ASU members have Saved Equal Pay!

08 October 2020

On Tuesday night the Federal Government announced that they would lift base funding in Department of Social Services Grants to cover the costs for Equal Pay wages won by ASU members in 2012.

From 1 July 2021, the Federal Government has committed to more than $44million per year to lift base funding in Department of Social Services to cover the Equal Remuneration Order for Equal Pay.

This covers the following Federal programs funded by Department of Social Services:
  • Youth
  • Disability
  • Families
  • Financial Counselling
  • Emergency Relief
We are informed the commitment to cover ERO in base funding is beyond DSS. For example, it is already in Attorney General’s Department funding.

What does this mean?

  • We’ve won our campaign to save frontline jobs.
  • We’ve won our campaign to stop pay cuts.
  • We’ve won our campaign for recognition of your essential work in social and community services.
  • You campaigned, and the Government has listened.

This is a fantastic victory for ASU members, but there’s still work to do.

We need to make sure that this decision applies across all Federal Departments, and that no job is left out or service missed. Our particular area of concern is Partnership Funding where Federal and State Governments have shared funding arrangements, especially Housing and Homelessness.

We need to contact State Ministers to get them to call on Federal Government to meet this commitment in Partnership negotiations, so that no job is left out or service missed in our victory for Equal Pay.