Interpreters are vital to ensuring access to justice, healthcare, and essential services.  Interpreters facilitate communication between people with limited English proficiency, Deaf and hard of hearing and the public sector professionals they interact with in important, or even critical, life situations. Court Services Victoria and Language Service Providers (LSPs) are cutting interpreters' pay and reducing their hours, adding stress to an already demanding job.    Under the RNS, interpreters are considered officers of the court. Currently, the conditions faced by interpreters are well below any standard applicable to an officer of a court.   Recent changes undermine long-standing fee structures, leaving interpreters with a further degradation of their pay and conditions – pay and conditions that are not commensurate with the role, responsibilities and expectations quite rightly, of the professionals and community members who rely on them.   The Victorian Government initiated reforms to language services in 2018 which have yet to be completed. This has left the sector exposed to downward price pressure from Government agencies leading to aggressive competition among LSPs at the expense of the workforce. This has a direct impact on outcomes in justice, law enforcement, healthcare and all service provision generally.   The Victorian Government’s failure to address procurement reform has led to further erosion of interpreters’ pay and conditions in the form of: • Reduced minimum engagements; • Covert changes to fee calculation, resulting in lower rates of pay; • No increases to recommended rates in 6+ years; • Reduced pay for working remotely despite its increased complexity. For the justice sector and the community, this means: • The language services sector is becoming unsustainable because: • Experienced interpreters are leaving the sector. • Graduates are not entering the profession due to the poor conditions. • Failures can occur in the administration of justice due to: • Communities being disadvantaged by an absence of procedural fairness in the justice system. • A system that discriminates. • Government and their agencies will be in breach of their own multicultural, access and equity and inclusion policies. • All community services will be jeopardised similarly to the legal sector. • The greater financial consequence of system failures will be borne by the taxpayer. Judicial Council on Diversity and Inclusion Recommended National Standards (RNS) The RNS were produced by a specialist committee appointed by the former JCCD (now the Judicial Council on Diversity and Inclusion - JCDI) comprising Interpreting and Legal Experts, with its first edition published in 2017 and the second in 2022. The RNS are endorsed by the Council of Chief Justices of Australia. Their purpose was to develop frameworks, best practice advice, and resources to support procedural fairness and equality of treatment for all court users throughout Australia. The Implementation of the RNS is not only vital to promoting and ensuring compliance with the rules of procedural fairness. The RNS are concurrently intended to ensure that the interpreting profession throughout Australia develops to the benefit of the administration of justice generally. The RNS are not universally adopted in Victorian Courts. This is troubling, given the diversity of Victoria’s community, we would expect that Victoria should be leading the way. Regrettably, this is not the case. Join Us in Demanding Fairness for Interpreters and the Communities that they serve. All interpreters, translators, legal professionals, healthcare workers, and professionals who rely on interpreters at work, please sign this petition! Let’s show the Victorian Government that we stand together for justice, fair treatment, and the right to fair pay and conditions.   Get involved: Contact [email protected] for more information or to find out how to further support the campaign. Petition To The Legislative Council of Victoria: We, the undersigned residents of Victoria draw to the attention of the Legislative Council, the ongoing degradation of conditions and standards in Victorian Courts. We note the reduced terms of engagement for court interpreters by Court Services Victoria and the stalled procurement reform for this sector by the Victorian Government and the failure to universally adopt the Recommended National Standards for Working with Interpreters in Courts and Tribunals in Victorian Courts.   We, the undersigned residents of Victoria, therefore, request that the Legislative Council of Victoria call on the Victorian Government to:   1. Restore the previous engagement terms for interpreters in Victorian Courts, with half-day or full-day rates. 2. Adopt, fund, and implement the JCDI Recommended National Standards for Working with Interpreters in Courts and Tribunals, in full, within Victorian Courts and Tribunals. 3. Resume consultations towards procurement reforms for the language services sector to mandate higher standards in professionalism and quality. 

Medical librarians are highly skilled and specialized Allied Health Professionals who deserve to be treated with respect. The plan to transition the library to an infrastructure-only service (focused on e-resources, document delivery, and interlibrary loans) is short-sighted and disregards the valuable contributions of these dedicated workers. We, the undersigned, demand RMH reverses this decision and takes immediate steps to support Medical Librarians and all Victorian patients by committing to maintain the essential library service.

This affects everyone in Victoria because we all access this service.     The Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages Victoria has been recording significant life events for Victorians since 1853. The Registry and the people who work there are trusted custodians of our precious records, and there is no reason to change that.    The Registries of Births, Deaths and Marriages in every Australian State and Territory are all government owned and run as the important work they do is an essential public service.   Privatisation of publicly-owned assets doesn’t work and doesn’t benefit Victorians. Isn’t that why the Victorian Government has reclaimed ownership of the State Electricity Commission (SEC)?   Any further commercialisation of Births, Deaths and Marriages will mean the cost of registering and certifying a life event will increase - that’s what happens when profit is the motive for providing the service.    The security of our personal records is too important to be trusted to one or more corporations. The lack of care taken with our data by the private sector is laid bare with regular reports of data breaches - VicRoads, Optus, and Medibank for example, are all fresh in people’s memories.    We can’t afford for our most private records, like our birth certificates, to be trusted to anyone but the public service.   

Our hospitals rely on support services to keep running. If we don't have enough cleaners, infections in the hospital increase. If we don't have enough storepersons, the hospital runs out of medical supplies. If we don't have enough wardspersons, patients can't move around the hospital. Staffing levels are already dangerously low in Western Sydney. Allowing HealthShare to take over these jobs will only make things worse for our community.

To help bring a fair pay upgrade to the covid class of 2020. 

Australia's geography means our communities - regional and urban - depend on reliable, well-functioning airlines. Our citizens' ability to travel between cities and regional towns must not be dependent on market conditions or the whim of airline owners. If the Federal Government owned a stake in Rex - and appointed a "Safe and Secure Skies" Commission as an independent regulator as the Transport Workers Union have long called for - airline workers and the flying public would have a meaningful say in the decisions that impact our travel and our lives.  Regional communities rely on Rex. In many cases it is the only airline that goes to a range of small country towns. The Federal Government needs to consider buying an equity stake or outright purchasing the airline to ensure our regional communities aren't left behind without connections to major cities and other regional communities. Victorian, SA, NSW and Queensland Premiers have already voiced their support for Federal Government intervention to ensure Rex continues to operate. The Government needs to act now to save the airline and their hundreds of workers facing redundancy!

50 cent fares on Queensland’s public transport, introduced by the Miles Labor Government, provides much-needed temporary relief for many Queenslanders managing the rising cost of living – now it’s time to make 50 cent fares permanent! Public transport is an integral part of any modern city. Getting cars off the road reduces traffic, increases productivity, and minimises climate impact. Cheaper transport allows people to access training, jobs and medical treatment. It also helps connect socially isolated people with their loved ones and attracts tourism, bringing money into Queensland. Sign the petition now calling on parties to keep 50 cent fares indefinitely to keep our cities moving! Authorised by J. King, Queensland Council of Unions, 16 Peel St South Brisbane QLD 4101

Local governments across Australia are facing a severe funding crisis. This threatens the quality of local services and the livelihoods of over 200,000 local government workers.  Local government matters—more funding means better services and jobs. To continue delivering their important work, local governments need to be properly resourced. It’s crucial for the health of our communities and the well-being of our local government workforce.  It's time to support our local governments to build stronger, more resilient communities. The workers our communities rely on deserve good, secure jobs.  Take action now! Sign our petition to urge the Government to boost funding to local government. Together we can secure stronger communities for all Australians by ensuring our local services are properly funded and the critical workforce is properly paid and supported.  Join us in championing a fair funding model for local governments. Your signature can drive change and help sustain the vital services that keep our communities thriving. Sign the petition today! 

It is alarming that Council, comprised of progressive councillors, has initiated this sale. The sale like all privatisation decisions will put at risk workers, conditions and job security.  Citywide workers have told us the following reasons that we should all oppose privatisation of these services:  1. Job Security: Outsourcing threatens the job security of ASU members, who devoted their carers to providing quality services to the community. 2. Quality of Services: ASU members have the expertise and commitment to maintain high standards of work and services. Selling off our services to a private company will lead to a decline in quality. 3. Economic Impact: Keeping jobs within our community supports the local economy and ensures that ASU members can continue positively to it. 4. Accountability: Outsourced services to a private sector such as Cleanaway won’t improve working conditions including wages 

We believe that maintaining in-house services is essential for preserving the integrity, reliability, and quality of the services we provide. We urge the council to reconsider any plans for outsourcing and to explore alternative solutions that protect our jobs and maintain service standards. We stand united in our commitment to the community and to the values of fair employment and quality service provision.

We are working people - but there are times when any of us can be between jobs or in a tough spot financially. At those times, we need the support of our community. As working people we are proud to support our families, friends and neighbours who are doing it tough - and we are proud to have built Australia's social safety net. But right now Australia's safety net is failing. People on Jobseeker and Youth Allowance are being forced to skip meals and medication.  This has a devastating impact on people's mental and physical health when they are already in a tough spot.  We call on the Australian Government to raise the rate of Jobseeker, Youth Allowance and Rental support, and repair our social safety net.

We respectfully ask that the Queensland LNP stop trying to dig up culture wars to divide us, and announce some policies that actually benefit Queensland communities.