Everywhere you look, essentials like groceries, fuel, and housing prices just keep rising but our wages haven’t kept pace. Have you been feeling the squeeze? You're not alone. Our recent survey told us that 94% of workers in professional admin roles feel that their wages leave them behind in relation to the cost-of-living. Every worker deserves a job that provides not just for the present but also provides security for the future. Without a significant pay rise this year, we'll see wages slip even further behind. The Annual Wage Review is on the horizon, where wages for millions of Australian workers are determined. It’s the ONLY guaranteed wage increase in the economy. The ASU is standing up as your voice for better wages. It's through our collective strength as union members that we've seen real wins. Last year we secured an 8.6% increase for minimum wage workers and a 5.75% boost for those on Award wages. This year, it’s still just as important and your support is crucial. Together, we've proven we can make a difference. Union members typically earn up to 32% more than non-members, a testament to the power of collective action in negotiating better pay and conditions. Join us as we gear up for the 2024 Annual Wage Review. Sign the petition for a 5% pay rise now!

More than 60 per cent of doctors surveyed have reported making a clinical error due to exhaustion. Our doctors are fatigued, overworked, and suffering from stress and mental health problems. Overworked and underpaid healthcare staff leads to an unsafe and unsustainable healthcare system for both patients and the workers. Without proper support or work / life balance, many doctors in training are leaving the industry altogether. Victoria’s junior doctors are not asking for a pay rise - they are simply asking to be paid for hours they have already worked. Use the form to send a letter to Hon. Mary-Anne Thomas (Minister for Health), let the Victorian Government know that the wage theft from junior doctors needs to stop.

Hundreds of refugees are being threatened with a minimum of one year in prison if they refuse to cooperate with efforts to deport them, under a new bill introduced by Labor. This bill passing would mean refugees who don't cooperate with the government's attempt to deport them could be fined almost $100,000 and imprisoned. Labor have made this disgraceful move after the high court ruled it was illegal for the government to indefinitely detain refugees like this in Australia. If people on bridging visas, without visas, or in immigration detention fail to comply with a directions from the Immigration Minister to assist in their own deportation will be a criminal offence carrying a mandatory minimum of 12 months in prison, a maximum of five years, a $93,900 fine, or both imprisonment and a fine. One of the refugees currently at the centre of this case is known as ASF17 - a bisexual Iranian man who the government are currently attempting to deport back to Iran, where he will face certain persecution and fears for his life. ASF17 has been held in indefinite immigration detention in PNG since he fled Iran to Australia in 2013. The government justifies his detention on the basis that he has refused to cooperate with Iranian authorities to receive the necessary travel documents to be deported. Now, ASF17 is at the centre of a legal case which will be heard by the high court in April, arguing that refugees in his position should be covered by last year's high court ruling declaring indefinite immigrant detention unlawful. The response of the Labor government has been to brutally double down on their anti-refugee politics. This is a disgrace - everyone fleeing persecution and oppression in their home countries should be welcome here. We Demand: - STOP the Migration Amendment (removals and other measures) bill - Allow refugees in Australia without visas, or with any kind of temporary visa to have PERMANENT protection in Australia, without threat of deportation - END the racist cruelty of the Australian government toward refugees Petition Authored by the National Union of Students Queer/LGBTQIA+ Department, Monash Student Association Queer Officers, and the Tamil Refugee Council

Australia is at an important juncture. It is long past time for the Federal Government and state/territory governments to work together to invest in and reform the early childhood education and care system, so that every child has a guarantee to the best start in life. When children attend preschool they can expect greater academic success, have better career prospects, better health outcomes and stronger family and personal relationships. Right now, access to two years of preschool is dependent on where you live. Because some states/territories are rolling this out, while others are not. Australia needs a national plan, so that all children around the country can access two years of high-quality public preschool, no matter where they live.

Every worker in Australia needs to be safe at work and earn reasonable wages - no exceptions. When workers bravely stand up against unfair and unsafe work practices, businesses should listen - not dismiss them! As fellow workers in transport, hospitality, and all other sectors, we commend Zhuoying's brave stand. We demand Hungry Panda reinstate her shifts and listen to the workers who have built the company's wealth!

Paramedics are currently bargaining with Ambulance Victoria and the Jacinta Allan Government for a new enterprise agreement. We are asking for improvements to wages, conditions, valuing MICA, better rural resourcing, and incentivising longevity in the job. But for many members, the most important claim is simply the ability to get home after the shift ends. Our members are forced to work hours of involuntary overtime every day, either because they are ramped at a hospital, or dispatched to a case minutes before the end of shift and sometimes after their rostered finish time. That may seem reasonable in an emergency and any ambo you ask will tell you they expect to work overtime when a patient urgently needs their skills. But our call taking system categorises people who call 000 because they couldn’t afford a GP as an EMERGENCY. Ambulance Victoria have trumpeted that an ambo workplace is an inclusive, family friendly workplace. But our members work over 800 hours of forced overtime every single day. This means that picking up kids, getting to a sporting game or parent teacher interview is not a commitment any ambo can make. Members are ignored when simply requesting an on-time finish. One member was dispatched to a non-urgent patient in a health facility three minutes before the end of shift. The paramedic pleaded with Ambulance Victoria management that she had to pick up a child from daycare but was refused. Another colleague had to go to the childcare centre to take care of the baby until the paramedic finished over an hour late. Recently Swinburne and RMIT surveyed Victorian Ambulance Union members and the number of ambos looking at leaving the job in the next year has climbed to one in five. That’s already in a workforce where over half the paramedics have been in the job for less than five years. This is not sustainable for the workforce, but sadly, that’s what happens when ambos are asked to choose between their job and their family. Ambos are dedicated to saving lives. Please support us by signing this petition and help ambos have a life too.

The NSW Crime Commission recently reported billions of dollars of dirty money are being laundered through NSW poker machines each year while pokies fuel a growing health crisis of addiction that is tearing families and communities apart. Working-class communities are the most heavily impacted by poker machine losses with adults in Canterbury-Bankstown, Fairfield and Cumberland LGAs in Western Sydney losing almost $3,000 each year to pokies. The gaming industry is relentlessly transferring wealth out of our communities and concentrating it into the hands of a few or sending it offshore through machines that are proven to be highly addictive. Add your name to send a clear message – NSW needs urgent pokies reform now.

The Club provides an affordable space for community participation and connection, essential during the current cost-of-living pressures, which we know increases the risk of isolation, leading to greater social issues. Both Federal and State governments have made financial contributions to the Club for infrastructure upgrades. It’s time Council got on board. We call on Council to join strong supporters, local MPs Ged Kearney and Sheena Watt, to invest in the Club by way of a long-term lease. We, the undersigned residents of Darebin, urge Council to – • Recognise the Preston Reservoir Bowls Club as a valued community asset • Spare community assets like the Club from falling victim to Council’s financial bottom line • Assure residents that the Club will not be sold for private development • Demonstrate its commitment to community assets by investing in the Club through a long-term lease. This is not a big ask. It is an opportunity for Council to demonstrate its commitment to residents of Darebin, and particularly the community of Reservoir. This petition is proposed by – Mr Stephen King, Preston Reservoir Bowls Club, 75 Leamington St Reservoir.

Some of us have been paid the same rate of $42.50 per class for 15 years service in the brand. While fees for club members and company profits go up, our pay remains the same. Cost of living is at an all-time high and we are struggling to make ends meet. GFIs are educators, community leaders and athletes who are deeply passionate about the work they do. It is time FLG recognised this and commits to a wage structure that is fair and sustainable. Union members are asking their community to stand with them and sign and share this petition.

HungryPanda is punishing Zhuoying for speaking up about delivery rider conditions. Now she is unable to afford rent and is relying on food from her housemates. The company thought punishing Zhuoying would silence her - they were wrong. Zhuoying is determined to continue the fight for herself and other workers in the gig economy. Undeterred by HungryPanda's relaliation, she continues to organise and plans to protest in the coming weeks. We can't let HungryPanda's patterns of exploiting riders continue.

I was a formwork carpenter working in the building industry when an injury to my foot landed me 5 days in the ICU and nearly 8 weeks in hospital. Over the next 6 years I had a further 8 operations. After 130 weeks on WorkCover I was still limping around and waiting anxiously for operations to relieve my pain. I don’t know about you, but I know I certainly didn’t have enough of my own savings to support my family through all that time. Without WorkCover and the building industry’s entitlement scheme, I would have lost everything. Recently I learned that the Victorian Labor Government is proposing huge changes to WorkCover – cutting injured workers off the scheme at 130 weeks and rejecting all stress and burnout claims. Please, use the email tool here to tell Minister Danny Pearson to abandon the proposed changes. We have strength in numbers.

There are currently some misconceptions which surround how part-time and online student study. People choose to study online for a number of reasons but common reasons include; distance from campus, care responsibilities, looking after young kids, mental health barriers (e.g. severe anxiety), having access requirements because they are living with a disability and a range of other reasons. With the new University Accord just around the corner, the majority of the Federal Government's proposed suburban study hubs are in low-SES areas where many of the abovementioned barriers to education present a real challenge to students coming onto campus. This concession would largely affect these low-SES students and allow them to access such study hubs. Just because someone studies online does not mean they don’t leave the house, oftentimes these students will seek out study hubs, local libraries and other places with strong wifi, IT equipment and quiet spaces away from home. Unfairness also occurs where some students struggle and drop from a full-time to part-time load. This means they are no longer eligible for public transport concessions and must suffer as a result of taking a practical step to improve their grades and look after their mental and physical health. The public transport concession system should give concessions to all who forgo employment and income to seek a university education. We need a fairer public transport concession system for all students.