Guide to Renegotiating TEI Contracts Resources

TEI and Other Contract Re-negotiations for 1 July 2020

NCOSS, together with other Peaks, has been liaising with the Department of Communities and Justice to ensure that the re-negotiation of almost 1,500 contracts for commencement 1 July 2020 is handled as effectively as possible. We have drafted a Quick Guide to Renegotiating your Service Contract to assist in the process of negotiating with your CPOs. This is a guide only and should not be taken as legal advice. If you require legal information you can find resources on the basic principles of contract law and the NSW Human Service Agreement on the Justice Connect website. Your organisation may be eligible for pro bono legal assistance through the Justice Connect Not-for-Profit Law service. For TEI Services specifically, Fams will be offering a round of workshops in March/April 2020. Keep an eye out for dates and locations. These workshops are being designed to provide services with the information they need to be compliant with the reform by June 2020: completing your program logic, getting set up on DEX, and measuring client and community outcomes in SCORE. LCSA too has provided advice to members for renegotiating your contract - including 3 guiding principles

NCOSS Continues to Advocate for ERO Supplementation

In 2012 the NSW Government committed $1.33 billion towards providing ERO supplementation payments on top of baseline funding for relevant contracted programs. The ERO was a landmark decision that recognised and sought to address pay equity for the predominantly female community services workforce. With the upcoming expiry of the legislation that has guaranteed ERO supplementation, there do not appear to be any plans for such payments from the NSW Government to continue beyond June 2021. We have written to the NSW Treasurer to clarify NSW’s position. NCOSS has also joined the ASU Equal Pay Alliance and we are pushing the message at the federal level. We are working with ACOSS and the broader COSS network to have ERO supplementary payments retained and built into federal base funding. NCOSS will meet with Federal Minister, Anne Ruston along with ACOSS, other COSSs and key community organisations. We also ask that your organisation send a letter to your local MP letting them know about your concerns about the sustainability of community services in your area. A pro forma letter can be found here: ERO Letter Template to local MPs