News
26th November, 2021
Industrial Update
As members will be aware, the Victorian Ambulance Union Incorporated (VAU) employs a team of employment lawyers who provide industrial and legal services to VAU members. Given our growing membership (almost 5500), the VAU have recently employed two more employment lawyers which will take our industrial/legal team to five.
The primary focus of our legal/industrial team is representing members in matters relating to serious misconduct allegations, Professional Conduct Unit (PCU) investigations, Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) investigations and matters before the Fair Work Commission, Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) and the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission (VEOHRC). This is the work that the VAU does behind the scenes which members often don’t see.
Over recent months our team have represented:
- 12 members in the Fair Work Commission on a range of industrial disputes including matters which have progressed to conciliation and arbitration with successful outcomes.
- 6 AV members with discrimination and OHS complaints in VCAT and VEOHRC.
- 26 AV members in matters where they are either being investigated by the PCU or have made a complaint to the PCU which was not appropriately dealt with.
- 3 NEPT and 10 AV members who have had their applications for flexible work arrangements and/or reasonable adjustments/accommodations unreasonably refused.
- 6 NEPT members who have made or responded to serious misconduct allegations.
- 8 AV members before AHPRA, including AHPRA investigations.
- Approximately 30 AV Graduates, throughout their GAP year, including involvement in performance processes and preventing termination of employment.
All individual matters are treated strictly confidentially so we are unable to provide specific details about the nature of the matters. Further, given the distress our members have been through, the VAU does not showcase our outcomes. However, our legal team routinely achieve positive results for our members including having unjustly harsh disciplinary actions retracted, letters of apology from employers and achieving financial compensation for several members in the order of tens of thousands of dollars.
Separately, since our inception in 2019 the VAU has handled approximately 680 separate collective and individual matters for members (where substantive work was performed). This does not include the day-to-day emails and phone calls we respond to for industrial advice and welfare matters.
It is in the courts where unions truly hold employers to account and achieve actual outcomes for members which is why the VAU has invested in building a skilled legal team to provide the best legal services to members.