Throughout this pandemic, HACSU members have faced some of the toughest working conditions we’ve ever seen. Lacking in appropriate personal protective equipment, and tackling reduced safety for themselves and others, HACSU members working in disability have taken these issues in their stride, continuing every day to provide advocacy for themselves – and support for the people with disabilities we work with.

We know the importance of safety for the vulnerable people you work with, including people with disabilities and those facing mental ill-health, along with other cooccurring vulnerabilities. When workers have safe working environments, workers are provided with the capacity and a platform to advocate for safety for the people we support. Safety for workers is directly tied in with safety consumers, residents and participants.

We’re proud this month to report that the Government has truly begun to recognise us, with the acknowledgement of a need for PPE in disability services and distribution points finally opening up for providers to access from Federal and State Government levels.

HACSU officials will continue to fight for the best possible outcomes for members and we have you to thank for being able to take this fight directly to governments, ministers and government departments. We wanted to take this time to reflect on the great work done by HACSU members throughout this pandemic, across all industries.

If you’re still facing issues accessing adequate PPE in your workplace, please follow these important steps:

1. Escalate the issue to your line manager; advise that they should be able to access PPE through one of the Government channels.
2. If your manager is unable to resolve this issue for you, please contact HACSU Assist on 1300 651 931 or your Organiser directly.

In unity,

HACSU.