Every day, social workers and occupational therapists stand alongside nurses in Victoria's public health system. We work in the same hospitals. We care for the same patients. We respond to the same crises. We help people recover, stay safe, and rebuild their lives. Yet we're still paid less. The Fair Work Commission has recognised that allied health professions have been historically undervalued because they are female-dominated professions.  Now it's time for Victoria to act.  Equal pay isn't about asking for more than we deserve. It's about recognising the value of the work we already do and if things don't change and the Victorian Labor government doesnt provide pay parity with our mental health nursing colleagues, 97% of social workers and occupational therapists will leave the public mental health system. Social workers support people through mental health crises, family violence, child protection concerns, homelessness, trauma, palliative care, and complex discharge planning. Occupational therapists help people regain independence after injury or illness, prevent hospital readmissions, support rehabilitation, identify support within the NDIS and enable people to live safely at home. These aren't "extra" services, they're essential healthcare. When experienced allied health professionals leave because they can earn more elsewhere, patients wait longer, services suffer, and communities miss out. We need the Victorian Government to deliver: •  Pay parity with our nursing colleagues where we perform equivalent work and responsibilities.  •  Fair recognition of the skills, qualifications, and value social workers and occupational therapists bring to public healthcare.  •  A workforce that can attract and retain experienced clinicians.  This isn't just about workers. It's about protecting the future of Victoria's public mental health system for consumers, carers and their families.  If you believe every essential mental health professional deserves equal recognition for equal value in the public mental health system, add your name. It's time for pay equity for social workers and occupational therapists.

Thousands of native animals in need of care come to our Zoos, and yet Animal Hospital admin staff who do vital community response and animal data entry work are being cut, pushing that workload onto Vets.   We have world class visitor experience and yet front of house staff will be replaced with digital ticketing machines.   We have informative and beloved school education programs and yet many education staff are being let go. We have iconic grounds that have served generations of visitors, maintained by leading asset managers and maintenance staff yet they too are set to be cut. And these are only a few examples of the impact these cuts will have.  We also risk losing the experience, expertise, memories and conservation legacy that make our zoos so valuable. We must act now to stop this short-sighted restructure, protect skilled zoo workers, and defend the future of Victoria’s zoos before irreversible damage is done.  This is one of Victoria’s most beloved cultural institutions and we must protect it for generations to come.  Now is the time to stand with Zoos Victoria workers and defend the services our community, wildlife and environment rely on. These workers care for animals, respond to wildlife emergencies after bushfires and floods, educate future generations, and deliver conservation work recognised around the world.  Add your voice today: tell Zoos Victoria management stop the cuts, protect every site, and keep conservation at the heart of Victoria’s zoos. Join the campaign to save Victoria's zoos! Email: [email protected]

Safety In recent years, Wyndham has seen a rise in violent crime. An unstaffed library could provide an easy place for criminal activity to occur. Few safety guarantees are being made about unstaffed hours. These safety issues mean that women, families and anyone vulnerable to racial, homophobic, transphobic or ableist violence may be uncomfortable accessing the library when it is unstaffed. People living with disabilities may not be able to access the space due to rules that prevent their carers visiting with them unless they have a membership as well. With no staff to help in a violent incident or medical emergency there is no guarantee the library is a safe place. Would you trust an empty library, late at night to be safe? Would you be happy to rely on the police or ambulance to arrive in time to help you if something terrible did occur while you were visiting an unstaffed library? Fairness Libraries are funded by your rates and tax dollars and are currently available to everybody during opening hours. By design, unstaffed library hours will not be accessible to all. We want increased library services for all. Not just access for a few! Using the library during unstaffed hours requires a separate membership restricted by age and vague criteria such as confidence using the library independently. Additionally, unstaffed hours will not be available at every library branch – if your local branch does not offer extended hours, you’re out of luck. Membership is not guaranteed upon application and can be blocked for any reason. It requires an induction process and agreement to a separate set of terms and conditions. No guidelines have been provided to prevent discrimination or bias in the selection process. Accessing the library during unstaffed hours may be unavailable to you if: • You are deemed not to meet the membership criteria. • You cannot find time to sit through a lengthy induction during staffed operating hours. • You require any assistance using the library. • Not every library branch will have unstaffed hours so one neighbourhood will have better access than others. Introducing unstaffed hours does not address existing geographic gaps in service within Wyndham or community demand for services requiring staff, such as weekend or evening programming and may be used as an excuse not to ever provide these services in the future. There is a great risk that this project will only benefit a small number of people and you may not be one of them! Is that fair and equitable access? Does it seem like a good use of your rates and tax money? Cheaper, lower quality service Unstaffed library hours are being pitched as an enhancement to existing library services at a fraction of the cost compared to extending staffed hours of service, opening new branches or extending outreach services. But as well as serving a narrower section of the community, the proposal explicitly provides a lower quality of service. During unstaffed hours, the library will not provide: • IT or equipment support. • Assistance dealing with library account issues. • Assistance with any issues accessing the library using your Open Libraries membership. • Access to collection items kept behind the library desk. • Library programs or events. • In-person support in the event of an emergency. Libraries in the future Your libraries are currently staffed for all opening hours and librarians spend all day helping people. One concern industry experts have about unstaffed hours is the potential damage to our industry and what libraries can offer our communities in the future. If politicians begin to believe that libraries don’t need librarians, it’s only a matter of time before staffed services are reduced in the name of cost-saving. After the UK introduced unstaffed hours, over 50% of librarians were replaced with unqualified volunteers – or nothing at all. If you love musical and literacy programs for your children, study assistance for your teenagers and IT help for those of us who find advancing technology challenging to keep up with, don’t let your libraries become just a building with books inside.  You deserve a library that has librarians in it – for every hour we are open. Please sign our petition and/or write to your local councillor to show your support for the people who support you. You can write your own email or use this template: Dear (Councillor’s name) I am writing to express my concern about the proposed Open Libraries project at Wyndham City Council.  My concerns are (include your main concerns here) and I believe that without community consultation there is no evidence that this will be a responsible use of the council budget.  I urge you to listen to your constituents and not support this project moving forward. Signed, Your name • Email: [email protected] • Email: [email protected] • Email: [email protected] • Email: [email protected] • Email: [email protected] • Email: [email protected] • Email: [email protected] • Email: [email protected] • Email: [email protected]

TasTAFE is where thousands of Tasmanians build the skills they need for work and for life. But right now, it’s being cut back—just when people need it most.  With tens of millions in savings demanded and more job and course cuts on the way, students are losing the support they rely on to succeed. These cuts mean fewer teachers, fewer courses, and fewer services—especially for those who already face the biggest barriers.  Students in regional areas, migrants learning English, creatives, and those retraining for new careers are all being hit hardest.  Support services like counselling and libraries are already stretched, and this will only make things worse. This doesn’t just affect students — it affects all of us. TasTAFE trains the workers our state relies on. By signing this petition, you’re standing up for students, staff, and Tasmania’s future.

Residential group homes are an essential public service for individuals living with disabilities. Homes provide a safe environment, supported by public sector workers who have dedicated their careers to caring for individuals with high support needs.    Privatising these services will force families to make agonising choices, separate clients from carers and leave 400+ public sector workers without jobs. 

After a year of negotiating in good faith, union members at Parks Victoria are taking action. They have repeatedly asked to be treated the same as any other public sector workers - but management aren't listening. They think that workers should be happy with the latest offer, which does nothing to address the reasonable requests of the workforce and would lock in insufficient wages and conditions for another generation of workers. For too long, public sector workers at Parks Victoria have been underpaid and overworked. For nearly 15 years, the hard working rangers, environmental scientists, and administrators of Parks Victoria have been held back by wages and conditions that are below other public sector workers. These are the people who manage the state’s extensive public lands, parks, and reserves, and ensure our natural environment is protected for generations of Victorians to enjoy. Crucially, these workers are also expected to provide essential firefighting and emergency response capability, working as an integrated part with other agencies in times of crisis; often operating in the worst conditions in some of the most remote regions in Victoria. These workers are the first responders in natural disasters, but last in line for public sector wages. By supporting this petition, you’re helping protect the workers who protect our natural environment.

This issue matters because transport is not optional for people living in supported disability accommodation — it is a fundamental support that determines whether people remain connected to their communities or become isolated within their own homes. For many residents, these buses are the only safe, reliable, and accessible way to attend medical appointments, participate in community activities, visit loved ones, shop for essentials, and maintain the independence, dignity, and routine that most people take for granted. The sale of these buses risks dramatically reducing residents’ access to healthcare, social participation, and community connection, increasing loneliness, dependence, and exclusion. Without reliable transport, people may miss appointments, withdraw from activities, lose confidence, and experience a serious decline in quality of life. For some, this decision could effectively leave them trapped at home, prisoners in their own accommodation with little meaningful access to the outside world. What makes this decision even more concerning is that these buses were originally provided to Scope at no cost by the Victorian State Government to support inclusion and community access for people with disability. Selling off assets intended to improve the lives of supported independent living residents, while withdrawing a critical service many depend on, sends a troubling message about priorities particularly on the backdrop of the Victorian Disability Sector Crisis. Share this petition to demand that Scope halt the sell off and the Victorian State government intervene! 

Liverpool deserves a council that is safe, stable and properly functioning for both workers and the community. This petition calls for action to restore safety, good governance and public confidence at Liverpool City Council. Liverpool City Council workers deserve to feel safe at work and supported while serving their community. Instead, ongoing dysfunction, public hostility and political conduct have created a workplace environment where staff report distress, harassment and fear for their safety. More than half of surveyed staff have considered leaving the Council.  When experienced council workers are driven out, the whole community feels the impact — from parks and libraries to roads, planning, customer service and support for vulnerable residents.

Parking and transport at Curtin are a serious barrier to students accessing their education. Students are spending up to an hour circling campus looking for parking, paying for more expensive bays, arriving late to class, and struggling to absorb rising costs during a cost of living crisis. Students should not be priced out of attending university because they cannot afford fuel, parking or the time it takes to fight for a car bay every morning. These are practical and achievable solutions. Other universities have already implemented measures like free carpool parking. Instead, Curtin students are being told to wait while simple proposals are bogged down in bureaucracy. The only thing stopping these solutions is the willingness of senior leaders to take this issue seriously. Students are doing everything they can to keep showing up during a cost of living crisis. Curtin must do more to support them.

These jobs aren’t just numbers on a spreadsheet.  These are the workers who keep our trains running, deliver vital support to children and families, provide security in our prisons and correctional facilities, and keep our schools, hospitals and emergency services running smoothly.  Every public sector job cut means:  • longer wait times,  • fewer services,  • more pressure on already overstretched workers,  • and another family who will struggle to pay their bills   At a time when people are struggling to pay the mortgage and fill up the car, the Liberals’ first instinct is to cut jobs and services. When the Liberals cut jobs and funding – it’s working families that pay.  Victorians deserve investment in strong public services — not cuts, privatisation, and job losses. We call on Jess Wilson’s Liberal party to reverse this decision immediately. Sign the petition & tell the Liberals to get their hands off our public services!  

Put simply, BCC workers are in the middle of a perfect (or imperfect) storm with the cost of living increasing and wages stagnating - a wage increase that provides financial relief for workers is essential!

Public transport isn’t a luxury, it’s how people get to work, school, medical appointments and home. Since Newcastle buses were privatised, services have been cut, reliability has dropped, and accountability has disappeared. Passengers are left waiting, missing shifts and rearranging their lives around a system that no longer works. Bus workers are under pressure, stretched across understaffed networks, dealing with unsafe workloads just to keep services running. This isn’t just frustrating, it’s impacting livelihoods, safety and our community. When services fail, it’s working people who pay the price. Bringing buses back into public hands means a system that puts people first, delivers reliable services, and supports the workers who keep Newcastle moving. That’s why this matters.