPMG, the consulting firm paid $7 million to work on OSI.

What makes the laptop procurement decision problematic for Parfitt is that UTS had about 200 laptops in stock and ready for use. While the laptops in stock were not the new HP EliteBook 640 G11s named in the requisition order, they would have done the job.

Apart from showing a distinct lack of commitment to Parfitt’s austerity campaign, the person who approved the procurement order, chief information officer David Reeve, indirectly drew attention to long-standing flaws in the governance of IT assets at UTS.

Information technology risks loom large at University of Technology Sydney as it prepares to release details of a proposed $100 million cost-cutting program.

11/09/2025

PSA CPSU NSW Women's Conference 2025

03/09/2025

NATIONAL TAFE DAY is a day to remind ourselves of the unique role TAFE plays in Australian society and a day to reassert our commitment to TAFE as Australia's premier vocational training organisation.

Thank you to our members, all the incredible support staff who work for TAFE NSW. We will continue the fight for TAFE and for you.

28/08/2025

Members of the Aruma Delegate Committee met in Sydney yesterday (Thursday) to discuss their Enterprise Agreement and the state of the disability-support sector in NSW.

Disability-support workers perform vital work for some of the state's most vulnerable people. The CPSU NSW is proud to represent them.

20/08/2025

Members from across our union's diverse membership took part in Role of the Delegate training at PSA House this week.

What to know more about our training courses? Go to ​cpsunsw.org.au/training-you/