Health Employees Dental Prosthetists and Dental
Technicians (State) Award 2019
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS
COMMISSION OF NEW SOUTH WALES
Application by NSW Ministry of Health.
(Case No. 187852 of 2021)
Before Chief Commissioner Constant
|
22 July 2021
|
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. No Extra
Claims
10. 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, oburators,
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
Full time Dental Prosthetist and Dental Technician employees
shall be paid the salaries and allowances as set out in the Health Professional
and Medical Salaries (State) Award 2019, as varied or replaced from time to
time.
7. Conditions of
Service
The Public Hospitals (Professional and Associated Staff)
Conditions of Employment (State) Award 2019, 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 2019, as varied or replaced from time to time, shall also apply
to all relevant employees.
8. Grading 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. 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 2022 by a party to this
Award.
10. Area, Incidence
and Duration
(i) This
Award takes effect from 1 July 2021 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 2019 as published 20 March 2020 (387 I.G. 40) 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.
N. CONSTANT, Chief Commissioner
____________________
Printed by
the authority of the Industrial Registrar.