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Recent changes to the Health Professionals and Support Services Award 2010

The Health Professionals and Support Services Award 2010 (‘the Award’) has recently undergone an award review resulting in several changes, both minor and major. If you have not already done so, it is important to recognise these changes and consider how they affect your business.

Minor changes

The minor changes made to the Award are already in effect as they commenced on 9 January 2019. Some of these changes are:

• There is a new definition of “private medical, dental, pathology, physiotherapy, chiropractic and osteopathic practice”
• Clause 25 has been slightly reworded to allow a roster to be changed at any time when an employee is absent on personal/carers leave, compassionate leave, ceremonial leave, leave to deal with family and domestic violence, or in the case of an emergency
• Clause 26.1 has been slightly reworded to specifically state that part-time or full-time employees are entitled to a 50% loading when working ordinary hours between midnight Friday and midnight Sunday
  A new clause (27.1(c)) has been inserted that states that an employee who works not more than 6 hours can forgo a meal break with the employer’s consent
• Clause 29 has been changed to include a straight forward shift penalty (40%) for casual employees performing shift work

If you would like more information on all the minor changes that have been made, please feel free to contact us on 03 9111 5660.

Major change

A major change has been made to clause 24 of the Award. It will state that the span of hours for physiotherapy practices will change to 7.30am – 9pm Monday – Friday and 8am – 4.30pm on Saturdays. This change does not come into effect until 9 July 2019, so you have adequate time to understand this new change and consider how it affects your business.

Next steps

We recommend that you read the Award in light of the new changes to better understand how they affect your business. It is important that these changes are successfully implemented into your business to ensure you are compliant with the Award’s requirements.

If you have any questions or unsure about how these changes affect you, please feel free to contact us on 03 9111 5660.

This is general advice only. Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation. 

Published Feb 1, 2019