6.8 Conversion of Casual Sessional Employment

6.8.1 Conversion from Casual to Continuing or Fixed-term Employment - Professional Staff

Eligible casual professional staff members may have a right to apply for conversion to continuing or fixed-term employment and this will be managed in accordance with the University Policy on the Employment of Casual Professional Staff.

6.8.2 Eligibility for Conversion

6.8.2.1 To be eligible for conversion (or to apply for conversion), a casual professional staff member must be employed on a regular and systematic basis in the same or a similar and identically classified position in the same department/school (or equivalent work unit), either:

1. over the immediately preceding period of twelve (12) months and in those immediately preceding six (6) months, a regular pattern of hours on an ongoing basis the average weekly hours worked equaled at least 40 per cent of the ordinary weekly hours that would have been worked by an equivalent full-time staff member, or;¹
2. over the immediately preceding period of at least twenty-four (24) months.

6.8.2.2 The University will not unreasonably refuse to convert an eligible staff member. However, it may refuse an application on reasonable grounds. A staff member whose application for conversion is rejected will be provided with written reasons for the refusal. Reasonable grounds include, but are not limited to:

1. the staff member is a student, or has recently been a student, other than where their status as a student is irrelevant to their engagement and the work required;
2. the staff member is a genuine retiree;
3. the staff member is performing work which will either cease to be required or will be performed by a non-casual staff member, within twenty-six (26) weeks (from the date of application);
4. the staff member does not meet the essential requirements of the position;
5. it would require a significant adjustment to the staff member's hours of work in order for the staff member to be employed as a full-time staff member or part-time staff member (because the work is ad hoc);
6. there will be a significant change in either or both of the following in the period of 6 months after giving the request:
   
   • the days on which the staff member's hours of work are required to be performed;
   • the times at which the staff member's hours of work are required to be performed;
   
   which cannot be accommodated within the days or times the staff member is available to work during that period.

6.8.2.3 A staff member who declines an offer of conversion, or who is refused conversion, may reapply for conversion after 6 months.

6.8.3 Conversion from Casual / Sessional Academic Employment

6.8.3.1 The University will create a program to transition work undertaken by casual academics to ongoing academics (the program). The aim of this sub-clause is that academic staff members appointed through the program will primarily perform teaching work that was previously performed by casual staff members.

6.8.3.2 Over the life of the Agreement the University will reduce to and maintain a ratio of casual and sessional academic staff FTE to non-casual and sessional academic staff FTE of 30% to 70%. The percentage of sessional to non-sessional staff will be reduced to at least:

1. 36% to 64% within 12 months after the agreement commences;
2. 34% to 66% within 2 years after the agreement commences; and
3. 32% to 68% within 3 years after the agreement commences.

Based on headcount data on 24 June 2022, this would require the University to create and fill at least 85 FTE new ongoing academic positions through the program. If, during the life of this Agreement, the University outsources a significant part of its casual and sessional academic workforce to a separate entity, the resulting reduction in casual and sessional academic staff will not count for the purpose of the agreed ratios in this clause.

6.8.3.3 Under the program, the University will distribute positions proportionally across academic work units having regard to:

1. the total hours of work performed by casual or sessional academic staff in those work units over the calendar years 2020, 2021 and 2022;
2. the anticipated prospective need for the work to be continued; and
3. the nature of casual work in the work unit.

6.8.3.4 Appointment to positions under the program will be based on competence. Applicants must:

1. have been awarded a PhD or have submitted a PhD thesis for examination (other than in circumstances where a PhD is not normally required for appointment); and
2. have casual experience totaling at least 2 teaching terms at the University in the previous two years; and
3. not have held a continuing position in a university in the previous three years and
4. provide verification that they satisfy the criteria in this sub-clause 6.8.3.4 (a) to (c) above.

6.8.3.5 Despite clause 6.8.3.4, the University may, at its discretion, accept an application from an applicant who does not satisfy the requirements in clause 6.8.3.4 due to a career interruption or other personal reasons, or who is not a recent PhD graduate and has insufficient experience, if they otherwise satisfy the requirements and are suitably qualified to perform a role created through the program.

6.8.3.6 To ensure equitable opportunities for casual and sessional academic staff employed at the University in the preceding 3 years, the University will establish a register of all casual and sessional academic teaching staff employed over that period. The University will annually contact people on the register to allow them to update their contact details, and will update the register annually.

6.8.3.7 All roles created through the program will:

1. be advertised at first instance to all casual and sessional academic teaching staff employed in the preceding 3 years; and
2. remain open for application for at least 15 business days; and
3. be subject to the University's usual recruitment processes (e.g. regarding selection panels, pre-employment checks, verification of qualifications).

6.8.3.8 If there are no appointable applicants following the recruitment process in sub-clause 6.8.3.4 the University may advertise externally to fill the roles created through the program.

6.8.3.9 Where no applicant is appointable following external advertising who satisfy criteria of sub-clauses 6.8.3.4 and 6.8.3.5 the University may appoint candidates who otherwise demonstrate they meet the requirements of the roles created through the program.

6.8.3.10 Academic appointments under the program:

1. will be to continuing positions;
2. may be advertised or made at a fraction less than 1.0 FTE where a full-time position cannot be accommodated, but will be at no less than 0.4 FTE; and
3. where the staff member has a PhD, will be at a minimum of Level A Step 6 of Schedule 1 of the Agreement.

6.8.3.11 To assess suitability, a person who is appointed under the program will be subject to a 3-year academic probation period, and subject to the probation provisions in clause 6.10.

6.8.3.12 Academic appointments through the program will have a workload allocated in accordance with clause 5.2 (Working Arrangements - Academic Staff).

6.8.3.13 All other provisions of the Agreement apply to staff members appointed under this clause 6.8.3 as continuing staff members.

6.8.3.14 Each academic position appointed through the program will primarily perform teaching work that was previously performed by casual or sessional staff. Where a continuing academic position is made redundant, academic positions appointed through the program will not perform the teaching work previously performed by that position for a period of 18 months.

6.8.3.15 The University will report annually to the ACUSCC on:

1. the total number of positions established and appointed through the program in the previous 12 months, the academic work units and disciplines in which they were appointed and their academic career pathway; and
2. the total number of positions appointed through the program, the academic work units and disciplines in which they were appointed and their academic career pathway workload allocations; and the ratio of casual/sessional academic staff FTE to non-casual/sessional staff FTE over the previous 12 months and over the life of the Agreement.

¹ As part of its application for approval of the Agreement, the university gave an undertaking that clause 6.8.2.1(i) of the Agreement will be applied as shown in the tracked changes.