City of Sydney Award 2025 [2025] NSWIRComm 1020 (14 May 2025)

(1) Negotiations for the Consent Award commenced in September 2024, with the City issuing a draft award on 13 December 2024.

(2) The City conducted 16 meetings both in person and online to explain the proposed changed in the Consent Award to employees. In addition, the Unions conducted meetings with their members and votes on whether to support the terms of the Consent Award.

(3) The Consent Award is sought to be made with the consent of the City and the Unions.

"[13] To the best of my professional knowledge and belief, the proposed City of Sydney Award satisfies the requirements stipulated under section 23 and section 146(2) of the IR Act, in that:

a. The proposed Award provides equal remuneration for men and women performing work of equal or comparable value, in compliance with section 23 of the IR Act and the decision of the Full Bench of the Commission in Re Equal Remuneration Principle [2000] NSWIRComm 113, delivered on 30 June 2000.

b. The proposed Award are in the public interest, as required under section 146(2)(a) and (b) of the IR Act.

c. In accordance with section 146(2)(a), the proposed variations are consistent with the objects of the IR Act as set out in section 3 for the following reasons:

i. The proposed Award aligns with section 3(b), which seeks to promote efficiency and productivity for the City of Sydney and its employees.

The terms, conditions and entitlements, including salary increases apply to City of Sydney employees and provide a tangible benefit to employees in addressing cost-of-living pressures and reflect changes in productivity.

ii. The proposed Award aligns with the newly inserted object under section 3(i) as the proposed salary increases and entitlements aim to improve the ability of the employer to attract and retain workers across the industries in which the City of Sydney employs.

d. Pursuant to section 146(2)(b), the proposed variations serve the interests of the New South Wales economy and the likely effect of making the Award on the economy will be beneficial. The proposed Award increases align or exceed CPI increases and will provide some financial relief to all employees.

[14] To the best of my knowledge and belief, the proposed variations to the 2023 Award comply with all relevant statutory requirements, including the provisions of the Anti­Discrimination Act 1977 (NSW)."

1. The application was listed for mention on 23 April 2025. To assist the parties, the Registry advised that the purpose of the listing was to clarify particular matters relating to the application.
2. On 22 April 2025, Mr Youness emailed the Registry in response to the Notice of Listing. In his email, Mr Youness confirmed that the Consent Award is intended to exclude City of Sydney (South Sydney) employees, this being inconsistent with the terms of the draft Consent Award filed which purported to record that the City of Sydney (South Sydney) Award 2021-2024 ("South Sydney Award") was to be rescinded. Mr Youness confirmed that the parties were seeking the rescission of The City of Sydney Award 2022 ("Current Award") only. He clarified that the parties intend for there to be no extra claims during the nominal term of the Consent Award. Additionally, he provided a document outlining the differences between the Current Award applying to the City and the Consent Award. He explained that the City has been excluded from the Local Government (State) Award 2023 ("State Award") due to its unique terms and conditions, citing the specific context of work in the Sydney Local Government Area.
3. Also on 22 April 2025, Ian Robertson, the Secretary of depa, emailed the Registry in respect of the matter providing additional information in respect of the Consent Award. He stated that the City has had its own award for as long as he had worked with depa, being about 41 years, and that there are significant differences between the Consent Award and the State Award. He stated in respect of those differences:

"....indoor staff work longer hours at Sydney City than anywhere else in the State, 36.25 hours per week when their counterparts under the State Award, and everywhere else in local government, work 35 hours per week. And wages staff work 38 hours a week, as they do in the State Award.

Sydney City also has set band 5 historically as the limit for salaried staff being paid overtime. If you are on band 6 and above, you are not entitled to overtime, despite invariably working longer hours in those higher level jobs.

Standardising salaried staff hours with the State Award and the removal of the overtime barrier have never been able to be satisfactorily conciliated to provide conditions that exist in the State Award."

1. On 23 April 2025, Mr Robertson, filed an affidavit with the Commission in support of the application. Mr Robertson deposed that depa's strategic view is that as many provisions of the State Award should be reflected in the awards applying to the City. Mr Robertson also gave evidence consistent with that of Mr Youness as set out above at [3]-[4].
2. On 23 April 2025, the matter was listed before the Commission. All the parties to the Consent Award attended. Each of them expressed a desire that the Consent Award be made. Noting the observations of Mr Robertson about the way the Consent Award differs from the State Award to the detriment of employees, the parties were invited to address the Commission with respect to why the Commission should be satisfied that the Consent Award provides for fair and reasonable conditions of employment. In response to this, Mr Youness stated that "the City of Sydney salaries are the highest...." and further that "we also then have engaged in a number of different provisions that far exceed the Local Government (State) Award that we think are important for the people we are trying to recruit and retain."
3. I have accepted as evidence the additional information provided by the parties by way of email as referred to above at [5] and [6] and from the bar table at the mention on 23 April 2025 given the application was non-contentious and consistent with nature of the Commission's jurisdiction (ss 162 and 163 of the Act) and the overriding objective of s 56 of the Civil Procedure Act 2005 (NSW) to facilitate the just, quick and cheap resolution of the real issues in civil proceedings. Having said that, and without being critical of any party, the application could have been disposed of more quickly had there been more information provided in the application about the Consent Award and how it differed from the Current Award and the State Award.

(a) 4 % on or after the first pay period from 1 July 2024;

(b) 4% on or after the first pay period from 1 July 2025;

(c) 3.5% or the State Award increase, whichever is the higher on or after the first pay period from 1 July 2026.

1. In addition, the Consent Award introduces changes to improve clarity and organisation, including plain English language updates, reordering of clauses, and the use of tables for better categorisation. Substantive changes include:

(1) an increase in personal/carer's leave to 18 days per year, expanded to cover reproductive assistance and pain or symptoms associated with biological functions, and allowing up to five periods of leave without evidence;

(2) parental leave is amended to be gender-neutral, offering 26 weeks to all eligible employees, with increased adoption leave provisions;

(3) family and domestic violence leave is doubled to 20 days per year;

(4) a new right to disconnect from work outside of hours;

(5) increased penalties and clearer definitions for shift-workers;

(6) overtime pay introduced in respect of work exceeding 10 hours per day;

(7) higher duties pay based on skills and experience rather than the applicable base rate of pay;

(8) a minimum 10-day consultation period for significant workplace changes is introduced;

(9) the nappy allowance is renamed to the toileting allowance and increased; and

(10) a reduced minimum unpaid meal break from 45 minutes to 30 minutes.

1. I am satisfied that the Consent Award sets fair and reasonable conditions of employment and that it is appropriate to make the award pursuant to s 10 of the Act. I have formed this view, having considered the principles relevant to the making of awards (Applications for Variations to Crown Employees (Police Officers - 2017) Award and Paramedics and Control Centre Officers (State) Award [2021] NSWIRComm 1040 at [32]) and regard to the fact that:

(1) the Consent Award replaces the Current Award, which is to be taken as providing for fair and reasonable terms of conditions of employment when it was made: City of Sydney Wages/Salary Award 2014 (2014) 247 IR 386; [2014] NSWIRComm 49 at [12];

(2) the Consent Award is sought by consent of all of the parties after a thorough negotiation process and with the Unions putting the Consent Award to a vote by their members;

(3) the Consent Award provides for increased remuneration and enhanced conditions of employment when compared to the Current Award.

1. I am otherwise satisfied that it is in the public interest to make the Consent Award and that all the relevant statutory requirements have been met. I also find that it is consistent with the objects of the Act that I make the Consent Award.
2. Given the Consent Award is made by consent and the award sets conditions of employment for employees under a single employer, namely the City, s 15(4)(b) permits the award to be backdated to 9 June 2024.

Review of the current industrial instrument arrangements at the City

1. Finally, I note that the parties were unable to point to any specific reason for the City of Sydney having its own award. There was reference to the maintenance of The City of Sydney Award for historical, emotional and cultural reasons. Mr Youness agreed that the City could be bound by the State Award, with an Enterprise Agreement negotiated to accommodate any differences in the nature of the work undertaken.
2. Similarly, the parties referred to historical and cultural reasons for the "carve out" of employees engaged under the South Sydney Award. I can see no logical reason for the maintenance of a separate award for this subset of employees employed by the City. The parties have undertaken to consider the practice of seeking separate awards for the City during the next negotiating round.

(1) Pursuant to section 17 of the Industrial Relations Act 1996 (NSW), The City of Sydney Award 2022 is rescinded.

(2) Pursuant to section 10 of the Industrial Relations Act 1996 (NSW), the Consent Award is made in the form filed by the City of Sydney on 12 May 2024.