HPSS Award

Awards set legal minimum pays and conditions. They do NOT decrease pays.

In 02/2020, OA claimed that:
“…the minimum rate of pay under the HPSS Award if adopted may significantly decrease the salaries currently being offered.”

In 04/2020, HSU responded (prior to formally representing optometrists) that:
“As a matter of logic it does not follow that the improvement of the relevant minimum standards would have the result of diminishing the bargaining power of employed optometrists.”

In 11/2020, the Fair Work Commission decided that:
“The contention that once there is an award minimum wage, employers will reduce employees’ wages, is not plausible given there is already a NMW [National Minimum Wage] and this has not occurred.”

Subsequently, optometrists were left without explicit Award coverage or tailored minimum conditions.

Why should optometrists be on the HPSS Award?

Pay is already falling behind

Notably, union members' pays grow more than non-members, particularly in the private sector.

Conditions need enforceable minimums

The HPSS Award is not only about pay. It would strengthen enforceable minimum conditions around penalties (clause 26), overtime (clause 25), paid breaks (clause 15), rostering (clause 14), leave (clauses 27–33) and higher duties (clause 18). 

Recent published workforce survey comments highlight these issues:

• “My hours over December have been changed without consulting me first…”

• “…no time to go to the toilet or get a water.”

• “Management refusing to pay overtime when Optometrists stay after hours...”

• “Sometimes, we skip lunch altogether and ‘forget to eat’…”

• “Not approving annual leave days; even with requests 6 months in advance…”

The study reported that most optometrists were not allocated time for non-patient-facing duties, and that lack of time to adequately care for patients was the most consistent factor associated with job dissatisfaction. 

An Award can set legally enforceable minimum standards so that breaks, overtime, rostering and leave are not treated as optional extras.