Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1697632014003.pdf (Australia)
Attachment B A Portable Long Service Leave Scheme for the Tasmanian Community Services sector Discussion Paper | May 2013 The feasibility of, and options for, creating a national long service standard, and the portability of long service andother entitlementsSubmission 34 - Attachment 2 Contents The Health and Community Services Union 1 Introduction to HACSU’s campaign for Portable Long Service Leave 2–3 Portable Long Service Leave Schemes 4 Long Service Leave—The Basics 5 Victoria—Feasibility Study and Actuarial Assessment 5–6 Feasibility Study Findings 6 Actuarial Study Findings 6 ACT Portable Long Service Scheme 7 Areas of agreement 7 Areas of contention 8–9 Tasmanian Long Service Leave Basics 8 A Tasmanian Long Service Leave Scheme 10–11 TasBuild 10 Definition of eligibility for a Tasmanian scheme 11 Recommendations 12 13 13 13–14 14–15 16 17 Case Study 1 Case Study 3 Case Study 2 Case Studies Appendix 1 References A PLSL for the Tasmanian Community Services sector | Discussion Paper | May 2013 A PLSL for the Tasmanian Community Services sector | Discussion Paper | May 2013 | 1 The feasibility of, and options for, creating a national long service standard, and the portability of long service andother entitlementsSubmission 34 - Attachment 2 Contents The Health and Community Services Union 1 Introduction to HACSU’s campaign for Portable Long Service Leave 2–3 Portable Long Service Leave Schemes 4 Long Service Leave—The Basics 5 Victoria—Feasibility Study and Actuarial Assessment 5–6 Feasibility Study
 Findings 6 Actuarial Study Findings 6 ACT Portable Long Service Scheme 7 Areas of agreement 7 Areas of contention 8–9 Tasmanian Long Service Leave Basics 8 A Tasmanian Long Service Leave Scheme 10–11 TasBuild 10 Definition of eligibility for a Tasmanian scheme 11 Recommendations 12 Appendix 1 Case Studies Case Study 1 Case Study 2 Case Study 3 References 13 13 16 17 13–14 14–15 The Health and Community Services Union The union we now know as the Health and Community Services Union (HACSU) was first registered nationally on April 12, 1911 with the name The Hospital and Asylum Attendants Employees Union of Australia.
Our union has always represented members working in the health and community services industries.

HACSU is Tasmania’s largest union, with more than 8000 members employed at more than 450 worksites across the state.

Our members are employed across all areas of health and community services in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors.

HACSU’s main aim is to improve members’ working lives by negotiating improvements in wages and conditions and protecting workers’ rights.
A PLSL for the Tasmanian Community Services sector | Discussion Paper | May 2013 A PLSL for the Tasmanian Community Services sector | Discussion Paper | May 2013 | 1 The feasibility of, and options for, creating a national long service standard, and the portability of long service andother entitlementsSubmission 34 - Attachment 2 ‘I first started working in Royal Derwent Hospital back in 1986—quite a long time ago—so I should be coming up to my second lot of long service leave, but because we swap between organisations I’m still three years off getting my first lot of it.
That’ll make it up to about 23-24 years before I’ll get my first bit of long service leave.’ Introduction to HACSU’s campaign for Portable Long Service Leave The inability to access long service leave entitlements has been an issue of concern for HACSU members for many years.
High staff turnover is a well acknowledged challenge for the community services sector: One-quarter of community and personal services workplaces consistently experience high numbers of people who work with the same employer for less than one year, and more than 40% stay one to five years, as indicated by information collected by HACSU industrial organisers and backed up by Labour Mobility studies conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (see table): ABS 6209.0 - Labour Mobility, Australia, February 2012 High turnover has multiple negative impacts upon the sector and its stakeholders.
When workers move between employers, they nearly always lose long service leave entitlements.

Too many disability and community services workers never reach the threshold for long service leave, despite many decades of often uninterrupted employment within the sector.

Case studies in this discussion paper provide compelling examples of what it is like for workers who miss out on long service leave.
Continual service with one employer is increasingly rare, and the move between employers is often dictated by changes to business structures or funding models.

Workers also change employer, or leave the industry for periods of time, in order to manage their own stress levels and further their professional development opportunities.
Attracting and retaining a high quality, skilled workforce for Tasmania’s community services sector involves addressing many factors, but improving conditions and access to entitlements is a key part of the solution.

Portable long service leave enables a worker to accrue long service for the time they are employed within the sector, not just the time they’re with a particular employer.

A PLSL scheme rewards long term community services workers who remain within the sector.
It also encourages professional development and career advancement by facilitating movement across the sector, without workers suffering the penalty of losing accrued long service leave entitlements.

A PLSL scheme goes some way towards recognising the challenges inherent in working in a sector that offers limited full- time opportunities, forcing people to work multiple jobs, often for different employers.

It also offers some parity in terms of conditions between the government and community sectors.
A PLSL scheme doesn’t provide the complete solution to retention issues but it certainly increases the viability of the sector by improving its capacity to attract and retain workers, and retaining their knowledge and experience.

HACSU has for a number of years been actively lobbying the State Government to consider the introduction of a PLSL scheme.
Workplace relations minister David O'Byrne convened a forum on August 14, 2012 involving business leaders and unions, to examine the feasibility of establishing portable long service leave arrangements for workers in the community, cleaning and security sectors.

Some employers expressed opposition but most acknowledged the benefits and were interested in further exploring the potential for a statewide scheme.
2 | A PLSL for the Tasmanian Community Services sector | Discussion Paper | May 2013 A PLSL for the Tasmanian Community Services sector | Discussion Paper | May 2013 | 3 The feasibility of, and options for, creating a national long service standard, and the portability of long service andother entitlementsSubmission 34 - Attachment 2 entitlements.
Too many disability and community services workers never reach the threshold for long service leave, despite many decades of often uninterrupted employment within the sector.

Case studies in this discussion paper provide compelling examples of what it is like for workers who miss out on long service leave.

Continual service with one employer is increasingly rare, and the move between employers is often dictated by changes to business structures or funding models.
Workers also change employer, or leave the industry for periods of time, in order to manage their own stress levels and further their professional development opportunities.

Attracting and retaining a high quality, skilled workforce for Tasmania’s community services sector involves addressing many factors, but improving conditions and access to entitlements is a key part of the solution.
Portable long service leave enables a worker to accrue long service for the time they are employed within the sector, not just the time they’re with a particular employer.

A PLSL scheme rewards long term community services workers who remain within the sector.

It also encourages professional development and career advancement by facilitating movement across the sector, without workers suffering the penalty of losing accrued long service leave entitlements.
A PLSL scheme goes some way towards ‘I first started working in Royal Derwent Hospital back in 1986—quite a long time ago—so I should be coming up to my second lot of long service leave, but because we swap between organisations I’m still three years off getting my first lot of it.

That’ll make it up to about 23-24 years before I’ll get my first bit of long service leave.’ All unions and employers representing the community sector supported the establishment of a PLSL scheme.
This discussion paper aims to build on the interest expressed at the forum, and to help build a coalition of support for a statewide portable long service scheme for disability and community services workers.

recognising the challenges inherent in working in a sector that offers limited full- time opportunities, forcing people to work multiple jobs, often for different employers.

It also offers some parity in terms of conditions between the government and community sectors.
A PLSL scheme doesn’t provide the complete solution to retention issues but it certainly increases the viability of the sector by improving its capacity to attract and retain workers, and retaining their knowledge and experience.

HACSU has for a number of years been actively lobbying the State Government to consider the introduction of a PLSL scheme.
Workplace relations minister David O'Byrne convened a forum on August 14, 2012 involving business leaders and unions, to examine the feasibility of establishing portable long service leave arrangements for workers in the community, cleaning and security sectors.

Some employers expressed opposition but most acknowledged the benefits and were interested in further exploring the potential for a statewide scheme.
2 | A PLSL for the Tasmanian Community Services sector | Discussion Paper | May 2013 A PLSL for the Tasmanian Community Services sector | Discussion Paper | May 2013 | 3 The feasibility of, and options for, creating a national long service standard, and the portability of long service andother entitlementsSubmission 34 - Attachment 2 Victoria: Feasibility Study and Actuarial Assessment In 2003, the Victorian community services minister announced the launch of the Community Sector Investment Fund (CSIF) to assist with building the sustainability of organisations within the community services sector.
A key area identified in consultations was the need to address issues of recruitment and retention, and a PLSL scheme for workers within the community services sector was identified as having the potential to improve workforce retention.

The CSIF commissioned a feasibility study in 2007 and an actuarial report in 2008 to determine the practicalities of such a scheme in Victoria.
These reports’ findings were endorsed by Portable Long Service Leave Schemes There are many different portable long service schemes in existence, funding workers in the coal-mining, stevedoring, contract-cleaning and building and construction industries in every Australian state and territory.

These schemes were generally designed to recognise the cyclical and/or transient nature of these industries, as well as their project and/or contract-based structure.
Long service leave is also portable within state public services, between different tiers of government (federal, state and local), as well as between intra- and interstate public service systems (to provide recognition of the value of a career in public service).

In recent years unions have expressed an increasing level of interest in extending portable long service leave entitlements to workers in employment sectors that suffer high levels of turnover and challenging industrial conditions.
This interest has been mirrored by other organisations concerned with social justice and equity for workers.

For example, TASCOSS, the peak body for the Tasmanian community services sector, has been espousing the benefits of a portable long service leave for more than five years.

We can learn a lot from existing PLSL schemes.


In this discussion paper we highlight features of existing schemes and/or resources used to scope PLSL schemes that will promote the implementation of an appropriate scheme that best serves the needs of our members and their clients.
4 | A PLSL for the Tasmanian Community Services sector | Discussion Paper | May 2013 A PLSL for the Tasmanian Community Services sector | Discussion Paper | May 2013 | 5 The feasibility of, and options for, creating a national long service standard, and the portability of long service andother entitlementsSubmission 34 - Attachment 2 Portable Long Service Leave Schemes There are many different portable long service schemes in existence, funding workers in the coal-mining, stevedoring, contract-cleaning and building and construction industries in every Australian state and territory.
These schemes were generally designed to recognise the cyclical and/or transient nature of these industries, as well as their project and/or contract-based structure.
Long service leave is also portable within state public services, between different tiers of government (federal, state and local), as well as between intra- Victoria: Feasibility Study and Actuarial Assessment In 2003, the Victorian community services minister announced the launch of the Community Sector Investment Fund (CSIF) to assist with building the sustainability of organisations within the community services sector.
A key area identified in consultations was the need to address issues of recruitment and retention, and a PLSL scheme for workers within the community services sector was identified as having the potential to improve workforce retention.

and interstate public service systems (to provide The CSIF commissioned a feasibility study in 2007 and an actuarial report in 2008 to determine the practicalities of such a scheme in Victoria.
These reports’ findings were endorsed by the CSIF Reference Group and incorporated into the Stronger Community Organisations Project Action Plan.

As a result, the Victorian government committed in April 2008 to establish a PLSL scheme.

A three-month process of consultation aimed to facilitate sector-wide engagement and input into its development.

A state election in 2010 led to a change of government and the new government unfortunately abandoned the commitment to a community services sector PLSL scheme.
Nonetheless, a number of sector-specific issues that arose from the extensive research and consultation continue to have relevance to Tasmania.

Without repeating all the findings, we highlight below some issues from the two commissioned reports, as they may pre-empt arguments that may be used to attempt to delay a PLSL scheme for community services sector workers in Tasmania.
Long Service Leave—The Basics t Long service leave is uniquely Australian, having evolved in the colonial public services of South Australia and Victoria.

t In 1955 New South Wales became the first state government to pass a Long Service Leave Act, which led to entitlements of three months leave for private sector employees after 15 years of service with the same employer.

t All remaining states followed suit, with similar legislation being enacted Australia-wide.
PLSL schemes that will promote the implementation t Private sector employees typically become entitled to three months leave for each 10 or 15 years of service (depending on the jurisdiction).

t Pro-rata entitlements are available under certain circumstances after a lesser period—typically seven years.

recognition of the value of a career in public service).
In recent years unions have expressed an increasing level of interest in extending portable long service leave entitlements to workers in employment sectors that suffer high levels of turnover and challenging industrial conditions.

This interest has been mirrored by other organisations concerned with social justice and equity for workers.
For example, TASCOSS, the peak body for the Tasmanian community services sector, has been espousing the benefits of a portable long service leave for more than five years.

We can learn a lot from existing PLSL schemes.

In this discussion paper we highlight features of existing schemes and/or resources used to scope of an appropriate scheme that best serves the needs of our members and their clients.
4 | A PLSL for the Tasmanian Community Services sector | Discussion Paper | May 2013 A PLSL for the Tasmanian Community Services sector | Discussion Paper | May 2013 | 5 The feasibility of, and options for, creating a national long service standard, and the portability of long service andother entitlementsSubmission 34 - Attachment 2 ACT: Portable Long Service Scheme The ACT PLSL scheme is the most recently established PLSL scheme in Australia, having commenced operations in 2010.
The ACT scheme covers both community sector and child care workers, and aims to improve retention and enhance “sector loyalty”.

The ACT government announced funding for the PLSL scheme for the community services sector in its 2008-2009 Budget, and commenced a six-month consultation process with key stakeholders such as unions, peak organisations, employers/ managers of organisations, and workers.
Feasibility Study Findings Actuarial Study Findings A high proportion of casual and part-time workers are not barriers to the feasibility of a portable long service scheme.

Due to low earnings of workers, maximising participation is vital.

Design of the scheme must take into account the administrative impact of high turnover rates, and high proportion of part-time and casual workers in the sector.
Administrative simplicity of the scheme is of great importance, both to keep down costs and encourage rapid take up of the scheme.

The lowest cost scheme will be achieved if it is mandated for all (or a significant majority) of employers in the sector, under enabling state legislation.

Due to the diversity of occupations, the definition of workers to be covered is a complex task.

It is recommended governance functions would be vested in a Board comprising equal representation from employers and unions.
The Board would have ultimate responsibility for providing strategic direction, corporate governance, financial management and risk management.

The Board could have a chair with additional financial/commercial knowledge appointed by the government.

The Board should have a formal selection process.

The scheme should operate as a trust, either established under state legislation as a “statutory scheme” or under trust law as a “sector based scheme”.
Workers’ entitlements would be paid out of a centralised pool of assets, built up over time from employers participating in the scheme, or levies from other sources.

The Board should outsource all administrative and day to day operations to an appropriately qualified external organisation.

The scheme should operate on a “not for profit” basis.

The scheme was costed on the basis of a 4% annual wage rise, and an approximate 2% levy on employers.
Another issue that was raised in this paper, and that could be worthy of further investigation is the idea of a flat rate contribution (for example of $2 per worker per day).

This would greatly simplify the information requirements of the scheme, as employers would not need to consider part-time, overtime, casual rates of pay etc, thereby reducing considerably the administrative costs of the scheme.
However it would bring in cross subsidisation issues between employers, and would break the relationship of contributions being based on workers’ entitlements—therefore adding an element of risk.
6 | A PLSL for the Tasmanian Community Services sector | Discussion Paper | May 2013 A PLSL for the Tasmanian Community Services sector | Discussion Paper | May 2013 | 7 The feasibility of, and options for, creating a national long service standard, and the portability of long service andother entitlementsSubmission 34 - Attachment 2 Actuarial Study Findings The scheme should operate as a trust, either established under state legislation as a “statutory scheme” or under trust law as a “sector based scheme”.
Workers’ entitlements would be paid out of a centralised pool of assets, built up over time from employers participating in the scheme, or levies from other sources.

The Board should outsource all administrative and day to day operations to an appropriately qualified external organisation.

profit” basis.

The scheme should operate on a “not for The scheme was costed on the basis of a 4% annual wage rise, and an approximate 2% levy on employers.
Another issue that was raised in this paper, and that could be worthy of further investigation is the idea of a flat rate contribution (for example of $2 per worker per day).

This would greatly simplify the information requirements of the scheme, as employers would not need to consider part-time, overtime, casual rates of pay etc, thereby reducing considerably the administrative costs of the scheme.
However it would bring in cross subsidisation issues between employers, and would break the relationship of contributions being based on workers’ entitlements—therefore adding an element of risk.

ACT: Portable Long Service Scheme The ACT PLSL scheme is the most recently established PLSL scheme in Australia, having commenced operations in 2010.

The ACT scheme covers both community sector and child care workers, and aims to improve retention and enhance “sector loyalty”.
The ACT government announced funding for the PLSL scheme for the community services sector in its 2008-2009 Budget, and commenced a six-month consultation process with key stakeholders such as unions, peak organisations, employers/ managers of organisations, and workers.

Areas of agreement Broad agreement was reached on the following issues: That any scheme should be mandatory, and include both for profit and not-for-profit community services employers and workers.
That the ACT government should fund the administrative costs until the scheme became self sustaining.

That any unused funds would be used to reduce a PLSL levy.

That full-time, part-time, casual, limited- tenure and independent contractors should all be covered.

That minimum earnings should parallel that of superannuation—therefore, workers earning less than $450 a month would not fall under the scope of the scheme.
‘Let’s support our workers, because without our workers our communities are not going to be supported, and that’s going to cost the government more money, and it just doesn’t make sense.’ 6 | A PLSL for the Tasmanian Community Services sector | Discussion Paper | May 2013 A PLSL for the Tasmanian Community Services sector | Discussion Paper | May 2013 | 7 The feasibility of, and options for, creating a national long service standard, and the portability of long service andother entitlementsSubmission 34 - Attachment 2 Areas of contention While the ACT scheme for community service sector is still in its infancy, it is important to take note of points of contention generated by the implementation of the scheme.
Concern regarding additional costs to organisations: “In particular, organisations are concerned about the additional costs of the proposed portable long service leave scheme.

While ACTCOSS welcomes the Government’s commitment to subsidising the establishment of the scheme, it appears that organisations will still face increased costs.
Organisations will also lose interest gained from their own long service provisions, which for some organisations is the only source of income outside of government funding.” (Budget submission by the ACT Council of Social Services (ACTCOSS)) Multi-disciplinary organisations facing exclusion from the scheme: The impact of a PLSL scheme over years During consultation there was also concern is an issue that can only really be proven in dollar terms by actuarial investigation.
However, the ambition of the scheme is to create a lower staff turnover, equating to budgetary savings through decreased training and recruitment costs.

Whatever cost efficiencies are achieved by a PLSL scheme, we acknowledge it is only one part of the solution to retaining workers within the community services sector.

The reality is that a well-supported, quality workforce deserves and requires ongoing investment from both employers and government, and that necessarily requires investment.
Tasmanian Long Service Leave Basics t The long service leave entitlements for most employees employed in the private sector in Tasmania are normally subject to the provisions of the Long Service Leave Act 1976 (Tas).

t t t An employee is entitled to 13 weeks’ paid leave after completing 15 years’ continuous employment with the employer.

An employee is entitled to additional long service leave on the basis of eight and two-thirds’ weeks for each additional 10 years of continuous service with the employer.
From July 1, 2012 amendments to the Long Service Act came into force.

New long service leave entitlements are: • 8.66 weeks long service leave in respect of the first 10 years of continuous employment with the employer; and, • 4.33 weeks’ long service leave in respect of each additional five years of continuous employment.

t Long service leave is accrued at 0.8667 weeks per year of employment.

about multi-disciplinary organisations being omitted from the scheme.
In particular the duality of aged care services that provide both clinical care (health care sector) and a residential environment (community sector) provides a challenge in terms of classification.

However, the reality is a community services PLSL scheme simply cannot take into account all configurations.

Until the portability of long service is made available for all workers, people unfortunately will continue to fall through the gaps.
HACSU believes it is appropriate that workers in aged care services are able to access a portable long service scheme, as is currently being implemented in the ACT.

In the interim, basing a scheme upon workers’ roles, as opposed to organisational classification, appears inappropriate when trying to build a sector.
Potential for the scheme to undermine loyalty to individual organisations: Some larger organisations use their existing LSL schemes to create loyalty, which they believe will be undermined if all workers can access a PLSL scheme.

Smaller organisations and workers countered this assertion by arguing that they felt a PLSL scheme will lift loyalty to the sector, which would make it a level playing field in terms of recruitment.
HACSU believes that the sector as a whole will benefit from a workforce that has better working conditions.
There are few negatives 8 | A PLSL for the Tasmanian Community Services sector | Discussion Paper | May 2013 A PLSL for the Tasmanian Community Services sector | Discussion Paper | May 2013 |9 The feasibility of, and options for, creating a national long service standard, and the portability of long service andother entitlementsSubmission 34 - Attachment 2 for workers if employers have to develop new incentives in order to compete for the best talent.
Potential for discrimination: Another potential ramification of a PLSL scheme is the potential for employers to discriminate against workers who may have accrued significant amounts of long service leave.

Policing of the scheme and a system to discourage abuse needs to be developed to protect workers’ rights.
submission by the ACT Council of Social Services (ACTCOSS)) Multi-disciplinary organisations facing exclusion from the scheme: The impact of a PLSL scheme over years is an issue that can only really be proven in dollar terms by actuarial investigation.

However, the ambition of the scheme is to create a lower staff turnover, equating to budgetary savings through decreased training and recruitment costs.
Whatever cost efficiencies are achieved by a PLSL scheme, we acknowledge it is only one part of the solution to retaining workers within the community services sector.

The reality is that a well-supported, quality workforce deserves and requires ongoing investment from both employers and government, and that necessarily requires investment.

During consultation there was also concern about multi-disciplinary organisations being omitted from the scheme.
In particular the duality of aged care services that provide both clinical care (health care sector) and a residential environment (community sector) provides a challenge in terms of classification.

However, the reality is a community services PLSL scheme simply cannot take into account all configurations.

Until the portability of long service is made available for all workers, people unfortunately will continue to fall through the gaps.
HACSU believes it is appropriate that workers in aged care services are able to access a portable long service scheme, as is currently being implemented in the ACT.

In the interim, basing a scheme upon workers’ roles, as opposed to organisational classification, appears inappropriate when trying to build a sector.
Potential for the scheme to undermine loyalty to individual organisations: Some larger organisations use their existing LSL schemes to create loyalty, which they believe will be undermined if all workers can access a PLSL scheme.

Smaller organisations and workers countered this assertion by arguing that they felt a PLSL scheme will lift loyalty to the sector, which would make it a level playing field in terms of recruitment.
HACSU believes that the sector as a whole will benefit from a workforce that has better working conditions.
There are few negatives 8 | A PLSL for the Tasmanian Community Services sector | Discussion Paper | May 2013 A PLSL for the Tasmanian Community Services sector | Discussion Paper | May 2013 |9 The feasibility of, and options for, creating a national long service standard, and the portability of long service andother entitlementsSubmission 34 - Attachment 2 termination of employment, after at least seven years of assessable service.
The enactment of the Construction Industry (Long Service) Act 1997 resulted in the responsibility for the administration of the Scheme being given to a Trustee company established for that purpose.

Effective from July 1, 1998 TasBuild Limited is the Trustee for the Construction Industry Long Service Fund, with a requirement to provide entitlements to employees in the construction industry (information sourced from the TasBuild website).
It is possible TasBuild may have the capacity to take on administration of a PLSL scheme for the Tasmanian community services sector.

This would be in line with what had been scoped in Victoria in anticipation of CoINVEST providing administrative services for its community services PLSL scheme.
In the ACT, two existing PLSL schemes (the ACT Construction Long Service Leave Authority and the ACT Cleaning Industry Long Service Leave Authority) were combined into the ACT Long Service Leave Authority when the new PLSL scheme was implemented for the ACT Community Sector.

We believe it is appropriate to initiate discussions with TasBuild, to explore if it is possibile for it to administer the scheme.

The outcome of its decision will impact on actuarial costing of a PLSL scheme.
A Tasmanian Portable Long Service Leave Scheme HACSU has been actively lobbying the Tasmanian State Government to implement a portable long service leave scheme (PLSL) similar to TasBuild, which operates in the building and construction industry across Tasmania.

TasBuild Legislation was passed in Tasmania in 1971 to recognise there are certain employment fields where people remain in the same industry for long periods but not necessarily in continuous employment with a single employer.
The Construction Industry (Long Service) Act 1971 commenced March 22, 1972, and provided long service leave benefits for workers employed in the construction industry who were unable to achieve an entitlement under previously existing long service leave provisions.

Basically, workers employed in the construction industry are able to accumulate broken service with different employers whilst establishing an entitlement to long service leave.
The Act provides for an entitlement to long service leave to accrue on the completion of fifteen years of assessable service.

Pro-rata long service leave entitlements are provided in certain specified circumstances on the Definition of eligibility for a Tasmanian scheme In line with the outcomes of the consultations for the ACT scheme, the following definition appears to be appropriate for the purposes of a PLSL scheme.
It builds upon the definition of Community Services, as developed by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, the National Classification of Community Services (NCCS): “Services are provided to the community by employees and volunteers, either as individuals or connected with a variety of businesses and charitable organisations, which operate across a wide range of industries.
Community Service activities typically include those activities which assist or support members of the community in personal functioning as individuals or as members of the wider community.” The Community Services sector in the ACT agreed to further expand the definition: “The Community Services sector includes activities such as: personal and social support; child care; training and employment; financial and placement services; corrective services; other direct community service activities; and policy, community and service development and support, however, they exclude acute health care services, long term housing assistance and income support (such as social security pensions and allowances).
Some of these services are provided directly to individuals or families on a face to face basis or on their behalf.

Other services are provided indirectly.
10 | A PLSL for the Tasmanian Community Services sector | Discussion Paper | May 2013 A PLSL for the Tasmanian Community Services sector | Discussion Paper | May 2013 | 11 The feasibility of, and options for, creating a national long service standard, and the portability of long service andother entitlementsSubmission 34 - Attachment 2 These include administrative support, book-keeping, policy, research and fund- raising.” HACSU believes this definition of the sector is broad enough to define our workers, and should be taken to stakeholders throughout the community services sector in Tasmania for further discussion.
In cases where there may be contention over eligibility, referring to the relevant Award that governs the majority of workers within an organisation in Tasmania will no doubt assist with classification for the purposes of a PLSL scheme.

However, it is HACSU’s position that inclusion of Aged Care services workers within a PLSL scheme will remove some of the main areas of potential confusion.

termination of employment, after at least seven years of assessable service.
The enactment of the Construction Industry (Long Service) Act 1997 resulted in the responsibility for the administration of the Scheme being given to a Trustee company established for that purpose.

Effective from July 1, 1998 TasBuild Limited is the Trustee for the Construction Industry Long Service Fund, with a requirement to provide entitlements to employees in the construction industry (information sourced from the TasBuild website).
It is possible TasBuild may have the capacity to take on administration of a PLSL scheme for the Tasmanian community services sector.

This would be in line with what had been scoped in Victoria in anticipation of CoINVEST providing administrative services for its community services PLSL scheme.
In the ACT, two existing PLSL schemes (the ACT Construction Long Service Leave Authority and the ACT Cleaning Industry Long Service Leave Authority) were combined into the ACT Long Service Leave Authority when the new PLSL scheme was implemented for the ACT Community Sector.

We believe it is appropriate to initiate discussions with TasBuild, to explore if it is possibile for it to administer the scheme.

The outcome of its decision will impact on actuarial costing of a PLSL scheme.
Definition of eligibility for a Tasmanian scheme In line with the outcomes of the consultations for the ACT scheme, the following definition appears to be appropriate for the purposes of a PLSL scheme.
It builds upon the definition of Community Services, as developed by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, the National Classification of Community Services (NCCS): “Services are provided to the community by employees and volunteers, either as individuals or connected with a variety of businesses and charitable organisations, which operate across a wide range of industries.
Community Service activities typically include those activities which assist or support members of the community in personal functioning as individuals or as members of the wider community.” The Community Services sector in the ACT agreed to further expand the definition: “The Community Services sector includes activities such as: personal and social support; child care; training and employment; financial and placement services; corrective services; other direct community service activities; and policy, community and service development and support, however, they exclude acute health care services, long term housing assistance and income support (such as social security pensions and allowances).
Some of these services are provided directly to individuals or families on a face to face basis or on their behalf.

Other services are provided indirectly.
10 | A PLSL for the Tasmanian Community Services sector | Discussion Paper | May 2013 A PLSL for the Tasmanian Community Services sector | Discussion Paper | May 2013 | 11 The feasibility of, and options for, creating a national long service standard, and the portability of long service andother entitlementsSubmission 34 - Attachment 2 Recommendations These recommendations aim to progress the implementation of a portable long service leave scheme for community service sector workers in Tasmania.
They do not represent all the recommendations HACSU will have regarding a PLSL scheme—rather they are intended to accelerate the process of community engagement.

1 That the state government expedite the process of progressing a portable long service leave scheme by supporting the establishment of a PLSL working group comprising representatives from unions, employers, state government and TasBuild.
That the PLSL working group be resourced by the state government in order to lead sector-wide engagement.

That regional forums be conducted to provide for sector engagement and feedback on key issues for the scheme, prior to and following the release of the actuarial assessment.

That the PLSL working group develop a proposal to inform the structure, roles and responsibilities for a Board that would oversee the governance of a Tasmanian PLSL scheme, for presentation to the state government.
to determine That the state government commission an actuarial assessment the practicalities of establishing a portable long service leave scheme for community services sector workers in Tasmania.

Further, that the actuarial assessment be extended to examine the participation of workers within the contract cleaning and aged care industries, in order to provide a viable contributor base for the scheme.
the scheme provide That leave entitlements as articulated within the Long Service Leave Act 1976 (Tas) and subsequent amendments.

service long Appendix 1 Case Studies In the interests of building support for a portable long service leave scheme for community services workers, HACSU members generously shared with us their own experiences of trying—or wanting—to access long service leave.

These individuals are representative of hundreds of other workers statewide.
We thank our Members for taking the time to share their stories.

Case Study 1 DAVID BALL has worked, “20 plus years in lots of different areas” in the community services sector.

“I work...in an area that’s highly specialised I suppose as far as dealing with a lot of behavioural issues and...that’s either in a secure facility or out in the community” “It’s hard—it’s very hard at times to stay focussed and do the job that you love doing and you know, that this is something that I’m good at.
I’ve done it for many years, and I’ve never really worked in other areas that aren’t with challenging behaviours or complex needs.
It’s always been in that environment.” “Because of working in those stressful environments I have moved from place to place to avoid burnout, which is real factor in this workplace...I have been close at times and I’ve certainly seen 12 | A PLSL for the Tasmanian Community Services sector | Discussion Paper | May 2013 A PLSL for the Tasmanian Community Services sector | Discussion Paper | May 2013 | 13 The feasibility of, and options for, creating a national long service standard, and the portability of long service andother entitlementsSubmission 34 - Attachment 2 workers in Tasmania.
They do not represent Appendix 1 all the recommendations HACSU will have regarding a PLSL scheme—rather they are intended to accelerate the process of community engagement.

Case Studies In the interests of building support for a portable long service leave scheme for community services workers, HACSU members generously shared with us their own experiences of trying—or wanting—to access long service leave.

These individuals are representative of hundreds of other workers statewide.
We thank our Members for taking the time to share their stories.

Case Study 1 DAVID BALL has worked, “20 plus years in lots of different areas” in the community services sector.

“I work...in an area that’s highly specialised I suppose as far as dealing with a lot of behavioural issues and...that’s either in a secure facility or out in the community” “It’s hard—it’s very hard at times to stay focussed and do the job that you love doing and you know, that this is something that I’m good at.
I’ve done it for many years, and I’ve never really worked in other areas that aren’t with challenging behaviours or complex needs.
It’s always been in that environment.” “Because of working in those stressful environments I have moved from place to place to avoid burnout, which is real factor in this workplace...I have been close at times and I’ve certainly seen other people you know really struggle with the stresses that we deal with in working with, in providing care, to people with complex needs with an intellectual disability.

It’s difficult.” David reports his favourite thing about work is, “seeing clients smile”.
“Definitely, and I certainly have an ability to do that with some of my behaviours, quirkiness and that.

And I love to have a laugh with the guys and put some happiness in their life, because sometimes it can be a bit bleak for people.” As for accessing long service leave?
“I first started working in Royal Derwent Hospital back in 1986 quite a long time ago—so I should be coming up to my second lot of long service leave, but because we swap between organisations I’m still three years off getting my first lot of it.

That’ll make it up to about 23-24 years before I’ll get my first bit of long service leave.
“I feel a bit disheartened when I hear of other people going out for long service leave... our industry which is recognised that we don’t stay in the areas for long periods of time in certain organisations, that we don’t have the opportunity to transfer that over to another organisation and have the opportunity for long service leave.
“It’s a difficult one, because I know people that are on their second lot of long service leave and have possibly gone from one department to another department but work in this one organisation.
[They’ve] gone from distinctly different areas to other areas but still managed to carry their long service leave and entitlements, and it would be wonderful if we could.” As to what David would do if he could 12 | A PLSL for the Tasmanian Community Services sector | Discussion Paper | May 2013 A PLSL for the Tasmanian Community Services sector | Discussion Paper | May 2013 | 13 The feasibility of, and options for, creating a national long service standard, and the portability of long service andother entitlementsSubmission 34 - Attachment 2 access long service leave: “Look, I don’t know what I would do.
It’s such a foreign concept...

If I did have long service leave there’d be a real opportunity for international travel, and even travel in Australia would be a great thing.

“Sometimes the leave that we get is just not enough to plan these sort of major travel events.

I’m getting to the age where I’m not a backpacker anymore.

“I started in 1986 and I’m yet to have long service leave.
It’s a goal of mine.” Case Study 2 LEEANNE DeCLEVA has worked in the community sector for “approximately 24 years” but is yet to qualify for any long service leave.

“I work with youth.

I work in a young women’s shelter—a high crisis service.

I’ve always had direct client contact.

I’ve worked in a number of organisations over that period of time—it’s always been client-based though.
“We are working with high-needs clients, so you are giving a lot of energy, putting in a lot of time and effort to achieve the best outcomes for people, and that’s a high burn out rate.

“And if you’re not being supported by your organisation or by the government in general, then that makes it much it harder— and that’s burn out.” As for Leeanne’s favourite part of her job: “I really enjoy hands-on client work...
I really love working with young people...and supporting them to get to where they want to go in life.

Accessing long service leave has been impossible.

“I guess it’s difficult if you move from one organisation to another, even though you’re doing the same work, because the only way to accrue that is to stay in the one organisation.
“If you’re really unhappy there and you get to a point where you’ve been there for three, four or five years, and then you go ‘do I leave now, or do I wait another five years until I’m entitled to my long service leave?

“Some people can do that, but I guess, maybe not be able to give their best in that situation.

And I guess that’s not to anyone’s advantage—it puts people in a position that I don’t think they should be in.
“I think if you have worked across the board with a variety of organisations but you are doing the same work, then I guess... people need to be supported in that— honour people in that situation rather than dismiss them and say ‘alright, start all over again’.

“I sort of wonder if I should have stayed in the same job and waited for mine, really.

I mean I’m 23 years on and I haven’t had any long service leave, so that’s a long time in the community sector—23 years without long service leave.
“What I think about it is that I really need long service leave.

“It’s a really important issue and it’s something that’s been ongoing for a long time and I think it’s something that needs to be resolved.
It’s high time people were recognised for what they do in the community sector.” If Leeanne could access long service leave she says the list of things she’d do is “endless” but, “I might just stay home and rest probably, or I might just like on a beach somewhere for weeks...rest!” “Let’s support our workers, because without our workers our communities are not going to be supported, and that’s going to cost the government more money, and it just doesn’t make sense.” Case Study 3 LEANNE SMITH has worked in the community sector, “going on nearly 18 years now”.
“I do mainly respites—showering, things like that.

For the first eight years it was full on, I did a lot of people with quadraplegia, really full on work with lifters, and then I had an injury—and they didn’t want to know me much after that.

“And now I don’t do the heavy work...Oh my god—if people had to work like that—I thought I’d only last 12 months.” As for the favourite aspect of her work?

“I love the communication.

I love that I make a difference in someone’s life.


Just couldn’t think of doing something else.

“And it is important—these people don’t live without us.

A lot of them don’t get out of bed.

It might sound dramatic, but they don’t, they need the support workers.

“This job is a passion for me.” As for accessing long service leave: “Well, for years I worked at Repat Hospital so there wasn’t a problem there.
But when I’d done my 10 years here I’d just assumed...and they said ‘oh no you’ve got to do 15 years’ and I thought ‘oh...’.
“And then they were a bit iffy as to whether I could get it so I’ve never bothered asking again...I thought all those years of 14 | A PLSL for the Tasmanian Community Services sector | Discussion Paper | May 2013 A PLSL for the Tasmanian Community Services sector | Discussion Paper | May 2013 | 15 The feasibility of, and options for, creating a national long service standard, and the portability of long service andother entitlementsSubmission 34 - Attachment 2 “I guess it’s difficult if you move from one organisation to another, even though you’re doing the same work, because the only way to accrue that is to stay in the one organisation.
“If you’re really unhappy there and you get to a point where you’ve been there for three, four or five years, and then you go ‘do I leave now, or do I wait another five years until I’m entitled to my long service leave?

“Some people can do that, but I guess, maybe not be able to give their best in that situation.

And I guess that’s not to anyone’s advantage—it puts people in a position that I don’t think they should be in.
“I think if you have worked across the board with a variety of organisations but you are doing the same work, then I guess... people need to be supported in that— honour people in that situation rather than dismiss them and say ‘alright, start all over again’.

“I sort of wonder if I should have stayed in the same job and waited for mine, really.

I mean I’m 23 years on and I haven’t had any long service leave, so that’s a long time in the community sector—23 years without long service leave.
“What I think about it is that I really need long service leave.

“It’s a really important issue and it’s something that’s been ongoing for a long time and I think it’s something that needs to be resolved.
It’s high time people were recognised for what they do in the community sector.” If Leeanne could access long service leave she says the list of things she’d do is “endless” but, “I might just stay home and rest probably, or I might just like on a beach somewhere for weeks...rest!” “Let’s support our workers, because without our workers our communities are not going to be supported, and that’s going to cost the government more money, and it just doesn’t make sense.” Case Study 3 LEANNE SMITH has worked in the community sector, “going on nearly 18 years now”.
“I do mainly respites—showering, things like that.

For the first eight years it was full on, I did a lot of people with quadraplegia, really full on work with lifters, and then I had an injury—and they didn’t want to know me much after that.

“And now I don’t do the heavy work...Oh my god—if people had to work like that—I thought I’d only last 12 months.” As for the favourite aspect of her work?

“I love the communication.

I love that I make a difference in someone’s life.


Just couldn’t think of doing something else.

“And it is important—these people don’t live without us.

A lot of them don’t get out of bed.

It might sound dramatic, but they don’t, they need the support workers.

“This job is a passion for me.” As for accessing long service leave: “Well, for years I worked at Repat Hospital so there wasn’t a problem there.
But when I’d done my 10 years here I’d just assumed...and they said ‘oh no you’ve got to do 15 years’ and I thought ‘oh...’.

“And then they were a bit iffy as to whether I could get it so I’ve never bothered asking again...I thought all those years of work for nothing.

So that will be nearly 20 years...doesn’t look like I’ll get it, but I’ve had it once in my life, so I can’t complain.

That was a long time ago.” What would Leanne do if she could access long service leave?
“I’d miss my community work, but I’d do something with the grandkids.

I mean, if you had three months, you’d actually be able to do something... “I had young kids when I first started, so I really worked my butt off to do things for them.

If I’d have had three months, that would have been absolutely fantastic.

I would have had quality time with them.


“Now I work to help them to pay their homes, so I’m working hard to help them in their homes and with their kids so they don’t have to do what I do...more family time, that’s really important...I miss out on so much of it as it because I work 12 hours a day, I work 7 days a week.

“We rightfully deserve that long service...

I wish I could have some...we do a great service out there, and it’s hard and it’s really tiring.
To actually be rewarded for that, the same as you do in a workplace, would be fantastic.

There’s not many people that would do what we do.

“In a nutshell, we deserve it.

We’re hard workers.

I mean without us, the nursing homes would be overloaded, they would have an influx of people that all of a sudden needed housing—what would the government do with them?

They need us, so they need to pay us, and reward us.
It is like a reward, isn’t it?” 14 | A PLSL for the Tasmanian Community Services sector | Discussion Paper | May 2013 A PLSL for the Tasmanian Community Services sector | Discussion Paper | May 2013 | 15 The feasibility of, and options for, creating a national long service standard, and the portability of long service andother entitlementsSubmission 34 - Attachment 2 Case Study 4 MICHELLE WINCH has worked in the community services sector “since 1995”.

“I’m a carer—looking after aged care / disability.


I work two days in a day centre and I really enjoy that.” The favourite aspect of Michelle’s work is working with others: “Out in the community is good, because I take people shopping and personal care and things like that, but at the day centre it’s much better.
“Out in the community you’re on your own—when you’re at the day centre you’re with another worker, and that’s what I really enjoy, to be working with other people, not on my own.” Michelle doesn’t resent workers who qualify for long service leave, but she does think it should be extended to everyone who puts in the time.

“It would be good—for everybody—it would, definitely.

“You need a break, away from it.

You know I’ve been doing this for a long time.


You get to the stage where you think ‘I think I’ve had enough’.

I think everybody feels that way.

“I’ve never had the opportunity to have long service leave.

I’d go on a holiday.

It’d be great—great.

I’d love it!” In summary, Michelle makes her views even more clear: “We should get it.

We work hard enough.

It doesn’t matter if we are full time, part time, casual—we all more or less do the same job and we work hard.

So we should all be entitled to it.
Definitely.” References (2012) February, ABS 6209.0—Labour Mobility, Australia, Australian Bureau of Statistics (2004) Long Service Leave in Australia: Towards a National Minimum Standard, State Departments of Labour for the Workplace Relations Ministers’ Council, p.3 (2004) Long Service Leave in Australia: Towards a National Minimum Standard, State Departments of Labour for the Workplace Relations Ministers’ Council, p.3 (2008) Community Services Industry Plan, Tascoss (2009) Portable Long Service Leave for the Community Services Sector Consultation Strategy, Department of Human Services, Victoria, p.1 (2007) September, Feasibility Study into A Portable Long Service Scheme for the Community Services Sector in Victoria, Bendzulla Actuarial Ltd., pp.3-4 (2007) September, Feasibility Study into A Portable Long Service Scheme for the Community Services Sector in Victoria, Bendzulla Actuarial Ltd., p49 (2008) August, Actuarial Assessment of a Proposed Portable Long Service Leave Scheme for the Community Services Sector in Victoria, Bendzulla Actuarial Ltd., p.8 (2008) August, Actuarial Assessment of a Proposed Portable Long Service Leave Scheme for the Community Services Sector in Victoria, Bendzulla Actuarial Ltd., p.37 (2009) March, Portable Long Service Leave 16 | A PLSL for the Tasmanian Community Services sector | Discussion Paper | May 2013 A PLSL for the Tasmanian Community Services sector | Discussion Paper | May 2013 | 17 The feasibility of, and options for, creating a national long service standard, and the portability of long service andother entitlementsSubmission 34 - Attachment 2 “We should get it.
We work hard enough.

It doesn’t matter if we are full time, part time, casual—we all more or less do the same job and we work hard.

So we should all be entitled to it.
Definitely.” for the ACT Community Services sector, URBIS, p.3 (2009) March, Portable Long Service Leave for the ACT Community Services sector, URBIS, p.5 (2009) September, Nothing Left to Give, ACT Council of Social Services Submission to the ACT Budget, p.11 (2009) March, Portable Long Service Leave for the ACT Community Services sector, URBIS, p.6 (2009) March, Portable Long Service Leave for the ACT Community Services sector, URBIS, p.10 (2009) March, Portable Long Service Leave for the ACT Community Services sector, URBIS, p.4 (2008) July, Community Services Sector Portable Long Service Leave discussion paper, Community Sector Taskforce (2004) Long Service Leave in Australia: Towards a National Minimum Standard, State Departments of Labour for the Workplace Relations Ministers’ Council, p.2 References (2012) February, ABS 6209.0—Labour Mobility, Australia, Australian Bureau of Statistics (2004) Long Service Leave in Australia: Towards a National Minimum Standard, State Departments of Labour for the Workplace Relations Ministers’ Council, p.3 (2004) Long Service Leave in Australia: Towards a National Minimum Standard, State Departments of Labour for the Workplace Relations Ministers’ Council, p.3 (2008) Community Services Industry Plan, Tascoss (2009) Portable Long Service Leave for the Community Services Sector Consultation Strategy, Department of Human Services, Victoria, p.1 (2007) September, Feasibility Study into A Portable Long Service Scheme for the Community Services Sector in Victoria, Bendzulla
 Actuarial Ltd., pp.3-4 (2007) September, Feasibility Study into A Portable Long Service Scheme for the Community Services Sector in Victoria, Bendzulla Actuarial Ltd., p49 (2008) August, Actuarial Assessment of a Proposed Portable Long Service Leave Scheme for the Community Services Sector in Victoria, Bendzulla Actuarial Ltd., p.8 (2008) August, Actuarial Assessment of a Proposed Portable Long Service Leave Scheme for the Community Services Sector in Victoria, Bendzulla Actuarial Ltd., p.37 (2009) March, Portable Long Service Leave 16 | A PLSL for the Tasmanian Community Services sector | Discussion Paper | May 2013 A PLSL for the Tasmanian Community Services sector | Discussion Paper | May 2013 | 17 The feasibility of, and options for, creating a national long service standard, and the portability of long service andother entitlementsSubmission 34 - Attachment 2 1300 880 032 assist@hacsutas.net.au www.hacsutas.asn.au Authorised by Chris Brown, State Secretary Health and Community Services Union 11 Clare Street New Town Tasmania 7008 The feasibility of, and options for, creating a national long service standard, and the portability of long service andother entitlementsSubmission 34 - Attachment 2