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CSYJ
Protected Action

Below is the list of Stage One actions and the resources to support them. This page will be updated as the campaign moves through each stage.

 

 

Taking part in Protected Industrial Action is your legal right.

You can't be punished for taking part.
 Under the Industrial Relations Act 2016, your employer cannot dismiss you, discipline you, or treat you unfairly because you're taking part in protected action. That includes threats. If your employer takes action against you because of protected industrial action, that's unlawful.

What to watch for.
Your employer can still direct and manage your work as normal outside of the specific actions covered by the notice. If something happens that doesn't feel right — a manager pushing back, a comment that feels like a threat, or anything that makes you unsure where you stand,  don't sit with it; get in touch: your.union@together.org.au.  

Protected Action FAQ

CHILD SAFETY ACTIONS:

Click on the stages below to see what actions union members are taking to secure a brighter future:

Stage 3 - Actions

In accordance with s236 of the Industrial Relations Act 2016, Together Queensland, Industrial Union of Employees (TQIUE) gives notice of further Protected Industrial Action to commence from the dates listed below in the respective table.

The action

Further Clarity

Date the Action Starts From

A ban on working additional hours above the standard day or rostered shift

Members will only work their standard / rostered hours, within the spread of hours. Members will not start early, stay back late, or take work home to "catch up".

8 September 2026

A ban on working overtime and accruing TOIL or ATL

Members will not work overtime or accrue TOIL, and do not undertake additional hours (ATL) during this action.

8 September 2026

Line supervisors approve, not reject, leave/ATL/TOIL requests

Members who are supervisors will not reject leave, ATL or TOIL applications from their staff.

8 September 2026

Take all entitled breaks

Members take every meal and rest break they are entitled to, in full.

8 September 2026

Not completing or writing affidavits unless a court directs it

Child Safety Members (non-lawyers): Members will provide

  • Not complete or write affidavits unless a court directs them by name and role to complete this.
  • Provide OCFOS/DCPL with all relevant attachments and documents they need
  • Members will upload child protection assessments into a case note instead of the affidavit and place it on UNIFY.
  • Members will provide this along with all the other documents.
  • Members will continue to respond to all follow-ups for missing documents and requests for further clarifying information.
  • This does not apply for serving affidavits and declarations Affidavit of Service.
  • This action does not apply to Court Services.
  • It does not apply to CAO or TAO applications or to Temporary Custody Orders

Child Safety Members (OCFOS): Members will:

  • Not complete or write affidavits unless a court directs them by name and role to complete this.
  • Members will refer the exhibit bundle to the DCPL without the usual affidavit attachment.
  • Members will ensure that the Form A includes the department’s justification for the recommended order.

8 September 2026

Not completing the Information Provision to Parents form (Child Safety Only)

Members will not fill out or submit the Advice to Parent form in Unify.

8 September 2026

A ban on completing client transports

Members will not undertake transport of clients as part of this action. The following specifics apply:

  • This does not apply to removals or where there is a safety risk for a young person, as defined by the member taking action.
  • if members are the only way a young person can get to court, then transports will continue.
  • Members will not unfairly disadvantage young people further. If there is another service that can do this, then this ban will apply.

8 September 2026

A ban on collecting or providing statistics or data, submitting or completing forms, workforce reporting and monitoring and responding to requests for data and insights

Members will stop supplying statistics or data used for departmental purposes for:

  • Building or preparing budgets, including financial factoring activities or using SAS/SAP or variance reports.
  • Missing Children and Young People Reports that occur outside of Unify. Members will continue to ensure young people and their locations are updated on Unify.
  • Not adding data or statistics into AIMS.
  • End-of-month reporting via spreadsheets that should be available in Unify.

7 September 2026

Not collecting or providing statistics or data and submitting or completing forms in AIMS (Child Safety Only in APCS)
  • Members will not complete Intake Enquiry forms. This means continuing to do the intakes and follow-up; for clarity it means not recording the Intake on AIMS.
  • Members will not put end dates or record activity records as complete. Members will still enter information in to the activity records but will not add the end date or complete the activity record

8 September 2026
 
 
 
 

Stage 2 - Actions
In accordance with s236 of the Industrial Relations Act 2016, your union has given the Department formal notice that the following Protected Industrial Action for Stage Two starts on Monday 17 August 2026.  
The Stage One actions remain in effect alongside these new bans.

The notified actions for Stage Two are for both departments:

  • A work ban on logbook and fuel reconciliation;
    • For clarity, this is a ban on completing logbooks; it is also a ban on completing fuel reconciliation. Staff still need to use LBM and UMS.
  • A work ban on completing Additional Child Care Subsidy Letters.
  • A work ban on monitoring monthly financial records, including VAT reporting;
  • A work ban on responding to Ministerial requests, including complaints via MINCOR;
  • A work ban on writing or providing input to briefing notes;
  • A work ban on responding to requests for data and insights;
  • A work ban on closing or accepting closure of incidents in Service Now;
  • A work ban on completing or reviewing Service Response Plans, CHART or ERIC;
  • A work ban on submitting or completing PCR forms.
  • A work ban on submitting or completing Child Permanency Review (CPR) forms.
    • Note: This action was notified to start on Friday, 21 August 2026.
  • A work ban on attending internal meetings, events and briefings in person, via video or by phone conference; this includes: 

For clarity, the meetings ban for DFSDSCS is confined to non-client, administrative meetings. It applies to:

  1. Team meetings;

  2. all-of-office meetings; and

  3. Regional Director and Regional Executive Director briefings. 

The meetings ban does not apply to any client-related consultation or decision-making process. Without limitation, it does not apply to:

  1. professional supervision or line management supervision;

  2. practice panels;

  3. internal case consultations;

  4. legal consultations;

  5. family-led decision-making meetings;

  6. standards of care consultations; or

  7. Suspected Child Abuse and Neglect (SCAN) team meetings.

  • A work ban on completing Unify forms for Case Plans, PSNAs or CSNAs
For clarity on this action, Case Plans, PSNAs and CSNAs are still conducted, but would be uploaded to case notes on Unify, not by using the relevant Unify Forms. 
 

Important to note:

The bans on Unify forms/PSNAs/CSNAs, Service Response Plans/CHART/ERIC, and PCR forms do not apply where there is a child or young person in immediate danger, or an emergent situation as defined by the member taking the action. If you're unsure whether a situation falls within this carve-out, use your judgement to keep children and young people safe first, then get in touch with your union, union delegate or by email at your.union@together.org.au

 

Resources for Stage Two

 

Stage 1 - Actions
In accordance with s236 of the Industrial Relations Act 2016, your union has given the Department formal notice that the following Protected Industrial Action for stage one starts on 3 August 2026.

The notified actions for Stage one are:

  • Activating "out of office" replies (internal and/or external) with union campaign messages
  • Updating email signatures with union messages and images
  • Displaying signage — internal and external — with union materials
  • Wearing campaign clothing and stickers
  • A work ban on reporting on protected action being undertaken
  • A work ban on performing duties not being done due to protected action

Resources for Stage One: 

Resources

Child Safety

Posters
CS PIA POSTER
White PIA Poster - CS

Out of Office Email
Child Safety Out of Office Email Template

Signature Blocks
Not Delivering Signatures CS

 

 

YOUTH JUSTICE ACTIONS:

Click on the stages below to see what actions union members are taking to secure a brighter future:

Stage 3 - Actions

In accordance with s236 of the Industrial Relations Act 2016, Together Queensland, Industrial Union of Employees (TQIUE) gives notice of further Protected Industrial Action to commence from the dates listed below in the respective table.

The action

Further Clarity

Date the Action Starts From

A ban on working additional hours above the standard day or rostered shift

Members will only work their standard / rostered hours, within the spread of hours. Members will not start early, stay back late, or take work home to "catch up".

8 September 2026

A ban on working overtime, and accruing TOIL or ATL

Members will not work overtime or accrue TOIL, and do not undertake additional hours (ATL) during this action.

8 September 2026

Line supervisors approve, not reject, leave/ATL/TOIL requests

Members who are supervisors will not reject leave, ATL or TOIL applications from their staff.

8 September 2026

Take all entitled breaks

Members take every meal and rest break they are entitled to, in full.

8 September 2026

A ban on completing client transports

Decline transport tasks and refer them back to your manager. Remember the safety carve-out: if a young person is in immediate danger and transport is the safe option, that's your call to make.

If you are the only way a young person can get to court, then continue transports, we dont want dont want to unfairly disadvantage young people further, if there is a other service that can do this, then apply the ban.

8 September 2026

A ban on collecting or providing statistics or data, submitting or completing forms, workforce reporting and monitoring and responding to requests for data and insights

Members will stop supplying statistics or data used for departmental purposes for:

  • End of month reporting via spreadsheets that should be available in Unify.

7 September 2026
 
 
 

Stage 2 - Actions
In accordance with s236 of the Industrial Relations Act 2016, your union has given the Department formal notice that the following Protected Industrial Action for Stage Two starts on Monday 17 August 2026.  
The Stage One actions remain in effect alongside these new bans.

The notified actions for Stage Two are for both departments:

  • A work ban on responding to Ministerial requests, including complaints via MINCOR;
  • A work ban on writing or providing input to briefing notes;
  • A work ban on responding to requests for data and insights;
  • A work ban on closing or accepting closure of incidents in Service Now;
  • A work ban on attending internal meetings, events and briefings, in person, video or phone conference;
 

Important to note:

The bans on Unify forms/PSNAs/CSNAs, Service Response Plans/CHART/ERIC, and PCR forms do not apply where there is a child or young person in immediate danger, or an emergent situation as defined by the member taking the action. If you're unsure whether a situation falls within this carve-out, use your judgement to keep children and young people safe first, then get in touch with your union, union delegate or by email at your.union@together.org.au

 

Resources for Stage Two

 

Stage 1 - Actions
In accordance with s236 of the Industrial Relations Act 2016, your union has given the Department formal notice that the following Protected Industrial Action for stage one starts on 3 August 2026.

The notified actions for Stage one are:

  • Activating "out of office" replies (internal and/or external) with union campaign messages
  • Updating email signatures with union messages and images
  • Displaying signage — internal and external — with union materials
  • Wearing campaign clothing and stickers
  • A work ban on reporting on protected action being undertaken
  • A work ban on performing duties not being done due to protected action

Resources for Stage One: 

Resources

Youth Justice

Posters
White PIA Poster - YJ
YJ PIA Poster

Out of Office Email
Youth Justice Out of Office Email Template

Signature Blocks
Not Delivering Signatures Block Youth Justice

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Suspended Actions

DYJVS has written to your union, threatening to lock out members over several protected action bans. A lockout means the department stops paying you and can direct you to leave the workplace for taking certain protected actions.

Most of the bans were focused on freeing workers up to spend more time doing the actual work of keeping communities safe and engaging with young people. DYJVS is claiming these bans put community safety at risk; this is not the real reason they're doing this. They're doing it because the bans are working, and they want members to stop.

What your steering committee has decided:

Given the department's response, your delegate steering committee has made the call to suspend the bans DYJVS is threatening to withhold pay over. This isn't backing down. It's members choosing how and when to fight, on our terms, not the department's.

The following actions are suspended for now:

  • A work ban on completing or reviewing Service Response Plans, CHART or ERIC

  • A work ban on completing Unify forms for Case Plans, PSNAs or CSNAs
  • A work ban on logbook and fuel reconciliation
  • A work ban on monitoring monthly financial records, including VAT reporting
  • Not closing cases on Unify (Youth Justice Only)
  • A ban on collecting or providing statistics or data, submitting or completing forms, workforce reporting and monitoring and responding to requests for data and insights
  • Not completing documentation/briefing notes for or attending MAC-P meetings (Youth Justice Only)
  • Not completing or writing affidavits unless a court directs it
 
 

Negotiation Updates: