New child-protection workers will be offered more than $8,000 in higher pay to fill critical shortages in NSW and help fix a “broken” system.
More than 2,000 public sector caseworkers will get a pay rise of at least 4 per cent under the deal with the Public Service Association.
But starting pay rates for new caseworkers will get a much larger increase, rising by $8,283 in the current financial year.
Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today
“Child-protection caseworkers have one of the most challenging and important jobs in the world, keeping vulnerable children safe,” NSW Families Minister Kate Washington said on Wednesday.
“I have seen firsthand the incredible difference these workers make to children and families and I hope that this agreement will encourage more caseworkers to take up positions with (the government).”
As part of the new agreement, all child-protection workers will receive a minimum 4 per cent rise and a 0.5 per cent superannuation bump, backdated to the start of July.
Caseworkers walked off the job earlier in 2024 demanding better conditions, saying severe staff shortages were resulting in burnout.
The action came after the state’s child protection services were labelled ineffective and unsustainable in a damning auditor-general’s report.
A lack of staff led to caseworkers seeing only a quarter of children reported to be at risk of serious harm, official data showed.
“When we came into government, we inherited a broken child protection system with a workforce walking out the door because they hadn’t felt valued in years,” Washington said.
Under the agreement with the union, a standalone child protection workers’ classification will be established and talks will begin on updating role descriptions and conditions.
A three-year pay deal is due to be made for 2025-2026 onwards under a new award after the talks, the state government said.
Labor has offered all NSW public sector staff a blanket 10.5 per cent pay rise over three years, including mandatory superannuation increase, well short of the increases sought by several unions representing key frontline workers.