NSW Doctors Industrial Dispute - Frequently Asked Questions

• ASMOF has proposed a new Award for NSW Health staff specialists and junior doctors. 
• NSW Health doctors are considering industrial action to support the demand for the new Award. 
• According to ASMOF's NSW Director, this is the first strike by NSW doctors since 1998 and is a "last resort" due to unsustainable workloads, chronic understaffing, and unsafe working hours. 

Tuesday 8, Wednesday 9, and Thursday 10 April 2025. 

• NSW Health obtained dispute orders from the NSW Industrial Relations Commission (IRC) to stop the industrial action. 
• NSW Health has prepared FAQs and Local Health Districts have written to staff to tell them they are required to attend for work. 

• On 1 April 2025, the IRC exercised its powers under the Industrial Relations Act (NSW) and ordered that ASMOF, and its members employed in the listed NSW Health entities (LHD staff + other agencies) cease organising and refrain from taking industrial action for 3 months. 
• The IRC can only make dispute orders against a member of an industrial organisation (i.e., ASMOF), so its orders only apply to doctors who are members of ASMOF and employed by NSW Health. 
• ASMOF was ordered to:  
  • Publish the IRC's orders on its website 
  • Remove reference to strike action from its website and social media accounts 
  • Communicate to members that strike action will not occur 
  • Not induce or support any members to take industrial action 

• The IRC has ordered that ASMOF members who are employed by NSW Health do not take industrial action for 3 months from 1 April 2025. 
• It follows that if you are an employee of NSW Health and a member of ASMOF, you will be in breach of these orders if you take industrial action from 8 – 10 April. 
• The IRC has powers to deal with breaches of its orders under the Industrial Relations Act that includes directing doctors to attend the IRC to explain why action shouldn't be taken in response to the breach. 
• The IRC does not have power to impose a penalty or fine on an individual doctor for breaching a dispute order. This can only be imposed on ASMOF and its officers and staff. 
• We are not able to give a view on how the IRC may respond to individual doctors who breach its orders. 

• We are not able to comment on how NSW Health may respond to individual doctors who fail to carry out their usual duties and/or don't attend work. 
• An employer can't victimise you because you are a member or official of a union such as ASMOF. 
• However, the industrial action may be a breach of your employment contract whether or not you are a member of ASMOF. 
• You must perform work in accordance with the terms and conditions of your employment, including the NSW Health Code of Conduct and any reasonable and lawful directions. 
• NSW Health can take disciplinary action against you for failing to comply with the terms and conditions of your employment, including for example:  
  • Being absent from the workplace without proper notification 
  • Engaging in other conduct that may bring NSW Health or Ministry staff into disrepute (such as social media posts or media comments) 
• The NSW Health FAQs state that if a staff member is issued with a lawful and reasonable direction to attend work and fails to follow that direction, they may face disciplinary action.

• You remain subject to your obligations under the National Law and the Medical Board's Code of Conduct if you continue to attend work but decline to do certain clinical tasks or if you do not attend work without providing appropriate notice or handover. 
• The NSW Health FAQs refer to obligations NSW health agencies have under the Health Practitioner National Law and state: "Depending on the impact of the conduct of the medical officers during the industrial action, NSW Health may make notifications to the AHPRA if there is a reasonable belief that a practitioner is placing the public at substantial risk of harm." 
• This indicates that the hospital's mandatory reporting obligations under the National Law may be triggered by a doctor's industrial action. However, the trigger for mandatory reporting is that the hospital or health agency has a reasonable belief that you are practicing in a way that significantly departs from accepted professional standards and places the public at risk of harm. 
• It will be a matter of clinical judgment for each doctor to determine the impact of their decision to decline to do certain tasks as directed on patient care. 

• The AMA published a statement on 3 April with the following advice to VMOs:  
  • "If you are a Visiting Medical Officer, please note that, irrespective of the orders made by the Industrial Relations Commission earlier this week, VMOs cannot participate in the proposed industrial action. 
  • VMOs are not employees but contractors. As contractors, at law they are competitors with one another. 
  • Under the Competition and Consumer Act 2010, competitors cannot collectively decide to withdraw services (in whole or in part) and this includes industrial action." 

Yes. Your Avant Indemnity Insurance Policy will continue to provide cover if you participate in the industrial action. Your policy also covers you for Ahpra investigations and complaints, subject to the terms, conditions, and exclusions of the policy.

• NSW Health can require reasonable evidence to confirm that you were unable to work due to an illness or injury or needed carer's leave. 
• The NSW Health FAQs confirm that staff who are rostered to work during any "unauthorised action but take unplanned sick leave are required to produce a medical certificate to verify their absence" unless otherwise agreed. 

• The Industrial Relations Act makes it an offence for an employer – such as NSW Health - to pay any employee in respect of time the employee engages in industrial action unless the IRC authorises the payment – section 143. 
• This means you may not be paid if you do not work or if you attend the hospital and undertake limited duties. 
• The NSW Health FAQs has confirmed that staff will not be paid for the "…period they go on strike". 

• NSW Health may direct you to perform other duties or to work from a different location during any period of industrial action provided this is within your scope of practice and complies with the requirements in your industrial award. 
• This means you can be redeployed if it is a reasonable and lawful direction to work in another location (i.e., another department in the same hospital or a different hospital). 
• The reasonableness will depend on whether you have the skills and knowledge to undertake the work in the different location, and/or access to adequate supervision for this work. 

• There is no requirement that you participate in industrial action. 
• You cannot be subject to detrimental treatment (i.e., victimisation) for not engaging in industrial action. 
• The NSW Health Code of Conduct applies to any action engaged in by an employee of NSW Health during the industrial action. Under the Code, an employee of NSW Health cannot engage in conduct such as bullying and harassment. You can make a complaint to NSW Health if you experience this conduct. 

iCare is the agency that manages the Treasury Managed Fund (TMF), which provides cover for public hospital doctors. It has indicated that there may be exclusions to cover where industrial action is a “contributing factor” to a damages claim and the conduct of a doctor also falls within an exclusion under the TMF “statement of cover”.  The letter from iCare makes it clear that the exclusions do not apply automatically – they will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

If the TMF denies indemnity in the event of a claim, Avant will provide advice and support in challenging that decision, subject to the terms and conditions of your policy.

If cover is ultimately denied and a public patient’s claim against the public hospital is successful, there is a risk the doctor involved may be personally liable for all or part of the damages awarded to the patient, depending on all the circumstances.

We recognise this may be concerning for doctors already under significant pressure. Please know that Avant is here to support you through these uncertain situations. We strongly encourage you to stay informed and contact our Medico-legal Advisory Service if you have concerns.