Public Hospital Medical Physicists (State) Award 2019

 

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS COMMISSION OF NEW SOUTH WALES

 

Application by NSW Ministry of Health.

 

(Case No. 203356 of 2019)

 

 

AWARD

 

PART A

 

Arrangement

 

Clause No.        Subject Matter

 

1.        Definitions

2.        Conditions of Employment

3.        Progression of Medical Physicists

4.        No Extra Claims

5.        Area, Incidence and Duration

 

PART B

 

Table 1 - Salary rates for Accredited Medical Physicists

Table 2 -Salary rates for Non-Accredited Medical Physicists

 

PART C

 

Transitional Arrangements

Transition Table from Hospital Scientists’ Scale to New Structure

 

PART A

 

1.  Definitions

 

Unless the context otherwise indicates or requires the several expressions hereunder defined shall have their respective meaning assigned to them:

 

‘Accredited Medical Physicist’ means a Medical Physicist who has been awarded accreditation by the relevant ACPSEM accreditation panel for a Medical Physics specialty, or by another suitably recognised accreditation body acceptable to the Secretary, Ministry of Health.  Such specialties include, but are not limited to Radiation Oncology, Nuclear Medicine, and Diagnostic Radiology. ‘ACPSEM’ means the Australasian College of Physical Scientists and Engineers in Medicine.

 

‘Director Medical Physics Specialist’ means a Medical Physics Specialist with experience and competency at least equivalent to that of a Senior Medical Physics Specialist Year 4, with direct supervision of at least two other Medical Physics Specialists (or higher grade) and who meets one of the following criteria:

 

is responsible for a physics specialty at a site,

 

is responsible for multiple specialties at a site,

 

is responsible for a single specialty across multiple sites (including responsibility for Directors of a speciality).

 

The Director will be appointed at a level dependent on the number of FTE Medical Physics Specialists (or higher grade) under line supervision:

 

Level 1: 2 to 5

 

Level 2: >5 to 10

 

Level 3: >10

 

‘Medical Physicist’ is a generic description for the purposes of this Award. It refers to all persons employed as a Medical Physics Registrar, and also employed in either capacity of an accredited or non-accredited Medical Physics Specialist, Senior Medical Physics Specialist, Principal Medical Physics Specialist and Director, Medical Physics Specialist.

 

‘Medical Physics Registrar’ means a person who is employed and undergoing training, including but not limited to the ‘Training, Education and Accreditation Program’ (TEAP), in a medical physics specialty towards obtaining accreditation by ACPSEM, or such other accreditation body acceptable to the Secretary, Ministry of Health.

 

‘Medical Physics Specialist’ means a person with qualifications and clinical experience acceptable to the Secretary, Ministry of Health and ACPSEM, or such other accreditation body acceptable to the Secretary, Ministry of Health, and who is qualified to be employed under this Award as a Medical Physics Specialist.

 

‘Non-Accredited Medical Physicist’ means a person who is employed as a Medical Physicist but who does not satisfy the definition of an ‘Accredited Medical Physics Specialist’ under this Award. For salary purposes, a non-accredited Medical Physicist is to be translated to the appropriate classification and rate as shown in Table 2, Salary rates for ‘Non-Accredited Medical Physicists’, until such time as they satisfy the accreditation process. The rates for non-accredited Medical Physicists are discounted by 10% at the Medical Physics Specialist level, by 4% at the Senior Medical Physics Specialist level, and by 3% at the Principal Medical Physics Specialist and Director levels.

 

‘NSW Health Service’ is as defined at Section 115 of the Health Services Act 1997.

 

 

 

‘Public Health Organisation’ is as defined at Section 7 of the Health Services Act 1997.

 

‘Senior Medical Physics Specialist’ means a Medical Physics Specialist with 5 years post-accreditation as a Medical Physics Specialist and whose progression has been approved by the progression committee as per the determined criteria.

 

‘Principal Medical Physics Specialist’ means a Senior Medical Physics Specialist year 4 whose progression to this level has been approved by the progression committee as per the determined criteria.

 

 ‘Union’ means the Health Services Union NSW.

 

2.  Conditions of Employment

 

The Hospital Scientists (State) Award 2018, (the "Conditions Award"), as varied or replaced from time to time, shall apply to all employees covered by this Award, excepting for those conditions expressly contained in this Award.

 

For the purposes of establishing such conditions, the following classifications in this Award of ‘Medical Physics Registrar’ and ‘Medical Physics Specialist Year 1’ will be afforded the conditions available to the classification of Hospital Scientist in the Conditions Award.

 

For the purposes of establishing such conditions, the following classifications in this Award of ‘Medical Physics Specialist Year 2 - Year 5’ inclusive, will be afforded the conditions available to the classification of Senior Hospital Scientist in the Conditions Award.

 

Further, for the purposes of establishing such conditions, the following classifications in this Award of ‘Senior Medical Physics Specialist’ and ‘Director Medical Physics Specialist’ will be afforded the conditions available to the classification of Principal Hospital Scientist in the Conditions Award.

 

3.  Progression of Medical Physicists

 

Progression Committee.  A committee consisting of three Director or Principal Medical Physics Specialists, at least two of whom are in the same specialty as the applicant, shall be constituted to consider and, if appropriate, recommend to the Ministry of Health upon application by the employing public health organisation:

 

(i)       The promotion of a Medical Physics Specialist to Senior Medical Physics Specialist

 

(ii)      The promotion of a Senior Medical Physics Specialist to Principal Medical Physics Specialist.

 

4.  No Extra Claims

 

Other than as provided for in the Industrial Relations Act 1996 and the Industrial Relations (Public Sector Conditions of Employment) Regulation 2014, there shall be no further claims/demands or proceedings instituted before the Industrial Relations Commission of New South Wales for extra or reduced wages, salaries, rates of pay, allowances or conditions of employment with respect to the employees covered by the Award that take effect prior to 30 June 2020 by a party to this Award.

 

5.  Area, Incidence and Duration

 

(i)       This Award takes effect from 1 July 2019 and shall remain in force for a period of one year. The rates in the second column in the tables of Part B - Monetary Rates will apply from the first full pay period on or after (ffppoa) 1 July 2019.

 

(ii)      This Award rescinds and replaces the Public Hospital Medical Physicists (State) Award 2018 published 2 July 2019 (384 I.G. 847) and all variations thereof.

 

(iii)     This Award shall apply to employees as defined herein employed in public hospitals and local health districts in the State, excluding the County of Yancowinna, within the jurisdiction of the Public Health Employees (State) Industrial Committee.

 

PART B

 

Table 1 - Salary Rates for Accredited Medical Physicists

 

 

 

Table 2 - Salary Rates for Non-Accredited Medical Physicists

 

 

PART C

 

Transitional Arrangements

 

(i)       Non-accredited Medical Physicists are to remain on the appropriate non-accredited Medical Physicist classification until such time as they satisfy the accreditation process. In the meantime, they are entitled to 4 hours per week of their normal weekly hours to study for accreditation in which they have enrolled for a period of up to 2 years.

 

(ii)      Medical Physicists whose accreditation is delayed due to ACPSEM processing of candidates will have their start date for progression backdated to the first exam after the application to correct for this delay and receive payment to meet the loss in earnings due to the said delay.

 

(iii)     A Medical Physicist currently employed as a Deputy Chief Medical Physicist or Deputy Director of Medical Physics will transfer to Senior Medical Physics Specialist Year 1 or at the level corresponding to their current position, as per Part C Transition Table, whichever is the higher. A Medical Physicist currently in-charge of a specialty and employed on the Principal Hospital Scientist level (job title Chief Medical Physicist or Director of Medical Physics, or similar) will transfer to Director Medical Physics Specialist.

 

(iv)     It is expected that Medical Physicists who were employed prior to the implementation of this Award as a Senior Hospital Scientist years 6 to 8, and who were directly responsible for an area within a specialty in medical physics, will be promoted to the Senior Medical Physics Specialist Year 1 rate upon submitting a summary of their duties and responsibilities to their employer. It would be expected the summary be supported by the Senior Hospital Scientist’s line supervisor. Such promotions should be implemented as soon as possible after the implementation of this Award, but no later than 3 months from that date. In case of disputes, clause 3 (i) applies.

 

(v)       In the case of Medical Physicists employed prior to this Award as Hospital Scientist Years 1 to 6, such Medical Physicists are to transfer to rates for Medical Physics Registrars as shown in Part C Transition Table. Such Medical Physicists are not Registrars in the context of this Award, and can progress through either the accredited and non-accredited scales according to the appropriate criteria, and their accreditation status.

 

Transition Table from Hospital Scientists’ Scale to New Structure

 

 

 

 

P. M. KITE, Chief Commissioner

 

 

____________________

 

 

Printed by the authority of the Industrial Registrar.