TECHNICAL AND SERVICES BRANCH WEEKLY BULLETIN 2025
Number
37
1 November 2026
NSW MEMBERS NOTE
While I am in NSW, our office is located in Melbourne. Our Vic based Office will be closed on Monday and Tuesday for Cup Day.
VALE GARRY NEWBERY
We have posted an obituary for Garry on our website
at CWU Garry Newbury
ALL MEMBERS VIP NOTE - SOCI
If you have access to critical infrastructure, then you are likely affected by the requirements of the Security of Critical Infrastructure Act (SOCI).
The communication industry is a targeted area of critical infrastructure.
It appears that all players in the communications industry will need to comply with the Federal law. Significant issues arise including privacy and job security. We are facing these issues in Telstra. To keep across these, follow the Telstra stories below and in future Bulletins.
TZV DISPUTE LAST MINUTE ATTEMPTS FAIL
With the Victorian Government moving into "Caretaker" mode on this Tuesday, there was a flurry of movement on Friday. TZV (or was it Government) made a last minute bid to fend off the industrial action. TZV advised that it was offering a 6% pay rise from October, and a sign on bonus of about $2,900. This was to be done with a Memorandum of Understanding, not an Enterprise Agreement. The first MOU restrictions were to remain no backpay and no industrial action for 12 months.
The MOU had not yet been approved by the Department and (presumably) Government.
We were given hours to agree, so that Government approval could be gained before Tuesday.
The initial feedback from a few members contacted was not positive. We proposed a wider survey of members. We also proposed inclusion of the "Patience in Bargaining" payment. As we were dealing with this, we got a message at 2.30pm Friday, from the Department, that all offers were withdrawn.
What was this all about? The Ballot for industrial action is still under way.
TZV DISPUTE VOTE ASAP
We urge members who have ballot papers to vote asap. We not only have to get a majority "YES" vote, we also need 50% of the eligible voters to vote.
BAI EBA MEMBERS MEETING
The negotiations with BAI hare not proceeding smoothly. CWU is arranging a Teams meeting of all members this Wednesday at 6.30pm AEST to brief members and seek feedback. As our bulletin is out of sync you will need to email me (reply to email) on Monday to get the link and confirm the times.
OPTUS SIGN ON APP
We wrote to Optus this week re the new App. We said:
A number of members have reported that they are required to download an Optus Phone App to their private mobile phones. The App is understood to be used to record their start and finish times at work. We will not elaborate on their concerns at this stage as the issue is clear. It appears that the App is required by next week.
We are advising members that there is no obligation on them to put an Optus App on their private mobile phones.
Can you please confirm asap that there is no requirement for staff to download an Optus App to their private mobile phones.
We received the following reply on Friday. We do not know how it will work.
Thank you for your email and sharing concerns raised by your members. For employees based at Belrose who do not wish to use a personal device for the purposes of completing timesheets via the My Optus Hours platform, a communal device will be made available in the Belrose caf‚ as an alternative. I trust this addresses concerns of your members.
AUS POST CEO BONUS ON DEPARTURE
Retiring CEO of Aus Post, Paul Graham, was paid a $1.2m bonus on top of his $1.64m base salary in the last financial year.
Post made a profit of $138 million last year but this was the result of profit from the sale of properties.
Without the sale of property, Post made a loss of $108 million.
We note that letter volumes fell by almost 15%. Parcels remain the driver of growth. The biggest Peak on record saw more than 110 million parcels delivered across Nov and Dec 2025, with more than 3,000 parcels moving through the network every minute.
TELSTRA OPTICAL FIBRE CLAIM
We recently wrote to Telstra seeking an explanation of several apparent "upgrades" of Optical Fibre staff. The upgrades included members who are part of our general Optical Fibre claims. Telstra responded as follows:
Telstra regularly assesses workforce requirements as part of its ongoing operational planning. Where additional roles are required at Band 2 and below, those roles are assessed and appropriately classified under the Workstream and Job Family work models.
The employees referred to in your correspondence were not "upgraded" through an assessment or reassessment of their existing positions. Rather, Telstra advertised new CFW5 positions to meet operational requirements and successful applicants were appointed through our usual recruitment process based on merit. Six of the employees identified by the Union in Annexure A were successful and appointed to new CFW5 positions.
As these were new appointments rather than reclassifications, retrospective payments do not apply.
In relation to the employees identified by the Union in Annexure A, Telstra's position remains that the appropriate classification had been applied in accordance with the current Core Job Descriptions (for Workstream employees) and the Enterprise Agreement. Telstra does not propose to revisit matters previously addressed in correspondence, however we are willing to consider any new information or specific examples the union may wish to provide.
Telstra also maintains that the Magistrates Court decision related to the particular circumstances of an individual employee and Telstra has complied with all Court orders.
Telstra remains committed to constructively working with the CWU to modernise the Core Job Descriptions, which will otherwise be a significant issue for EA bargaining in 2027.
TELSTRA RDO AND LSL
We are receiving inquiries about the "forfeiting" of an RDO when directed to take LSL. The issue is complex because LSL is measured in calendar days, not working days. There is a complication when taking any leave, LSL included, and an RDO.
First, they are separate matters. Obviously, you do not get an RDO when on LSL. LSL is measured in calendar days.
Secondly, what is an RDO? An RDO is a day taken because you are working longer that normal on say 9 days, so you build a credit of hours, equal to a full day of pay. This is usually taken as a day off, wiping out the credit.
Therefore when taking LSL, Telstra is wrong to suggest that you "forfeit" your hourly credits. The amount of credit will depend on the place in the roster cycle when leave commences and ends. This could vary from zero to a full day of credits. Those credits can be taken as "time off" later, or if not possible, must be paid out.
If you are having issues, please email your circumstances so that we can evaluate them.
TELSTRA SOCI INITIATIVE
Members would be by now aware of Telstra's proposed implementation of a new workforce screening regime under the Security of Critical Infrastructure (SOCI) framework. Under the proposal, members identified as "critical workers" would be subject to expanded background checks, periodic re-screening and additional compliance requirements.
The first round of talks between Telstra and the CWU, as part of the consultation process, occurred this week where, from the outset, the Union has made it clear that while we understand Telstra's obligations under the SOCI legislation and required rules and frameworks, any screening process must be fair, transparent, proportionate and respectful of our members' privacy and workplace rights.
SOCI - ISSUES RAISED BY CWU
How Telstra determines who is classified as a "critical worker";
The scope and intrusiveness of the proposed screening checks;
Members' rights to challenge decisions affecting them;
The fairness and transparency of review and decision-making processes;
Potential impacts on members' employment and job security;
Protections for members moving into critical worker roles; and
The lack of clearly defined safeguards and limitations within the policy.
SOCI CHALLENGING YOUR CLASSIFICATION
One of the CWU's key concerns was how members would be determined as critical workers, and whether they would have any ability to contest that classification. Telstra has now confirmed that employees who believe they have been incorrectly or unnecessarily identified as critical workers can raise the issue with their leaders and the SOCI team for reassessment of their role and access requirements. While the CWU continues to push for more formal review rights, this confirmation establishes that members do have a pathway to challenge their classification.
SOCI SOCIAL MEDIA CHECKS ARE NOT PROPOSED
Many members expressed concern that the screening process could involve scrutiny of personal social media activity, and we have advanced this concern quite strongly. Following discussions, Telstra has confirmed that social media screening will not occur as part of the workforce screening program. Instead, the draft policy refers to checks such as criminal history, sanctions screening, politically exposed persons screening, adverse media searches, financial and bankruptcy information, directorship records and ASIC-related matters.
SOCI SCREENING OUTCOMES WILL NOT BE AUTOMATIC
Telstra has also confirmed that a screening result raising concerns will not automatically result in disciplinary action or termination. The draft policy provides that screening outcomes must be assessed individually and that members will be given an opportunity to respond before any material decision affecting their employment is made and that the relevance, seriousness, recency and context of any information identified will be considered as part of any assessment.
SOCI - SIGNIFICANT CONCERNS REMAIN
While some clarification has been obtained, the CWU believes substantial issues remain unresolved and are pushing Telstra specifically on the following matters:
Who decides who is a critical worker? We remain concerned that members may not know why they have been classified as critical workers, what criteria has been applied, or whether similar roles will be treated differently.
Intrusive screening measures, particularly in relation to adverse media reporting, potentially exposed person status, financial history and bankruptcy information and directorship records and related commercial information. While Telstra argues these checks relate to personnel security risks, we have questioned whether some of these measures are proportionate and genuinely relevant to regular duties or access to critical infrastructure.
Re-screening triggers and timeframes. Under the policy, members are ordinarily rescreened every two years. However, additional screening may also be triggered by a range of factors and we are seeking clearer, more objective and transparent criteria regarding when additional screening can occur, rather than relying on broadly defined triggers.
Procedural Fairness and safeguards governing the Screening Review Panel should be clearly set out in the policy, along with independence, conflicts of interest, representation rights and appeal mechanisms. Telstra maintains that procedural fairness is already embedded through existing processes and that members will have an opportunity to respond before any employment decision is made. We remain concerned that these protections are largely implied rather than guaranteed and may leave members in a position where decisions affecting their work, access or employment are made without adequate procedural protections.
SOCI - TELSTRA RESPONSE FOLLOWING CWU MEETING
Thanks for your patience while we followed up on the actions we took on notice on Monday. Please see our responses below.
- Will social media be screened as part of the checks conducted by Certn. If not, can you please ensure this message is clarified to employees.
As discussed in the meeting, social media will not be screened through these checks. We have clarified this with our field leaders, as well as added the below FAQ to our Ask Us page:
- Will my social media be checked in the background check?
No, it will not. There is an Adverse Media check completed which screens news and other public media sources for negative coverage linked to the individual, such as allegations or findings of fraud, financial crime, misconduct or regulatory action, to help identify reputational and integrity risks.
- Request for a copy of the waiver/consent that an employee agrees to through the Certn portal
Please see attached consent forms, including a general authorization, and additional consent for processing biometric data (this data is used to verify the employee identity through a 'selfie'), and right to work check.
- Is Certn an offshore company?
Certn is a Canadian founded international screening provider with Australian operations. For Telstra's SOCI rescreening, Certn has advised that where no international checks are required, the relevant data is collected, stored and processed in Australia.
- How long is data stored?
Copies of passports, driver's licences, photographs and other identity documents are retained for 30 days for audit purposes and then purged.
Screening reports are retained for 12 months (however ACIC reports are 90 days).
Audit logs are retained for 12 months for reports and other logs for 3 years.
Verification records are held for 12 months, with biometric information only held as long as it is required to complete the check.
- What is Telstra's position if Certn experiences a data breach?
We and our suppliers, including Certn, take our obligations in relation to confidentiality and data security very seriously. In the unlikely event that Certn experiences a data breach affecting Telstra employees, our supplier agreement with Certn includes provisions addressing Telstra's involvement in the response. While we're unable to share the agreement itself, it provides Telstra with rights to investigate the incident and provide support as appropriate.
At this stage, most employee questions and feedback we're receiving relate to access, as well as leaders seeking guidance on the opt out process where an employee should no longer be considered a critical worker.
CONTACT US - FOR HELP
0428 942 878 ddwyer@cwu.asn.au Dan Dwyer
Secretary/Lawyer - industrial matters & advice
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CONTACT US - ADMINISTRATION
03 9663 6815 office@cwu.asn.au Administrative
eg payments, applications (Open 8am-4pm MTWT)
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Authorised by Dan Dwyer Secretary
- CWU Telecommunications & Services Branches.
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