Public Sector FAQs

Please note the advice provided on these pages is intended as general advice.

If, after reviewing the Frequently Asked Questions below you have additional questions, please contact the ANMF (SA Branch) using the contact form at the bottom of the page.

Pay rates and incremental progression

Q.What are my rates of pay?

A.What your rate of pay is will depend on your classification.

Please log in here to download a copy of the rates of pay that applies to you.

Compare your rates of pay

Please log in hereto see Award rates of pay for public sector rates.

Q. Does my employer have to give me a payslip?

A: Yes. When an employer makes a payment of wages, they must provide you with a pay slip showing the following information:

the name of the employer; and

the amount of the payment; and

the period of employment to which the payment relates; and

if the employee is paid on an hourly basis, or on a basis on which the rate of pay varies according to the time worked the number of hours worked by the employee during the period to which the payment relates (distinguishing between ordinary time and overtime); the rate or rates of pay on which the payment is based; and

if the employer has made a contribution to a superannuation fund for the benefit of the employee—the name of the fund to which the contribution was made and the amount of the contribution.

Q. I don’t think I am being paid correctly what should I do? 

A. If you have not already raised the underpayment with your employer, you should do so.

If your employer is cooperative, this is the easiest and quickest way to rectify the underpayment.

If you believe that you are not being paid correctly you should lodge a written inquiry to your manager and/or Shared Services in the first instance as it may be a coding error in ProAct. A simple email stating how much you believe you were underpaid and why will suffice. Make sure to request that the issue be fixed and a written response within 10 business days.

If you don’t receive a response, or if you are not happy with the outcome please contact the ANMF (SA Branch) by using the contact form below. Please make sure you include relevant payslips and your written communication with your employer.

Q. I have just started a new position – what should I be paid.

A: Some entitlements must be claimed separately such as an Additional Qualification Allowance.

Regarding your increment on appointment with SA Health, it will be determined by reference to your relevant continuous experience since becoming an RN/EN. Your commencement rate will be subject to your employer’s approval, but will look at your recognised service elsewhere.

We suggest you provide your employer with as much information as possible such as payslips, statement of service and CVs to demonstrate the classification and increment you believe you should be paid at, as the onus is on you to demonstrate your experience.

If you encounter issues with this please contact the ANMF (SA Branch) via the form below

Member Assist form

Q. How do I get the additional qualification allowance?

A: To claim an entitlement to a qualification allowance you must provide your employer with written evidence of having satisfactorily completed the requirements for the qualification for which the entitlement is claimed. The operative date will be the date upon which written evidence is provided to the employer.

It is therefore important to provide this information in writing as soon as possible.

Q. When am I entitled to progress to the next pay point? 

A. You will be entitled to progress to the next increment higher than your previous increment on your next annual anniversary date (or after completing 1610 hours for casual/part time employees but no earlier than 12 months) in accordance with existing incremental progression dates.

Q. I’ve been in my job for 12 months, why haven’t I progressed?

So if you worked less than full time, it can take longer than 1 year to progress.

If you believe you have met the minimum requirements for incremental advancement, but have not been automatically advanced, you should lodge a written inquiry to your payroll office/Shared Services. State that you believe you have met the requirements for advancement and seek correction and written response within 10 business days.

If you still need assistance, contact the ANMF (SA Branch) via the form below.

Member Assist form

Rostering, Overtime and On call

Q. Should I get paid for overtime?

A. All employees, with the expectation of Registered nurses level 4 and 5, should be paid at overtime rates for any authorised work in excess of their ordinary working hours.

Overtime is an entitlement that should be claimed and paid by an employee. By claiming your overtime, you ensure actual working hours are recorded which means problems with inadequate staffing levels can be identified and addressed.

Working excessive overtime may impact negatively on your practice and your health as well as compromise patient or resident care it’s therefore important to keep track of it and alert management if you’re working too much overtime.

Q. Can I refuse to work overtime?

A: You may refuse to work overtime in circumstances where the working of such overtime would result in you working hours which are unreasonable, having regard to:

Any risk to your health and safety;
Your personal circumstances including any family responsibilities;
The needs of the workplace;
The notice (if any) given by your employer of the overtime and the notice you give of your intention to refuse it; and
Any other relevant matter.

Q. Should I get paid for being on call?

A. An employee, other than a Registered nurse level 4 or 5, who is rostered to be on call between rostered shifts of ordinary hours is entitled to be paid the following rates for being on call:

Monday to Friday inclusive - an additional amount of $24.12.
Saturday - an additional amount of $35.25 for the period or part thereof.
Sunday or public holiday - an additional amount of $40.98 for the period or part thereof.

An employee rostered to be on-call for a period spanning two days over which two different on call allowances apply, will receive payment which is equal to the allowance payable for the day attracting the higher allowance.

Q. What are my meal and tea break entitlements?

A: Employees are entitled to an unpaid meal break of 30 minutes to one hour on each day or shift.

Generally, you should not work for more than five hours without a meal break of 30 minutes.

If you are required by an authorised person to work more than 5 hours without having had or commenced an unpaid meal break, you will be paid an additional 50% of your ordinary hourly rate until the end of your shift, or until you can take an uninterrupted meal break. Employees do not have an entitlement to a paid tea break/s.

Q. What are my rights concerning rosters?

A: For employees other than Registered nurses level 4 and 5, ordinary hours of must be displayed on a roster conveniently placed and accessible to employees at least 14 days before the commencement of the day on which the roster commences.

Q. Can my employer change my roster after it has been displayed?

A. A roster may be altered at any time to enable the nursing service to be carried on in an emergency or when another employee is absent from duty.

Q. My employer has sent me a contract to sign. I’m a little unsure about it.

A. The ANMF can provide you with some advice before you make it official.

Provide us with the details and upload the contract via the form below.

Member Assist form

Leave entitlements

Annual leave

Q. How much annual leave am I entitled to?

A. Unless otherwise specified in your agreement, entitlements accrue on a pro-rata basis for part-time employees.

Employees who work Monday to Friday are entitled to four weeks leave per year.

Full-time employees who are rostered across a seven day roster are entitled to a minimum of six weeks leave per year.

(A 'weekend worker' is defined as a full time employee required to work ordinary hours on weekdays and weekends.)

An additional 38 hours (one week or 5 days) is added where an employee is regularly rostered over 6 days of the week. Your entitlement will be a minimum of five weeks leave per year of service.

For an employee who is not rostered over 7 days, you will be granted an additional 5 days of leave if you are rostered on-call for 1 in 2 weekend on-call periods averaged over a service year (i.e a minimum of 47 weekend on-call periods).

Q. How does leave leveraging work?

A: Leave averaging may apply to you if you started working for SA Health before 2019. If you started work for SA Health after 2019 then you will accrue leave on all hours that you work.

Averaging of leave may occur when you have worked more hours than your contracted hours. There is a general entitlement that when on leave you should receive the same amount you would have received had you been working.

Your leave will be paid at the average hours that you have worked over the course of your employment.

For example:

You are contracted at 20 hrs per week but for the last 4 years you have been working between 30 and 38 hours per week. You will have accrued annual leave on the hours you have worked.

If you take 2 weeks leave, you will take 40 hrs (as your contract) but you will be paid at the average of the hours you have worked for during your employment. In this example this will be more than your contracted hours.

Averaging may also apply when you change your FTE. In instances where you increase your FTE, it may be the case that you are paid less than your contracted hours.

Q. What if I don’t want my leave averaged?

A. You should write to Shared Services requesting to elect that you are changes over to new system post 2019. This is where leave accrues on all hours you work.

If you still need assistance, please contact the ANMF (SA Branch) via the form below

Member Assist form

Parental leave

Q. Parental Leave – what is it?

A. Parental leave is leave that can be taken after.

an employee gives birth;
an employee's spouse or domestic partner gives birth
an employee adopts a child under 5 years of age.

Employees are entitled to up to 52 weeks of unpaid parental leave.

An employee entitled to unpaid parental leave may request the employer to allow the employee:

to extend the period of unpaid maternity leave by a further continuous period of leave not exceeding 12 months.
to return to work from a period of parental leave on a part-time basis until the child reaches school age, to assist the employee in reconciling work and parental responsibilities.

Q. Am I eligible for parental leave?

A:All employees are entitled to unpaid parental leave, regardless of how long they have been employed and whether they are employed on a permanent, temporary or casual basis.

Q. I have a temporary contract, am I entitled to Parental Leave?

A. Employees employed on a temporary contract are not entitled to leave without pay past the end of the term of the contract except where they hold the right to further ongoing appointment at the end of the contract. If such a right is held, and the leave without pay will extend past the end of the term of the contract, then the employee should seek leave without pay from the position in which they hold the contract appointment and the position in which they hold the right to further ongoing employment.

Q. I am a casual, am I entitled to Parental Leave?

A: Casual employees are also entitled to ‘parental leave’. However, rather than granting leave without pay, they will not be required to work for a period of time, up to 52 weeks. Note that this period during which the casual is not required to work is not to be considered effective service for the purposes of determining long service leave entitlements. If the employee continues working as a casual after the period of parental leave, the period of suspension is not considered as a break in service, regardless of whether or not it continued for more than three months.

Q. Am I eligible for any Paid Parental Leave?

A:Public sector employees, other than casual employees, who have completed 12 months continuous service immediately prior to the birth of the child, or immediately prior to taking custody of an adopted child, or as a consequence of a surrogacy arrangement are entitled to 16 weeks paid maternity or adoption leave.

Employees who have been employed in the public sector for not less than 5 years, are entitled to 20 weeks paid maternity or adoption leave.

Special leave

Q. Special leave with pay

A. The Chief Executive Officer of SA Health (or delegate) may grant up to 15 days of special leave with pay for the following purposes:

Anzac Commemoration Marches
Emergency Service Calls
Staff Development
Jury Service as required by the Sheriff
Military Training
Training courses for emergency
Sporting Events
Rest after extraordinary hours worked
Disability resulting from War Service
As decided by the Commissioner
Cultural Leave (Special leave with Pay for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Employees)

Special leave with pay may only be granted where an employee makes a formal application.

The determination which deals with special leave can be found here .

Q. Special Leave with pay for COVID 19

A:In recognition of the continued public health situation relating to COVID-19, special leave with pay of up to 15 days is currently available to employees, other than casuals, to support absences from the workplace for COVID-19 situations.

COVID-19 situations include the following:

Quarantining or isolating
Awaiting result of COVID 19 test
Requirement to remain at home
Cross boarder restrictions
Temporary cessation of service
Physical workplace closure for COVID 19 purposes

Employees will be provided with access to flexible working arrangements wherever possible, prior to special leave with pay for COVID 19 is granted.

The determination which deals with this special leave can be found here.

Family and domestic violence leave

Q. Family and domestic violence Leave

A. Domestic/Family Violence is a pattern of abusive behaviours by one person against another, within an intimate relationship such as marriage, domestic partnerships cohabitation, dating or within a family including across generations.

Domestic/Family violence takes many forms including physical and sexual violence, verbal abuse, threats and intimidation, emotional and social abuse, economic deprivation and property damage. The abusive pattern of behaviour is aimed at power and control through fear.

Public sector employees may access up to 15 days special leave with pay which is not considered to be part of the general 15 days special leave with pay allowance for special purposes.

Domestic/family violence leave is in addition to any other existing leave entitlements and may be taken as consecutive or single days or hours.

Personal leave

Q. How much personal leave am I entitled to?

A. Full-time nurses and midwives are credited with 120 hours Personal/Carers leave per annum (sub-clause 7.6 of the Enterprise Agreement). Personal/Carers Leave for part-time nurses and midwives is to be paid at the employee’s usual salary for the number of hours normally worked (sub-clause 7.6.3.4).

Where an employee is absent on leave without pay (other than for Workers Compensation or unpaid sick leave with a medical certificate) each hour of leave without pay which is not counted as service during a service year will reduce the Personal/Carers leave to be credited to an employee on the next service year date (sub-clause 7.6.3.15 of the Enterprise Agreement).

Casual nurses and midwives do not have access to paid personal leave.

Q. What can I use paid personal leave for?

A: Personal/Carers leave is often still referred to as sick leave.

You can take Personal/Carers leave for absences from work on account of:

Personal illness or personal injury;
Illness of a family member;
Bereavement; and
Urgent pressing necessity

Sub-clause 7.6.1 of the Enterprise Agreement defines “family member”, “bereavement” and “urgent pressing necessity” so that eligibility for Personal/Carers leave is clear.

You can log in here to access your Enterprise Agreement.

Q. What can’t I use paid personal leave for?

A. Sub-clause 7.6.3 of the Enterprise Agreement imposes some clear limitations on the use of Personal/Carers leave. For example, you cannot:

access more than 60 hours of paid Personal/Carers leave in your first 6 months employment;
access more than 120 hours of paid Personal/Carers leave in your first 12 months employment;
use Personal/Carers leave for:

an illness caused by your own misconduct;
an illness that arises from circumstances within your control e.g. sunburn;
normal period of absence for confinement;
attending business that could otherwise be done outside your ordinary hours of duty e.g. rostered days off, flexi-time, PDOs, scheduled days off etc.; or
any other circumstances which are not specifically stated in, or intended by, the definitions clause 7.6.

Q. What happens if I do not use my personal leave?

A. Your unused personal leave will accumulate from year to year.

However it will not be paid out upon you leaving your employment.

Q. Am I obliged to give notice before taking personal leave?

A: Sub-clause 7.6.3.6 of the Enterprise Agreement requires that, before being entitled to be paid Personal/Carers Leave, the employee will, within 24 hours of commencement of any period of absence, inform the employer of his/her inability to attend for duty, and as far as practicable, state the reason for the absence and the estimated duration of the absence.

Q. Do I have to give my employer a medical certificate if I take personal leave?

A. Any employee absent on account of Personal/Carers leave due to personal or family illness for more than three working days must forward a medical certificate signed by a registered medical practitioner to the employer or, if the absence is not more than 5 working days a dental certificate signed by a dental practitioner (sub-clause 7.6.3.8 of the Enterprise Agreement).

An employee may also be required by the employer to provide a medical certificate, or other documentation, for absence on Personal/Carers leave for less than 3 days (sub-clause 7.6.3.9 of the Enterprise Agreement).

For all urgent pressing necessity and bereavement leave, the employee is required to produce other documentation sufficient to justify the granting of paid leave (sub-clause 7.6.3.8 of the Enterprise Agreement).

An employee absent due to Personal/Carers leave on the working day before and/or the working day after the employee’s programmed day off/scheduled day off is not entitled to payment for such working day(s), unless the employee provides a medical certificate or statutory declaration (sub-clause 7.6.3.10 of the Enterprise Agreement).

An employee if required must submit an appropriate medical certificate (or other documentation) for each week of absence (sub-clause 7.6.3.13 of the Enterprise Agreement).

Q. Do I have to give my employer a medical clearance certificate when I return to work?

A. Unless otherwise specified in your agreement, entitlements accrue on a pro-rata basis for part-time employees.

This is only necessary if your employer asks you to. Sub-clause 7.6.3.14 of the Enterprise Agreement says that, in the case of personal illness, an employee, if so required must submit a medical certificate of fitness on resumption of work after any period of absence.

Q. Bereavement/Compassionate Leave

A:Public Sector employees, other than casual employees, are credited with 120 hours of Personal/Carers (P/C) leave per annum. This P/C leave can be used for various purposes, including for bereavements.

‘Bereavement’ is defined in the Nursing/Midwifery (South Australian Public Sector) Enterprise Agreement 2020 as: The death of a person closely related to an employee. The employee is either emotionally distressed or attends the funeral or related arrangements or provides emotional support to another person closely related to the employee.

Long service leave

Q. What long service leave am I entitled to?

A. An employee who has completed at least 10 years effective service is entitled to the following long service leave:

90 calendar days for the first 10 years
9 days for each subsequent year of effective service.

Changes to Long Service Leave entitlements made by the Statutes Amendment (Budget 2010) Act 2010 (the Act) took effect on 1 July 2011. This means that the rate of accrual of long service leave no longer increases to 15 calendar days after the first 15 years of effective service. Instead, long service leave continues to accrue at the rate of 9 calendar days for each completed year of service. The amendment does not affect long service leave entitlements accrued before 1 July 2011.

Member Assist form

Please note the advice provided on these pages is intended as general advice.

If, after reviewing the Frequently Asked Questions below you have additional questions, please contact the ANMF (SA Branch) using the contact form at the bottom of the page. More information regarding your entitlements can also be found at the Fair Work ombudsman website.

Last updated 18 November 2021.