As workloads in schools increase, the PSA has urged members to contact the union to ensure the Department does not overburden its employees.

“Across NSW public schools, PSA members are telling us the same story: workloads are growing, staffing is not keeping pace, and too much responsibility is being shifted onto school support staff,” said Industrial Manager Siobhan Callinan. “The PSA thanks the many members and schools who have contacted us to share their experiences. Your feedback is critical in helping us build the case for change, and we are taking these concerns directly to senior departmental officials and the NSW Government.”

Ms Callinan said the administration of student medications has changed dramatically over the years.

“What was once limited to one or two students requiring occasional medication support has become a significant and growing responsibility in many schools,” she said.

Members report increasing numbers of students requiring medication throughout the school day, more complex medication regimes, expanded record-keeping requirements and additional compliance obligations to ensure student safety.

“This important work requires time, training, attention to detail and significant administrative oversight. Yet many schools have received no corresponding increase in staffing or resources to manage these growing responsibilities.”

The PSA has raised these concerns directly with the Department and continues to advocate for greater recognition of the workload impact associated with medication management in schools.

Recent changes announced by School Infrastructure NSW have raised significant concerns for General Assistants (GAs) across NSW public schools. These include changes to when urgent maintenance requests should be logged and when issues must instead be managed through planned maintenance processes.

The guidance also encourages schools to increase reliance on General Assistants to undertake maintenance tasks as a cost-saving measure.

“This risks shifting systemic resourcing issues onto individual employees without proper recognition of role boundaries, training requirements or workplace health and safety obligations,” said Ms Callinan. “The PSA is concerned these changes could lead to an unacceptable expansion of duties beyond the GA role description, including pressure to undertake skilled trade work such as plumbing or electrical tasks.”

The PSA is collecting feedback from GAs impacted by these changes.

The PSA is also working with the Department to address concerns arising from the Enterprise Financial Planning Tool (eFPT), finance processes and other administrative systems that are increasing workload within schools.

“Members have consistently raised concerns about the ongoing blurring of responsibilities between School Administrative Managers and Business Managers, despite both roles having distinct Statements of Duties,” said Ms Callinan. “The PSA maintains clear role boundaries are essential to ensuring workloads remain manageable and staff are not expected to undertake duties outside their classification without appropriate recognition.

“The PSA will continue to hold the Department accountable for consultation, clear processes and systems that genuinely support schools rather than shifting additional work onto already overstretched staff.