Health Professionals Award Coverage — What Explicit Award Coverage Will Change

1. The Current Legal Position: Not Explicitly Named

Optometrists are not currently named on the list of health professionals explicitly covered by the Health Professionals and Support Services Award 2020 (MA000027). A 2020 Fair Work Commission decision left coverage ambiguous rather than settled, meaning:

• Many employee optometrists rely entirely on individual common law contracts.
• There is no explicit modern award safety net guaranteeing minimum hourly rate floors, overtime multipliers, or weekend penalty rates.
• Employers can exploit this gap by omitting penalty rates or enforcing long hours without overtime compensation.

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2. The HSU Union Campaign: Explicit Coverage Application

In June 2026, the Health Services Union (HSU) lodged a formal application with the Fair Work Commission to vary the Award and explicitly add optometrists to the list of covered health professions.

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3. What Explicit Award Coverage Will Guarantee for Optometrists

Once the Fair Work Commission explicitly includes optometrists, employee optometrists across Australia will be legally guaranteed:

• 💰 Minimum Pay Floors & Classification Levels: Structured salary minimums tied to years of experience and qualifications.
• ⌛ Overtime Penalties (Clause 25): 150% for the first 2 hours, 200% thereafter; Sunday overtime at 200%; Public Holidays at 250%.
• 🛌 Mandatory Rest After Overtime (Clause 25.4): 10 consecutive hours off duty between shifts without loss of pay.
• ☕ Enforceable Meal & Tea Breaks (Clause 15): Mandatory unpaid 30–60 minute meal break for shifts over 5 hours, plus a paid 10-minute tea break for every 4 hours worked.
• 🗓️ Roster Protections (Clause 14): Rosters published 2 weeks in advance with a minimum of 7 days’ notice required for roster changes.
• 📱 Right to Disconnect (Clause 13A): Statutory right to refuse after-hours contact from management unless unreasonable.
• ✊ Workplace Delegates’ Rights (Clause 33A): Protected rights for HSU delegates to represent colleagues and access paid union training.

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Where to go next

• Fair Work Ombudsman: HP&SS Award [MA000027]
• HSU: Optometry Campaign & FWC Application
• Phoropter Free Fridays: PFF Union Campaign