Office of the Commissioner for Public Employment

Bulletin 3 - Negotiations update - issued 14 May 2025

Negotiations update

Negotiations for the new NTPS Enterprise Agreement are progressing, with weekly meetings being held between unions and bargaining representatives.

Since bargaining commenced, approximately 250 union claims have been received. The parties are working constructively through these claims with a shared focus on ensuring workplace conditions continue to support a capable, committed and sustainable public sector workforce.

Drafting new provisions to improve conditions and workforce attraction

The parties have commenced drafting proposed new clauses aimed at improving conditions, addressing operational needs, and enhancing our ability to attract and retain employees across the Territory.

Proposed new clauses include:

  • CEO approval of payments
    • Allowing Chief Executive Officers to approve overtime and restrictive duty for all employees under the Agreement, including up to the Senior Administrative Officer 2 (SAO2), Senior Professional 2 (SP2), and Technical 6 (T6) levels.
    • Enabling payment of excess travel time for employees up to the Administrative Officer 6 (AO6) level.
  • Retention allowance
    • Introduction of a retention allowance (value to be determined) for employees based in Katherine and Alice Springs.
  • Remote locality review
    • Commitment to review remote locality provisions over the life of the Agreement.
  • Flexible work arrangements
    • Strengthened provisions to support employees seeking flexible work, with decisions based on reasonable business grounds.
  • Diversity and inclusion
    • A formal commitment to creating a workplace that values the skills and contributions of people from diverse backgrounds, including people with disabilities, seniors, and those from culturally and linguistically diverse communities.
  • Work health and safety
    • Consistent with the Work Health and Safety (National Uniform Legislation) Act 2011, improved measures are included to take reasonable and practicable steps to prevent and address psychosocial risks in the workplace.
  • Right to disconnect and job security
    • New provisions ensuring the right to disconnect to support work-life balance.
    • Improved security for fixed-period employees.
  • Community engagement and donor leave
    • Enhanced leave provisions for voluntary emergency management activities.
    • Blood Donor Leave expanded to include plasma donation.
  • Fair Work Act compliance
    • Updated clauses to reflect recent changes to the Act including Union Rights, Management of Change, Dispute Settling Procedures, and Individual Flexibility Arrangements.
  • Professional development
    • Earlier access to the higher Professional Development Allowance, reducing eligibility from five years to three years of service.

Determinations and by-law improvements

The parties are also progressing updates to include associated determinations and by-laws to improve clarity and entitlements in the Agreement. These include:

  • Outcomes of the shiftworker review, including 3.4% shift allowance and increased overtime and penalty rates
  • Outcomes of the classification review for physical, administrative, and technical roles that provided higher commencing salaries and increased progression to top of the salary range
  • By-law 8 – Long Service Leave inserted in the Agreement
  • Improvements to the Community Language Allowance
  • Overtime eligibility extended to the Professional 3 classification
  • Minimum superannuation contributions of 3 hours per engagement for casual employees

Review of restrictive provisions

The parties are reviewing provisions from the current Agreement that restrict the Commissioner’s statutory powers. Proposed changes include:

  • Removing the two-year limit for redeployee database inclusion
  • Replacing the requirement to seek agreement on changes to by-laws and determinations with a requirement for consultation

Further matters under active discussion

In addition to the above, bargaining representatives continue to discuss improvements to the Professional Excellence Scheme, the introduction of a similar recognition scheme for Technical Officers, and other outstanding matters.

Exceptional flexible work arrangements

The NTPS continues to support exceptional flexible work arrangements to promote a healthy work-life balance. These arrangements recognise the diverse needs of employees and the operational requirements of agencies. Current and proposed provisions support a wide range of flexible work options, including but not limited to:

  • Variation to full-time hours
  • Flex time
  • Compressed work weeks
  • Job sharing
  • Working from home
  • Leave at half pay
  • Purchase of additional leave

Employees considering flexible work arrangements are encouraged to submit a formal application. These requests must be considered by managers and can only be refused on reasonable business grounds. For work from home applications, only the Chief Executive Officer can refuse a request.

Further guidance is available via Flexible work arrangements | NTG Central (internal website for employees only).

Maintaining strong existing conditions

The NTPS continues to offer some of the most generous conditions in Australia, which will be maintained under the new Agreement. These include:

  • Recreation Leave – 6 weeks per year (7 weeks for shiftworkers)
  • Personal Leave – 3 weeks per year
  • Parental Leave – Up to 18 weeks for the primary caregiver and 2 weeks partner leave
  • Defence Service Leave – 4 weeks per year (6 weeks in the first year)
  • Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Leave – Unlimited
  • Foster and Kinship Carer Leave – 10 days paid, 10 days unpaid
  • Compassionate Leave – 3–5 days depending on circumstance
  • Cultural and Ceremonial Leave – 5 days unpaid
  • Kinship Obligation Leave – Up to 5 days paid

Next steps

My Office will continue to have productive meetings with unions and bargaining representatives to ensure an offer providing fair pay within Wages Policy is made before the current Agreement expires.

Thank you for your continued commitment to delivering high-quality services to the people of the Northern Territory.

Have your say – your feedback is important

Should you wish to provide feedback or make a suggestion, you can do so by emailing enquiries.ocpe@nt.gov.au.

More information

Regular updates in relation to the bargaining process will be posted to the Enterprise agreement negotiations web page.

Information on bargaining in general can be obtained on the Fair Work Commission website or call their information line on 1300 799 675.

See link for information on the Northern Territory Public Sector Bargaining Policy 2025- 2028.

Nicole Hurwood
Commissioner for Public Employment
14 May 2025