Caleb’s story is a classic case of a client and employer using the labour-hire relationship to trash a worker’s rights. Caleb has now filed an unfair dismissal application in the Fair Work Commission and is being assisted by his union.

The waterways in and around Sydney, as well as the water we drink, are kept safe, clean and affordable by Sydney Water, which operates for the public. Making our harbour, coastline and drinking water a source of profit puts this at risk. If Dominic Perrottet and the Liberals privatise Sydney Water: • Water rates will go up by $264 a year; • Thousands of jobs will be lost; • Our pristine beaches and waterways are at risk. Don’t risk our water. Add your name to send a clear message to the NSW Premier – hands off Sydney Water!

“I have a neurodiverse child with multiple diagnoses. He’s been on a waiting list since before Kindy. We’ve only just been able to start seeing a specialist – but not in Tasmania. We’re seeing a private specialist interstate, via Zoom. We desperately need more Allied Health Professionals to support kids who are doing it tough.” – Thirza, Parent, Secretary (CPSU Tasmania) Allied Health professionals in schools are essential to give kids with learning and developmental disabilities the best start in life. Getting access to quality care early in life gives kids the best chance to adjust, succeed and flourish. An estimated 1 in 20 Australian children struggles with an anxiety disorder¹; 15-20% of Australians has a language-based learning disability². Early years are our first and best chance to give kids dignity and support to succeed. Tasmania also has the third highest rate of children and young people in Out-of-Home Care. Only a fraction of those we miss will ever seek help later in life. They go on struggling, in silence. Getting access to a Social Worker, Speechie or Psychologist early on can make all the difference in the world. “1 in 8 Australian primary school students has a communication disorder of some kind. We have 31 speech pathologists to service every public primary school and support school in the state. That makes our ratio 116 to 1, at best. We’re not talking about a little bit of understaffing - we’re talking about chronic, long-term vacancies.” - Sarah, Advanced Skills Speech & Language Pathologist, Tasmania Please sign our petition to call on Premier Rockliff to ensure Allied Health Professionals in schools, child safety and youth justice aren’t left behind. ¹ https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/children-youth/australias-children/contents/health/children-with-mental-illness ² https://dyslexiaassociation.org.au/frequently-asked-questions-2/

Housing and homelessness services are at a crisis point. Services across Australia are already struggling to respond to everyone who needs help. Right now, 288 people are turned away every day. Rising rents and an inadequate supply of affordable homes is putting enormous pressure on the frontline staff and services who respond to people in need. These cuts will directly impact highly vulnerable people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, including women and children escaping domestic and family violence and young people without homes. We call on the Albanese Government to properly fund homelessness services so people in urgent need can get help, and workers can be paid properly to provide a critical service. Don’t close the door on homelessness services!

Your collective employment agreement (EBA) has expired meaning you're in an effective pay freeze until a new agreement is negotiated. We want improvments to pay and conditions for all VU members and staff and need you to sign this petition and let VU management know it's time to make a fair deal.

Online options were ‘too hard’ before 2020, and then they came within a week, and then they were taken away as quickly as they were given. Many members of our community depend on these options being available such as those who are immuno-compromised and cannot risk exposure to disease, especially when universities do not have open windows, air purifiers or a mask or vaccine mandate in the classroom. Universal Design (‘UD’) — specifically, Universal Design for Learning (‘UDL’) — is a research-backed pedagogy and curriculum framework which enables equitable access to education for all students, including students with disabilities and other students from diverse, minoritised backgrounds. For disabled students, implementing UDL would ostensibly ensure that they can ‘engage with the curriculum without having to seek adjustments’ (see ‘Recommendations for equitable student support during disruptions to the higher education sector: Lessons from COVID-19,’ Mercer-Mapstone et al 2022,). Hybrid, flexible education — also known as ‘hyflex’ education, as noted in Recommendation 2.1 of the ALSA-AMSA-NUS research report — entails offering educational delivery options for both in-person attendance and Work From Home (‘WFH’). Moreover, hyflex education can facilitate educational participation for not only disabled people but also women escaping domestic family violence (‘DFV’) or sexual assault, First Nations students in regional & rural Australia, international students, and other demographics for whom in-person attendance may not be the most safe & accessible. People from diverse backgrounds have value. Contrary to what many believe, disabled people can (and do) contribute to society and to building a better world. Imagine all the setbacks if Dr Steven Hawking couldn’t come to class because he couldn’t get his wheelchair in the door! Additionally, the tertiary education regulator, Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (‘TEQSA’), has announced that they will now enforce the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 (Cth) (‘ESOS’). Under ESOS in s 8.19, TEQSA is mandating that no more than a third of the education delivered to overseas students can be online or by distance. This decision from TEQSA means that if international students want to access regional, globally ranked education, they must return to Australia whilst there are COVID-19 outbreaks overseas, a rental shortage of affordable, student housing and a cost-of-living crisis. This forces numerous international students into a tricky conflict between their future and their present happiness. TEQSA doesn’t take individual complaints so the regulator cannot protect international students. That is why the government must step up. Likewise, online learning can be better for university staff. University staff with disabilities also face many of the struggles that disabled students do. Likewise, staff with caring roles for children or other dependents benefit from increased access to them by providing education online. Some universities do not have child-care options after 5pm, meaning that staff cannot afford to work a 9-5 with children because they have to rush to collect them. The higher education system relies on these staff and their incredible work to upskill the next generation.

Regional and local media is more important than ever. Our regional communities need and deserve journalism that is ethical, independent and trustworthy. Australian Community Media - which owns over 100 regional papers including Ballarat's 'The Courier' is trying to cut important conditions from the workers' Enterprise Agreement. One of these cuts includes walking away from the paper's commitment to abide by the MEAA Journalist Code of Ethics. The Code of Ethics protects sources, readers and journalists, and upholds journalism we can trust. It requires journalists to report honestly, accurately and independently, and upholds transparency and fairness. Removing it means journalists could be asked to prioritise advertising or commercial interests over accuracy and fairness, disrespect grief and personal privacy, place unnecessary emphasis on race, gender or other personal characteristics, or suppress relevant facts. Journalists at The Courier are fighting to protect their ethics, and they need your support. Sign the petition to tell Australian Community Media to support our community and our stories!

We, members of VAHPA the union for Allied Health Professionals, believe that Monash Health's propsed PAYG model fails to provide adequate parking for staff nor promotes more sustainable transport options. We want a model that is affordable and restricted to reserved staff use only to ensure we can all find a park that is safe and with minimal inconvenience. As a reminder, Monash Health's parking fee proposal is as follows: • $3 for first 4 hours, then 35c per half hour blocks up to 24 hours • No charge if user leaves car park within 15 minutes • Employees will not be disadvantaged if they leave and come back in the 24 hour period or if they travel between sites. • Employees and the general public will also have the option of paying directly via their credit card.

Bus drivers are currently working under immense pressure and poor conditions. They deserve decent conditions, fair pay and to return home safely to their families at the end of the day. Torrens Transit services over 80% of the bus network across Adelaide and the power they hold within the network is immense. Right now, Torrens Transit have a choice: will they be part of the solution and help turn our industry around? Or will they continue to drag their heels in the sand and hang their drivers out to dry? We need to get behind our hardworking bus drivers and let Torrens Transit know we support our drivers in their fight for a fair deal and a better bus industry! This is Our Public Transport Network. It's time to take a stand and turn it around. We must insist that it works for our community and for the people who keep the bus network running - our hardworking drivers.

From wound care, medication assistance to diabetes plans, Enrolled Nurses are essential for the health and safety of our loved ones in aged care. Leisure and Lifestyle workers play a vital role in ensuring older residents have dignity and purpose in their daily lives. They do it all, from outings for meals to co-ordinating the bingo or footy tipping, and running activities in arts, crafts, and music – all the stuff that makes aged care lively and rewarding for our loved ones. Food Services workers do a special and essential job. They make sure all residents get three nutritious meals a day, along with morning and afternoon tea. Lack of a nutrition in diet is already a huge issue in aged care. With these roles already stretched thin, care staff who are expected to do even more work simply won't be able to deliver warm and decent meals and drinks. As a family member I am deeply concerned about what my mother’s care could look like without these workers at SCC. The CEO and the Board should be ashamed. They must resign. Please sign our petition to send a strong message of support to residents, families, and workers alike.

Workers at Pampas have been languishing on labour-hire contracts, working full time, for 10, 15 and up to 20 years whilst being overlooked for permanent positions. Migrant workers like those at Pampas are the backbone of our food manufacturing industry. Workers across Australia are doing it tough, they need fair wages and secure jobs to survive. Pampas needs to come to the table and offer these workers a fair deal now.

Executives at iCare, the NSW Government agency responsible for supporting injured workers, will each be awarded an average $30,000 pay rise with the CEO receiving a $246,508 pay rise to put his salary at over $1 million. This is the reward executives at one of the worst performing government agencies in history get after underpaying 53,000 injured workers a total of $38 million and leaking the private details of almost 200,000 workers. Meanwhile, the Perrottet Government is capping the wages of essential workers below the cost of living after supporting our state through the COVID pandemic. Under the NSW Government, executives and politicians continue to enjoy massive pay rises over and above exhausted essential workers. Essential Workers Deserve Better. Add your name to tell the Perrottet Government to scrap the obscene wage increase and pay essential workers what they’re worth.