CPSU, the Community and Public Sector Union is a national trade union in Australia. The union came into existence on 1 July 1994 with the amalgamation of the Public Sector, Professional, Scientific, Research, Technical, Communication, Aviation and Broadcasting Union with the State Public Service Federation. The CPSU is one of the largest trade unions in Australia with 120,000 members.
Overview
For historical and administrative reason, the CPSU operates through two groups: the SPSF Group and the PSU Group. The SPSF Group represents the State public sector employees, some former public sector employees, and university professional staff. The PSU Group represents Commonwealth government employees, Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory employees, and employees in former Commonwealth government entities. These groups reflect the pre-existing eligibility and industrial coverage of the amalgamating organisations. The CPSU has over 120,000 members, with 48,913 members in the PSU Group and 74,869 members in the State Public Service Federation Group, as of 30 June 2018. The CPSU is affiliated with the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the CPSU PSU Group is affiliated with the Australian Labor Party.
CPSU SPSF Group
The State Public Service Federation was first registered as a federal union on 30 July 1976. Initially, the SPSF covered a limited range of State public sector employees because of constitutional limitations, as it was unclear until the 1980s how widely the SPSF was able to operate, particularly as a party to industrial disputes. Starting with the decision of the High Court in the CYSS case , it appeared that these constraints were eroding. In 1984 the SPSF changed its rules in order that its eligibility paralleled that of the State registered unions that made up the SPSF. These State unions are called "Associated Bodies". The Associated Bodies have a very long history, extending in most cases from the 19th century. For instance, the Associated Body for the NSW Branch is the Public Service Association of NSW, which celebrated 100 years of existence as a public sector union in NSW, in 1999. With the exception of university employees and members in Victoria, referred The SPSF Group consists primarily of State public sector unions which are registered in their respective State industrial tribunal. The primary exception is the Victorian Branch which operates completely in the National System since Victoria referred the industrial relations power to the Commonwealth Government in 1996 by the then Premier Jeff Kennett. Other areas of the SPSF membership in the national system are Professional Staff in universities, Disability and Home Care employees who were progressively privatised in NSW, Professional Staff in the Electricity Generation and Distribution sector in NSW, the Land Registry Service in NSW leased from the NSW Land Titles Office, and Administrative and Support Staff employed by TAFE NSW.
The CPSU SPSF Group uses the branding of "The Professional Staff Union" due to its representation of only professional staff throughout higher education. Along with their Associated Bodies representing administrative and support staff through state-based schools and TAFEs, nationwide the CPSU is the largest union representing public education employees from kindergarten to university. In NSW, the CPSU's new website is at
CPSU PSU Group
The PSU Group represents Commonwealth or Federal public service employees as well as Territory public service. This generally reflects the industrial coverage as well as the employer.
