Tasmania Police is trialling new shift patterns after years of disputes over rosters, with staff at Glenorchy recently voting to move from the long-standing Ottawa system to a six-day-on, four-day-off roster.
Commissioner Donna Adams told a budget estimates hearing on Wednesday the change followed years of work to reform shifts at the seven 24/7 stations.
Around 87% of Glenorchy staff backed the switch.
“It is a good news story. Rosters are challenging,” Adams said.
She recalled a station visit where eight constables wanted three different rosters between them.
Adams said the working group had the police union “in the room” and was working through the evidence and science around fatigue to find a roster that still met service delivery standards.
Glenorchy staff are now working a forward-rotating roster of two day shifts, two afternoon shifts and two night shifts followed by four days off.
Bridgewater has put a similar proposal to a workplace ballot and recorded a positive response. Planning for that trial is underway.
Assistant Commissioner Adrian Bodnar, who chairs the roster reform working group, said two of the seven stations would run trials.
He said stations could end up running different models in the future.
“It’s really up to the staff at the individual stations as what they’d like to trial and like to work,” Bodnar said.
“… We want the staff to have the involvement, have the say, have the workplace ballots and see what works because there are different demographics at each station as well.”
The trials are an alternative to the Ottawa roster, used by Tasmania Police since the 1980s, which includes seven consecutive night shifts.
The Ottawa roster was reinstated at 24-hour stations last year, prompting a dispute that went before the Tasmanian Industrial Commission.
The Police Association of Tasmania at the time called the decision a “betrayal of frontline officers”, arguing it would compromise public safety and harm mental health.
Adams did not refer to the Ottawa roster at the hearing. She said a previous six-on, six-off roster trial carried “fatigue concerns” and “relied heavily on overtime” to meet minimum staffing.
Adams said the work had since delivered savings, with “a downturn in the overtime” being paid.
The working group has met since August last year and considered at least 12 different rosters.
It includes two members from each 24/7 station and two police union representatives.
Bodnar said options were limited by a frontline staffing protocol that sets minimum numbers of supervisors and constables for each shift.
Rosters must also fit station staff allocations, often reduced by leave, appointments, training, taskforces and workers’ compensation.
“Having about 450 people across the organisation that work at our 24/7 stations, it’s really difficult to get a positive outcome,” Bodnar said.
