Independent assessments are intended to reduce spending on NDIS participants. They are part of government efforts to contain costs in the NDIS. These cuts will only increase the number of disabled people unable to access proper support and funding, and will force many disabled people into precarious positions. The cuts to the NDIS will also drive down pay and conditions for disability and mental health workers. The government says it will not introduce IAs until the second IA trial and further consultations have happened. But whatever they end up proposing, the government's plans are clear: to cut spending and exclude people from the NDIS. But we can stop them. Disabled people, disability and mental health workers, and our supporters can band together to show the widespread opposition to IAs and demand a fairer NDIS for all.

ASU members in the sector are calling on the Andrews state government to work with the ASU to implement the following reforms; 1. Secure Employment a. Set as a condition of funding that community sector agencies engage their staff as on-going staff rather than fixed term, other than for genuine fixed term staff leave replacements. b. Casual employment to only be used for genuine casual vacancies. 2. Workplace Fairness a. Set as a condition of funding that community sector agencies: i. Be bound by a codified DFFH dispute process similar to the COVID-19 dispute process ii. Have a family violence policy approved between the DFFH, ASU and the community sector iii. Agree to allow the ASU to access staff as part of the agencies’ induction process 3. Longer Funding Terms a. The government to fund agencies for at least 5 year terms as part of each program ( other than genuine pilot programs). 4. Sector Sustainability and Reform a. The state government should establish and resource a community sector sustainability and reform committee chaired by the lead Minister and with members including the ASU and DFFH community sector peaks. b. The committee should have oversight of; i. Sector wide workforce issues / requirements ii. Sector wide training issues / requirements Please sign the petition to tell the Andrews government that essential community service workers are not expendable!

Disgracefully the Andrews Labor Government has announced they plan to enter into a "joint venture" (ie privatisation) of VicRoads. VicRoads workers need your support! However you spin it, this will put jobs, wages and conditions at risk. We could also see big increases in registration costs, the closure of customer service centres, and your data made available to the private sector. ASU members have told us repeatedly that remaining in the public sector is the most important issue to them. It is important that these wishes are heard throughout this process, and we don’t have a Labor government forcing workers out of these good secure jobs. We call on the Government to halt this process, and to ensure all VicRoads workers remain in the public sector and do not pay the price for successive Government failures to deal with an ageing IT system.

The Commonwealth Bank is withdrawing their services from Logan Central Plaza, a move that will impact hundreds of local pensioners, not-for-profit groups, families and local business. Distressed residents from the local community are coming to me asking for help to reverse this mean-spirited decision. The planned closure is outrageous and lacking in community spirit. I regularly hold mobile offices at Logan Central Plaza and the queues to get into the bank can span the frontage of several shop tenancies. The people who frequent the bank then go on to spend money in the local shopping centre which in turn supports local jobs. Moving the bank away from the centre will move the spending capacity of local residents. This quiet closure of the local bank has come at a time when business is just starting to get on their feet post-covid, when pensioners are starting to feel confident about heading out to the shops for social outings and when families are receiving an income again. I have written to the Finance Sector Union and the Commonwealth Bank asking for a reversal of the decision. It is important to note that the staff from Commbank know locals, know their circumstances and know their challenges. A lot of clients are aged, come from CALD backgrounds and have trust in the staff that have been servicing their financial needs in a prompt and professional manner for years. I urge residents and community members to sign the petition and let Commbank know we need our local bank branches to be active in our community. Invest in us like we do in you.

For over 10 years, the Restaurant and Catering Association has been fighting to freeze hospitality wages. Year on year, submission on submission, they request that the Fair Work Commission hand out a 0% wage increase to restaurant and cafe workers. In 2020 they won – delaying our annual wage increase by 9 months. For the average Casual level 2 worker* that was a loss of $739.83 in wages and $70.28 in superannuation. They cited the pandemic as the cause for the delay. But looking into their submissions, they’ve been asking for a 0% increase as far back as 2011. And they’re asking for it again. “R&CA submits that any increase in the National Minimum Wage for those awards covered under the Group 3 tier should not occur until 1 February 2022.” Freezing the minimum wage again will result in a $980.72* wage cut to the average casual worker*. Another stab in the back for workers already facing the crisis of insecure and casual work. We can’t stand by and let them give us another wage cut. It’s time to stand together and fight for the future of hospitality. Sign our petition today to demand the pay rise we deserve this July. *working 3 weekday shifts and 2 weekend shifts at 7.6hrs per shift. *Assumming 1.75% inflation

Burnie's arts, cultural and tourism sector is growing. Despite a pandemic, Burnie has seen domestic tourism return, and international tourism is on the cards sooner than anybody previously thought. The City claims that their repeated deficits are to blame for these closures. These deficits were created through a reduction in rates, and they were planned for. These deficits are no surprise. Council’s deficit last financial year was just $340,000; just 1% of their annual budget. Council spent over $4 million on contract services last year and are expected to continue along this same trajectory into the future. Many of the services which were contracted out are services which could be done much cheaper in-house; such as cleaning, weed spraying, general construction and asphalt work. Additionally, Council wasted over $550,000 in just five months last year on architectural services for a new Museum and Art Gallery, which will be thrown in the trash if these proposed changes go ahead. It’s this wasteful approach to spending which is causing harm to the budget, not staffing these vital services for this community. The decision to close many of the city's cultural institutions is incredibly short-sighted and extremely damaging to the fabric of Burnie. Burnie City Council's employees worked right through the North-West's COVID-19 outbreak. The livelihoods of these dedicated, long term employees should be a key factor in any decision. These closures will decimate any progress made towards a better Burnie for everyone and will result in a complete loss of vibrancy in the City. The community have made their voices heard. Council has no mandate to close these services. The decision must be reversed.

Australian Services Union members throughout South Australia provide crucial library services to our local communities but State Government funding for our libraries runs out on June 30. If Premier Steven Marshall cuts funding to our libraries, local communities will lose access to: books, access to computers and community activities for new mums, the elderly and the wider community. Approximately 80% of the library workforce are women. Cuts to library funding will mean cuts to jobs when South Australia is facing the highest unemployment rate in the country. We need your support to save our libraries.

Scott Morrison’s visa system favours big businesses at the expense of working people. There are workers who have lived in this country for years, who have families and communities here, and every day do the work that keeps our country running - but who are stuck in limbo from temporary visa to temporary visa. Meanwhile, the government has enabled exploitative employers to churn through a vulnerable temporary migrant workforce with limited rights. We need a fair visa system that puts workers over profit, and that gives every worker a fair chance - no matter where we come from.

A good apprenticeship provides all the tools you need to get started in a trade, setting you on the path to a rewarding career. But these days, some apprenticeships can be like the Wild West, with cowboy operators not properly training us, leaving us unsupervised, stealing our wages or - worst of all - putting our lives at risk by forcing us to do unsafe work. I went through a lot of this during my apprenticeship. I was excited to start my Boilermaker apprenticeship. I said to everyone; I want to fabricate things, forge things and it's going to be really cool. But during my apprenticeship I'd be working inside these barrels, no ventilation, no extraction fans, nothing. I'd have a p95 mask and I'd be in there for four hours, but within an hour the thing would be black and you couldn't breathe through it. I'd ask the boss for a new one and he would ask why I'd needed it. Often there was no one supervising me and the boss wouldn't release me and the other apprentices so we could go to Tafe. Unfortunately, my story isn't unique. It's become so bad that only half of Victorian apprentices ever finish their training. This has to stop. I'm joining forces with other apprentices and young workers to campaign for change. Sign our petition to call on the Victorian Government to fix the apprenticeship system and protect all apprentices from abuse and exploitation.

The cuts come at a time when UOW is moving many classes online in what looks to be a permanent arrangement. Meanwhile, students are being made to pay the same fees for lower quality, online degrees which often resemble tuning in to a Youtube channel. Fees for many degrees are also increasing, with Arts fees doubling.

You may or may not be aware that, without any staff consultation, the University has recently opened up parking at the University to students, and at a cost lower than that for staff, which means there are potentially tens of thousands of students now competing for the spots where you used to park. Previously, students were able to park only after 3.00 p.m. It is apparent that the effects of these changes are already being felt and will only increase as more students become aware of the changes. The problem is particularly acute at the new Susan Wakil Health Building. Students from the nearby colleges are now using the already under-sized parking facility as a 24-hours-a-day garage. Staff there are finding it full even at 7.00 a.m, creating a knock-on effect as they seek on-grounds parking elsewhere. As the pandemic context is not resolved, and may rapidly change, this will likely funnel many staff onto public transport, many of whom travel considerable distances to get to work. The CPSU NSW is certainly not anti-student. However, the University must reverse this decision and ensure that all future decisions regarding staff parking are made only in full consultation with staff. The CPSU NSW has asked many questions of the University on this change of conditions. Including in relation to risk mitigation, disabled access, campus security after dark (in the context of walking potentially much further to your vehicle), parking revenue, caps, future parking plans, shuttle bus services etc. To date we’ve had no response. The University is the size of a suburb and has its own postcode. The CPSU NSW believes that staff should be able to park in the same suburb they work in. We believe that changes to staff parking conditions should be subject to staff consultation.

Our electricity generation system is undergoing rapid change as coal-fired power is replaced by renewable energy. We need this to happen fast to avoid catastrophic climate change, and so that Australia is not left behind in the shift to a new clean economy. Workers in the fossil fuel industry have contributed enormously to Australia’s wealth over generations. It is vital that they are not cast aside as we build a sustainable economy. Currently, decisions about power station closures and the replacement generation are largely made by big private companies driven by profit in a “free market” that gives no consideration to the interests of workers or the local community more broadly. To ensure the energy transformation is fair to workers and their communities, we need a National Energy Transition Authority that plans and coordinates all-of-government actions to make sure no worker and no community is left behind.