Final Proposal Received After 15 Months of Bargaining
After more than 15 months of protracted and often frustrating bargaining, we have now received the final proposal from the declared employer.
This moment is significant - not because the process has been easy or quick, but because it reflects the collective effort, resolve and persistence shown by members throughout one of the longest and most difficult rounds of bargaining in decades. Every meeting attended, every action taken, every conversation had at worksites and with colleagues has mattered. You should be proud of what you have helped achieve.
From where we started - and what we shifted
When this round of bargaining began, the trajectory was clear and deeply concerning. The government's position was a standardised outcome of:
3% in August 2025
3% in August 2026
3% in August 2027
This would have locked members into a three‑year agreement expiring in 2028, with a total increase of just 9% and no bargaining recommencing until then. That was the baseline we inherited.
Through our collective strategy and action, that position has been materially shifted.
The final proposal now on the table is:
3.75% in August 2025
3.5% in July 2026
3.25% in July 2027
Importantly, this is an 18‑month agreement expiring in July 2027, not a three‑year agreement. The life of the agreement is from the date of approval, which if approved, will be sometime in the new year.
Bringing the increases forward from August to July in two of the years creates a compounding effect. That shift alone is worth approximately an additional 0.7%, lifting the overall outcome from 9% to around 11.2%.
If an agreement is approved in the new year, the new pay rates will take effect as soon as Shared Services can implement them (this can take up to 12 weeks). Back pay for the increase effective from August 2025 will then be calculated and paid. Not long after, in July 2026, pay rates will increase again, and negotiations for the next agreement will also commence.
This did not happen by accident. It happened because members applied pressure, supported industrial action, and backed a strategy focused on leverage rather than acquiescence.
Just as critically, the 18‑month term means bargaining will recommence in July 2026. This finally breaks the cycle of negotiating with a wage increase perpetually hanging over members' heads. The significance of this cannot be overstated! It means we are no longer locked into long gaps between negotiations while cost‑of‑living pressures continue to rise unchecked.
For members currently paid below the Award, this outcome delivers an adjustment that is greater than the 3.75% increase applying from August 2025.
Specifically, those below the Award will receive either:
a $4,000 increase applied to the 2024 Award rate, or
an increase to 3% above the 2025 Award rate, whichever is the greater outcome.
As a snapshot, this equates to an increase of roughly 6.3% for ASO2 and OPS2 classifications, effective August 2025. For thousands of members who have been paid below the Award since 2022, this is a real and meaningful improvement with immediate impact on take-home pay.
Ending below‑Award pay - permanently
Another major and hard-fought achievement in this round is the firm commitment that no employee will be allowed to fall below the Award again.
Thousands of members have been paid below the Award since 2022. For those members, this is not an abstract or technical win - it is immediate, tangible and deeply significant. Finalising the agreement and rectifying those below‑Award rates has rightly been treated as a matter of urgency.
Context matters - and history matters
It is important to place this outcome in its proper historical context.
Over the last six years, members received just 6% in total. Many agreements before that delivered annual increases of only 1.5 - 2%. Against that backdrop, while some members may have wanted more this round, an increase of approximately 11.2% represents the strongest result in decades.
For comparison:
2021 agreement: 6%, with a 3-year agreement (including a two‑year wage freeze and four increases of 1.5%).
2017 agreement: 6.9% for those under $75k, and 4.5% for others, with a 2-year agreement.
2014 agreement: 7.5% with a 3-year agreement.
2012 agreement: 5.8% with a 2-year agreement.
2010 agreement: 7.2% with a 3-year agreement.
The last time members exceeded a 10% outcome was 2006, when a 10.5% increase with a 3-year agreement was achieved. The two-year wage freeze from 2019 to 2021 shows the risk of delay and reinforces that locking in our agreement before time passes further is the right strategic approach.
Seen in this light, the current proposal of around 11.2% over an 18-month agreement represents a genuine shift - achieved in far more constrained circumstances than in earlier periods. Our last pay increase of 1.5% was in August 2024, and there is no obligation for back-pay to August 2025. Allowing negotiations to continue into next year carries a real risk of losing August 2025 as the effective date for the first increase.
What made the difference
When the current leadership team took office, bargaining had already been stalled for 12 months with no progress. Within six weeks, a first formal offer was secured. Within four months, that offer was materially improved. Without industrial pressure, the government position would have remained a flat 9% over three years, expiring in 2028.
Correctional Officers played a decisive role in shifting the government's position for all cohorts. With approximately 95% density, they took four days of strike action, including the loss of four days' pay to be docked on Christmas Eve. That level of collective sacrifice materially changed the dynamics of bargaining and delivered benefits across the agreement, including the bringing forward of increases.
At the same time, this round began with much lower density in many ASO classifications. That reality remains one of the greatest barriers to achieving exemplary outcomes. High‑density unions win strong agreements by building power over time, agreement by agreement.
Looking forward - the work ahead
There is still much work to do. Over the next six months, the PSA will focus on:
Worksite representative training
Strengthening communication between representatives across agencies
Building confidence, capacity and density across all classifications
Corrections members themselves have been clear: collective power works, but it requires participation and leadership at every level. If we are to secure stronger outcomes in future rounds, that work must be shared.
Discussions regarding the detail of the final proposal are also not concluded. We are continuing to work through outstanding matters and are still negotiating aspects of the proposal in good faith.
This includes, for example, our clear position that the new ASO9 and ASO10 roles should continue to have access to overtime like other ASO levels.
These ongoing negotiations are one of the reasons the PSA has not yet gone out broadly to members on the final text. We are working to secure the strongest possible final agreement, particularly given the urgency of finalising the deal so that thousands of members who have been paid below the Award since 2022 can have that situation rectified as quickly as possible.
Delegate endorsement and recognising the last four months
It is also important to acknowledge that delegates at both of the two most recent delegate meetings explicitly recognised the achievements that have been secured in the last four months under new leadership at the PSA.
Delegates endorsed the strategy of holding firm for "one more push" to see whether further movement could be extracted from the employer. That strategy was successful. It delivered:
the gain of two months through bringing forward increases, with the associated compounding benefit
a stronger uplift for lower-paid classifications, particularly those previously below the Award
the removal of any capacity for ongoing underpayment, ensuring no member can fall below the Award again
We can be proud that, right up until the final opportunity, we have thrown everything at this enterprise bargaining round. This was the last realistic window to secure movement before the constraints of caretaker mode ahead of next year's election.
Delegates were clear: the outcome now on the table reflects the best possible result achievable in the circumstances, and it is our collective effort that has made this the strongest outcome members have seen in decades.
In closing
Members will hold different views about strategy and outcomes, and that diversity of opinion is both expected and healthy. What cannot be disputed is that this outcome reflects sustained effort, persistence and advocacy in extremely challenging circumstances.
This agreement materially improves members' position compared to what was on the table when this round began. It lifts wages well above the original trajectory, shortens the agreement term, brings bargaining forward, and ensures no member is paid below the Award again. This was the strong consensus at delegate/rep meetings.
You should be proud of what has been achieved together - and clear‑eyed about the work still ahead. Collective strength is built, not gifted. This round has laid the groundwork for what comes next.
We will organise Zoom sessions in early January, with one exclusively for regional representatives, to ensure they have full participation.
Work is continuing on the draft agreement, which will include further detail on increases for reconfigured classifications. We expect to confirm the ballot period soon, with a mid-January start currently anticipated.