As service-wide bargaining enters its final stages, APS employees will see changes to terms and conditions of employment by the end of April, including:
- steps to reduce pay fragmentation across the APS, creating a new base salary structure that reduces the average fragmentation from 25% to 13%
- changes to parental leave entitlements, including an increase to 18 weeks paid parental leave for both caregivers by the end of APS agency enterprise agreements
- improvements to flexible working arrangements allowing better support for the needs of APS employees, helping them to balance their work, personal and family priorities.
The principles and objectives of APS bargaining included taking steps to unify the APS and to assist in mobility and the attraction and retention of staff across the service. APS bargaining was underpinned by the key principles of fairness and equity, with employees overwhelmingly voting in favour of enterprise agreements.
The success of the APS bargaining process marks a significant milestone in Workplace Relations reform, which works towards positioning the APS as a model employer and employer of choice.