Employment Practice: Appeal Process

The University of Newcastle maintains formal pathways for employees to raise workplace grievances and appeal specified decisions about employment rights, pay and conditions. In 2025, these arrangements were established through the staff enterprise agreements, workplace grievance procedures and a University-wide complaints and appeals framework.

Employment rights and pay: dispute resolution

Throughout 2025, the Academic Staff and Teachers Enterprise Agreement 2023 and the Professional Staff Enterprise Agreement 2023 provided formal dispute-resolution processes under clause 11.2. These apply to disputes about the interpretation, application or operation of employment-agreement provisions or the National Employment Standards, including matters affecting remuneration and employment conditions.

The procedures provide for initial discussion with a supervisor, written notification where necessary, and meetings to seek resolution. An unresolved dispute can be referred to the Fair Work Commission for mediation or conciliation and, where appropriate, arbitration. Employees may seek representation during the process, including through their union. The enterprise agreements were superseded in 2026, but were the applicable instruments for the 2025 reporting year.

Reviews of employment decisions

The agreements also establish specific internal reviews of employment decisions. Under the Professional Staff Enterprise Agreement 2023, Schedule 6 provides a review of classification decisions where an employee considers that proper process was not followed or that the position does not reflect the value, duties and responsibilities of the work. Schedule 15 sets out review arrangements involving an inquiry officer or review panel for specified employment decisions, including leave, probation and other matters.

For academics and teachers, the Academic Staff and Teachers Enterprise Agreement 2023 provides for reviews of matters such as academic workload allocation, leave and relevant employment decisions under Schedule 16. These defined review processes complement the agreements’ general dispute-resolution provisions and offer staff a structured way to challenge decisions that affect their working conditions.

General complaints and appeals

In addition to employment-agreement processes, the University’s Complaint Management Policy, effective from 8 April 2024, and Complaint Management Procedure, updated on 16 April 2025, established pathways for complaints not covered by a more specific workplace or employment review process.

The Complaint Management Procedure is designed to ensure complaints are addressed fairly, consistently, and transparently, while promoting early resolution wherever possible. The process emphasises procedural fairness, timely action, accountability, and continuous improvement.

Eligible complaints can progress from informal resolution to a formal assessment and investigation, with a written outcome. Under the 2025 procedure, a complainant could request an internal appeal within 15 working days of notification of the outcome where there was a lack of procedural fairness or substantial new evidence not reasonably available earlier. An Appeal Officer assesses the grounds and provides a reasoned determination. The procedure also recognises access to relevant external review bodies, including the NSW Ombudsman, according to the matter concerned.

Support for workplace grievances

For staff concerns involving workplace relationships, bullying, harassment, discrimination or interpersonal conflict, the University provides a separate workplace issue reporting and resolution pathway. Employees can seek assistance from their supervisor, Human Resources Business Partner and other support teams, with unresolved issues able to proceed through triage or a formal HR grievance process. The appropriate pathway depends on the nature of the concern and any applicable enterprise agreement or University procedure.

By providing accessible pathways for resolution, independent assessment, evidence-based investigation and opportunities for review, the procedure strengthens confidence in university governance and contributes to a safe, respectful and inclusive community. Across these complementary processes, the University supports employees to seek fair consideration of workplace concerns and decisions affecting their rights and remuneration.