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Dear Staff Members,

This notice is to inform you that the proposed Victorian Public Mental Health Services Enterprise Agreement 2024-2028 (Proposed Agreement) has now been finalised.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The Proposed Agreement represents the settlement negotiated between the Victorian Hospitals Industrial Association (VHIA) on behalf of Employers, and the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) and Health and Community Services Union (HACSU) on behalf of Employees.

Eligible Employees are those who are covered by the Proposed Agreement, employed as a:

• Registered Psychiatric Nurse
• Psychiatric Enrolled Nurse
• Mental Health Officer
• Registered Undergraduate Student of Nursing
• Pre-qualified Enrolled Nurse
• Indigenous Nursing cadet
• Health Professional (as listed)
• Lived and Living Experience Worker
• Pre-Qualified Health Professional student
• Support Service Employee
• Management & Administrative Officer,

solely or predominantly in the provision of Public Mental Health Services.

Employees not employed solely or predominately in the provision of Public Mental Health Services will not be covered by the Proposed Agreement.

PROVISION OF RELEVANT MATERIALS AND EXPLANATION TO ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEES

As per the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), Albury Wodonga Health must now provide Eligible Employees with the following information:

1.         Copy of Proposed Agreement and Incorporated Material  

Each Employer must take all reasonable steps to ensure that Eligible Employees are given or have access to a copy of the Proposed Agreement (Attachment A).

2.         Explanation of the Proposed Agreement terms and their effect           

Each Employer must take all reasonable steps to ensure that the terms of the Proposed Agreement are explained to Eligible Employees. VHIA has developed an Explanation of Terms document (Attachment B) that must be provided to Eligible Employees.

3.         Notification of Vote

            Each Employer must take all reasonable steps to ensure Eligible Employees are notified by the start of the access period for the Proposed Agreement of the time and place at which the vote will occur and the voting method that will be used. In conjunction with Vero Voting, VHIA has developed a ballot instruction sheet (Attachment C) that must be provided to Eligible Employees.

In addition to receiving this information by email, Albury Wodonga Health has made this information available:

1. Posting the information on the intranet;
2. Posting the information on noticeboards;
3. Making the information available in hardcopy locations at some easily accessible/central locations such as administration/HR/meal break areas.

THE BALLOT PROCESS

The Employers to be covered by the Proposed Agreement must also conduct a ballot of Eligible Employees. The ballot involves providing Eligible Employees with the opportunity to vote to approve or not approve the Proposed Agreement.

Method of Ballot and Place

The ballot will be conducted by Vero Voting and will be conducted electronically.

Date and Time of Ballot

The ballot will be open from 9:00am Friday 19 December 2025 to 5:00pm Tuesday 23 December 2024. Eligible Employees will be able to vote at any time during this period.

We strongly encourage you to vote as early as possible within the ballot timeframe.

Instructions to access the vote

Detailed instructions on how you will be able to vote when the ballot opens are found in the attached ballot instruction sheet.

1. Go to https://vhia.verovoting.com.au/ and enter your Date of Birth (DDMMYYYY) to login to the voting portal.
2. Follow the on-screen instructions to lodge your vote.

Please familiarise yourself with the instructions in anticipation of the ballot opening from 9:00am Friday 19 December 2025.

Important information

• More than 50% of all Eligible Employees at your Employer that vote must vote for the approval of the Proposed Agreement for it to be submitted to the Fair Work Commission for approval on your Employer’s behalf.

FURTHER INFORMATION

If you have any queries in relation to the Proposed Agreement or ballot process or you believe you have a particular circumstance that requires Albury Wodonga Health to provide additional support in explaining the terms of the Proposed Agreement changes you may contact Employee Relations Officer – Alexis Smith at alexis.smith@awh.org.au.  

Alternatively, if you are a member of the ANMF or HACSU you may also contact the ANMF or HACSU for information and advice.