Residential care providers are reminded to pay close attention to information posted on the Community Services Industry Alliance (CSIA) website and Child Safety’s COVID-19 webpages about the option of entering into an Individual Flexibility Agreement (IFA). Initiated by CSIA and The Services Union, the process of developing the agreements was facilitated by the Fair Work Commission with participation by PeakCare, the Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Protection Peak and representatives of residential care providers including Churches of Christ Care, UnitingCare, IFYS, Life Without Barriers and Mercy Community. In circumstances where a residential care service may need to care for a young person who has contracted COVID-19 or needs to self-isolate, an IFA allows service providers to, with the agreement of their staff, roster workers for extended shifts of 12 or 24 hours, outside the usual conditions of their award or an organisation’s Enterprise Bargaining Agreement.
