Unions NT

08/06/2026

✊✊ Walk-Off On: Government Bid to Stop Prison Officers Fails ✊✊

Correctional officers will walk off the job tomorrow, after the Government failed in an urgent
bid to stop the action in the Fair Work Commission. Correctional Officers will undertake a 12-
hour stoppage on 9 June 2026 at the Darwin Correctional Centre and Berrimah Correctional
Centre.

On Friday, 5 June 2026, the Northern Territory Government and Department of Corrections
sought orders in the Fair Work Commission to block the action, arguing it should be stopped.

That application was dismissed by the Fair Work Commission on 6 June 2026, clearing the
way for the industrial action to proceed. The Fair Work Commission was satisfied that the
planned action was protected industrial action, rejecting the Government’s attempt to
intervene.

United Workers Union

08/06/2026

We are coming to Mparntwe/Alice Springs again, thanks to our friends Multicultural Community Services of Central Australia. If you are on a 482 or 494 visa, this session is for you!

This is an opportunity to ask questions in a safe and supportive environment.

05/06/2026

Unions NT has been excluded from providing public evidence against the CLP’s changes to the Child Protection laws. We provided a submission to the inquiry that called for public disclosure of:
* A full fiscal impact statement;
* A workforce impact assessment;
* Territory-wide service modelling;
* An implementation plan developed through genuine consultation and co-design

We worry this will place extraordinary pressures on already stretched and underfunded sectors of child protection.

03/06/2026

💰 Good news for NT's low-paid workers! 💰

The Fair Work Commission has awarded a 4.75% increase to award wages from 1 July 2026.

UnionsNT welcomes this important step to help workers facing rising costs of living across the Territory. While many workers are still behind in real wages, this increase will provide much-needed relief and help ensure they don't fall further behind.

We’re calling on employers to pass on the increase in full and encourage workers with questions about their pay to contact their union.

02/06/2026

Today is International S*x Workers' Day.

The day commemorates when s*x workers stormed a church in Lyon, France, in 1975, protesting police brutality and poor efforts to solve colleagues' murders. Inspired by this action and in reclaiming derogatory terms against women as s*x workers, s*x workers all over the world started organising, giving rise to the modern-day s*x workers' rights movement.

S*x workers in the Northern Territory have been fighting for over 20 years to have s*x work recognised as work, but it was not till 2020 that s*x work was fully decriminalised.

We stand today and all days in solidarity with s*x workers here and afar.

27/05/2026

The thing about saying sorry means we learn from our mistakes and don't repeat the past. In 1905, philospher George Santayana wrote, "those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it".

We stand in solidarity with First Nations people who were part of the Stolen Generation. And we call on the CLP government to now remember the enduring legacy it had on families.

This National Reconciliation Week, we will post parts of our members' submissions to the NT Scrutiny Committee on changes to child removal law, to remind everyone that we will not be part of repeating history.

20/05/2026

🚚 🚧 NATIONAL ROAD SAFETY WEEK 🚧 🚚
Every year, more than 1,300 people are killed and 40,000+ seriously injured on Australian roads. National Road Safety Week is a time for us to remember those people who have experienced trauma on our roads. In the NT, we have some of the worst road tolls, and that can be correlated to climate and road conditions. We need safe roads for workers and communities.

18/05/2026

The Australian Services Union is undertaking a membership survey to inform its upcoming submission to the NT Parliamentary Scrutiny Committee on the changes to the Care and Protection of Children Act.
You can add your voice here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ASUCareandprotect

Many workers have raised serious concerns about the fact that they:
- weaken the Aboriginal Child Placement Principle and prioritise permanency over reunification;
- expand punitive government powers over families through new Family Responsibility Arrangements and Orders;
- limit opportunities for children to reunify safely with their families;
- risk increasing child removals and placing further pressure on an already overstretched child protection and community services workforce; and
- have been introduced without meaningful consultation or a clear evidence base.

15/05/2026

This , we’re highlighting the incredible work of corrections staff who go above and beyond to keep our communities safe. 🏢🔒 From rehabilitation programs to custodial care, you make a difference every day. Thank you for your service and commitment! 🤝

13/05/2026

MEDIA RELEASE: CHILD REMOVAL LAWS

Unions NT has joined growing calls for the Northern Territory Government to withdraw proposed child protection reforms. These changes will place further pressure on overstretched frontline workers while driving more Aboriginal children into harmful institutional care.

The Country Liberal Party's proposed Care and Protection of Children Act have been referred to the Parliamentary Scrutiny Committee amid widespread concern from community organisations, Aboriginal services and workers.

Public servants and community legal and social services workers fear the proposed laws will increase child removals long before families have access to the housing, rehabilitation and therapeutic supports they need.

“Our members are holding this broken system together every single day,” Australian Services Union SA/NT Secretary Ella Waters said.

“They know children are entering care because families cannot access housing, disability support, rehabilitation or culturally safe services. You cannot punish families out of poverty.”

The legislation lowers the threshold for state intervention while narrowing pathways to reunification, increasing the likelihood more children will enter long-term residential care and be separated from family earlier.

CPSU and ASU members working in child protection and residential care have repeatedly raised concerns about chronic workforce shortages, unsafe workloads, burnout and severe vicarious trauma across the sector.

“The NT Coroner has already exposed the devastating consequences of systemic failure and under-resourcing,” Ms Waters said.

“Instead of investing in the supports families need to stay together, this government is expanding the machinery of removal.”

Unions NT is calling on the Government to invest in a sustainable frontline workforce and a whole-of-system response.

We will stand with our members to provide evidence to the NT parliamentary scrutiny committee, because our members are the experts this government should have listened to in the first place.