Health Employees Dental Prosthetists and Dental
Technicians (State) Award 2018
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS
COMMISSION OF NEW SOUTH WALES
Application by Ministry of Health.
(Case No. 198658 of 2018)
Before Commissioner Murphy
|
3 July 2018
|
AWARD
1. Arrangement
Clause No. Subject
Matter
1. Arrangement
2. Definitions
3. Classifications
4. Transitional
Arrangements
5. Previous
Industry Service
6. Salaries
and Allowances
7. Conditions
of Service
8. Grading
and Classification of Officers
9. Dispute
Resolution
10. No Extra
Claims
11. Area,
Incidence and Duration
2. Definitions
Unless the context otherwise indicates or requires the
several expressions hereunder defined shall have their respective meanings
assigned to them.
"Employee" means a person or persons employed in
any hospital as defined.
"Hospital" means a public hospital as defined
under section 15 of the Health Services
Act 1997.
"Industrial Committee" means the Public Health
Employees (State) Industrial Committee.
"Industry Service", unless the context otherwise
indicates or requires means service before and/or after commencement of this
award in any hospital and/or laboratory acceptable to the Ministry.
"Ministry" means the Ministry of Health.
"Service", unless the context otherwise indicates
or requires means service or experience as a Dental Technician before and/or
after commencement of this Award in any one or more New South Wales public
health organisations or any other organisation acceptable to the Ministry.
"Union" means the Health Services Union NSW.
3. Classifications
3.1 Dental
Technician
(a) Trainee Dental
Technician means a person appointed as such who is undertaking the Diploma of
Dental Technology conducted by NSW TAFE or an equivalent course in Dental
Technology.
(b) Dental
Technician Level 1 means a person appointed as such who has successfully
completed the Diploma of Dental Technology conducted by NSW TAFE or an
equivalent course in Dental Technology.
(c) Dental
Technician Level 2 means a Dental Technician who fulfils the following
criteria:
(i) having at least 3 years experience
as a registered dental technician; and
(ii)
(a) successful completion of the first year of the Dental
Prosthetics course conducted by NSW TAFE; or
(b) having qualifications deemed by the Ministry to be
equivalent to the first year of the Dental Prosthetics course; and
(iii) demonstrating skills in excess of those required of a Dental
Technician Grade 1; and
(iv) being proficient in, and spending the major part of their
time engaged in, one or more of the following areas of work;
orthodontic appliances;
cast metal denture techniques;
crown and bridge;
osseo-integrated implant technology;
maxillo facial and
complicated prosthetics, including over-dentures, obturators,
precision attachments and magnets, occlusal splints,
complete and partial dentures requiring complicated (that is crossbite, class II and class III jaw relationship) tooth
arrangements in balanced occlusion.
(d) Dental
Technician Level 3 means a dental technician who fulfils the following
criteria:
(i) having at least 6 years experience
as a registered dental technician and maintains
relevant registration; and
(ii) successfully completed qualifications deemed by the Employer
to be equivalent to the Advance Diploma of Dental Prosthetics (these may
include qualifications in ceramics, orthodontics, implants, crowns etc.).
Equivalency is to be assessed based upon the hours of study undertaken and the
complexity of the course work; and
(iii) show a high level of competency in the exercise of all the
skills of the recognised training in accordance with the position requirements.
(e) Senior Dental
Technician Level 4 means a dental technician appointed to such a position and
who undertakes the following duties/or role:
(i) meets all the requirements of a dental technician level 3;
and
(ii) manages a section/unit, which includes the responsibility of
supervising the work and activities of other dental technicians/prosthetists.
(f) Specialised
Dental Technician Level 5 means a dental technician appointed to such a
position and who undertakes most of the following duties/ role:
(i) master or highly skilled technician with technical skills
and proficiency above that which would be expected of a fully proficient level
3;
(ii) specialist in an area of their profession and relied on for
advice in this field;
(iii) undertakes complex independent scientific, technical or
specialist work and analysis;
(iv) contributes
to the development of standards relating to the sector, program or profession;
(v) develops
technical or professional standards for the organisation;
(vi) provides
professional leadership, education and development of staff in area of
professional expertise;
(vii) routinely advises senior levels of the organisation on
technical issues and solutions within a functional area; and
(viii) manages complex and significant state-wide, in-house
services provided by dental technicians. (Such services provided on a Local
Health District(s)-wide basis would be managed by a technician at level 4.)
3.2 Dental Prosthetist
(a) Dental Prosthetist Level 1 means a dental prosthetist
who fulfils the following criteria:
(i) having at least 6 years experience
as a registered dental technician;
(ii) having successfully completed all qualifications of the
Diploma of Dental Technology and the Advanced Diploma of Dental Prosthetics;
(iii) possesses and maintains relevant registration; and
(iv) shows a high level of competency in the exercise of all the
skills of the recognised training in accordance with the position requirements.
(b) Senior Dental Prosthetist Level 2 means a dental prosthetist
appointed to such a position who has developed specialised skills through
additional study or the development of specialised skills/techniques and who
undertakes the following duties:
(i) meets all the requirements of a dental prosthetist
level 1; and
(ii) has a
specialised area of practice such as dealing with special needs patients or
trauma patients with complex prosthetics requirements; and
(iii) may manage a section/unit, which includes the responsibility
of supervising the work and activities of other dental technicians/prosthetists.
(c) Specialised
Dental Prosthetist Level 3 - means a prosthetist appointed to such a position and who undertakes
most of the following duties/ role:
(i) master or highly skilled prosthetist
with technical skills and proficiency above that which would be expected of a
fully proficient level 2 ;
(ii) specialist in an area of their profession and relied on for
advice in this field;
(iii) undertakes complex independent scientific, technical or
specialist work and analysis;
(iv) contributes
to the development of standards relating to the sector, program or profession;
(v) develops
technical or professional standards for the organisation;
(vi) provides
professional leadership, education and development of staff in area of
professional expertise;
(vii) routinely advises senior levels of the organisation on
technical issues and solutions within a functional area; and
(viii) manages complex and significant state-wide, in-house
services provided by dental prosthetists. (Such
services provided on an Area-wide basis would be managed by a prosthetist at level 2.)
4. Transition Arrangements
(a) Existing dental
technicians will have their current duties and qualifications assessed against
the classification descriptors provided in clause 3, in order to appropriately
transfer employees into the dental prosthetist
classification structure. There will be no reduction to employees’ rates of pay
arising from this transition and existing incremental dates will be maintained.
(b) Dental
technicians who obtained prosthetist qualifications
under the previous award provisions will have their qualifications recognised
and, if appropriate, their current grade as a dental technician maintained.
However employees who have not yet commenced nor completed the prosthetist qualification will no longer have this
qualification recognised for progression to level 2 or beyond in the
technicians stream of the classification structure. Employees who have
partially completed this qualification can only rely upon the qualification to
progress as a prosthetist, not as a technician.
(c) Progression to
level 3 in the technicians’ structure, and to level 1 in the prosthetist structure, will require completion of relevant
qualifications, the exercise of the relevant skills and the possession of any
relevant license or registration.
(d) The parties
will work together to identify suitable qualifications for progression in the
dental technician classification structure.
(e) The award
classification of Deputy Chief Dental Technician has been deleted but this
classification and salary will be maintained for the current occupant.
5. Previous Industry
Service
Previous industry service shall be taken into account in
determining the commencing salary of an employee to be paid in accordance with
rates set in the Health Professional and Medical Salaries (State) Award.
6. Salaries and
Allowances
Salaries shall be in accordance with the rates contained in
the Health Professional Medical Salaries (State) Award.
7. Conditions of
Service
The Public Hospital (Professional and Associated Staff)
Conditions of Employment (State) Award, as varied or replaced from time to
time, shall apply to all persons covered by this award.
In addition, the Health Industry Status of Employment
(State) Award, as varied or replaced from time to time, shall also apply to all
relevant employees.
8. Gradings
and Classification of Officers
Nothing in clause 3, Classifications, or clause 5, Previous
Industry Service, shall affect the right of the Union to apply to the
Industrial Commission of New South Wales for the settlement of any dispute
arising from the grading of an employee under this award.
9. Dispute Resolution
The dispute settlement procedures contained in the
applicable conditions award as outlined in clause 7, Conditions of Service (and
as varied or replaced from time to time) shall apply.
10. 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 2019 by a party to this
Award.
10. Area, Incidence
and Duration
(i) This
Award takes effect from 1 July 2018 and shall remain in force for a period of
one year.
(ii) This Award
rescinds and replaces the Health Employees’ Dental Prosthetists
and Dental Technicians (State) Award published 9 February 2018 (382 I.G. 248)
and all variations thereof.
(ii) This Award
shall apply to persons employed in classifications contained herein employed in
the New South Wales Health Service under s115(1) of
the Health Services Act 1997, or
their successors, assignees or transmittees.
J.V. MURPHY, Commissioner
____________________
Printed by the authority of the Industrial Registrar.