Last week the HSU was made aware that NSW Health Pathology provided misleading information that any Technical Officer who converts to Hospital Scientist under the new Technical Officer to Hospital Scientist Conversion Award would not be able to apply for Technical Officer jobs in the future.

On Monday, the Ministry of Health wrote to the HSU (copying in senior executives of NSW Health Pathology) and corrected that misrepresentation by saying:

1. Hospital Scientists can apply for Technical Officer positions, and they will be able to apply for Technical Officer positions regardless of how they became a Hospital Scientist.
2. Any applications for Technical Officer positions, whether made by Hospital Scientists or not, will be managed in accordance with Recruitment and Selection of Staff to the NSW Health Service Policy Directive PD2023_024 i.e. the Recruitment Policy.
3. Applicants will be assessed based on their knowledge, skills, attributes and experiences as these relate to the requirements of the position, the operational unit and NSW Health.
4. Any applications for Technical Officer positions from Hospital Scientists will be subject to the same recruitment process as any other position, as underpinned by the Recruitment Policy.

The HSU has requested that NSW Health Pathology now write to its employees to correct the misrepresentation. To date, they have not agreed to do so. The HSU will continue to pursue the issue.

Importantly, applications to convert from TO to HS are now live on SARA (under Human Resources where you find credentialing requests). This is a great new right that members are entitled to pursue.

The following information may assist:

1. The HSU’s information flyer
2. A copy of the new Award
3. The Commissioner’s decision about the new Award

If you have any questions, concerns, issues, or require help with the new Technical Officer to Hospital Scientist Conversion Award, send your query to [E-Mail not displayed].