News

Agreement reached for new D&D Award

February 9, 2007

A hearing today before Justice Marks of the NSW Industrial Relations Commission (IRC) confirmed that an in-principle agreement for a new D&D Award now exists between the Union and the Public Employment Office. The Union anticipates that the Government will confirm this agreement at its next Budget Committee meeting on Tuesday 13 February, and that the IRC’s Full Bench will make the new award shortly thereafter.

The changes from the original 2003 D&D Award, which have been kept to a minimum, are as follows:

1. A new minimum death and TPI lump sum benefit of $12,000 will be introduced for:
• permanent members in SASS who elected to keep their Additional Benefit Cover (ABC); and
• retained members in SASS with Additional Benefit Cover (ABC); and
• retained members who, by virtue of their primary employment, are already members of SSS, PSS, EISS, LGSS, JPS or PCSF.

2.  Retained contributions will be increased to $396 pa, or $33 per month for members who are entitled to the full D&D benefits. There will also be a new, reduced rate of $132 pa, or $11 per month (ie, 1/3 of the full rate) introduced for retained firefighters in SASS with ABC, or SSS, PSS, EISS, LGSS, JPS or PCSF.

3.  The $250,000 off duty death and TPI lump sum benefit will be increased to $280,000 in line with the increases in permanent contributions between 2003 and 2006.

The new award will be known as the 2006 D&D Award and will be back-dated to take effect for three years from March 2006.

Simon Flynn
State Secretary