The Secretary of the Department of Health was asked to conduct a formal review of the employment status of each fixed term nurse to either confirm the legitimacy of the fixed term employment status or change the employment status to permanent if the following criteria were met:

• The fixed-term had been for a continuous period of 24 months
• There was clearly an ongoing requirement for those duties or similar duties
• There had been 3 or more consecutive fixed-term periods of employment
• Employee preference for permanency was taken into account

If a Head of Agency does not change the employment status of a fixed term nurse who meets all the criteria, the onus is on the Head of Agency to justify reasons why the status was not changed. The agreed timeframe for this process was 12 months.

Data has now been provided to the ANMF on the number of fixed term employees considered in the first round of work (which did not include casuals) and we understand that 30 nurses and midwives who satisfy the criteria have been sent letters to change their status from fixed-term to permanent.

The ANMF encourage all members (including casuals who have been working regular rostered hours) who believe that they meet the above criteria and have not been contacted by their employing agency, to speak with their Manager or contact our Member Support Team.

Updates correct as at 7 August 2020.
Authorised by Emily Shepherd, ANMF Tasmanian Branch Secretary