Following strong advocacy from the USU and others, the NSW Government has extended the deadline for employers to apply for the Worker Retention Payment with backpay to 2 December 2024. Councils now have until 30 September 2025 to apply and until 31 October 2025 to request a funding review if needed.

What this means:

If your employer has already applied:
You don’t need to do anything. Once approved, you’ll receive the payment with backpay to 2 December 2024.

If your employer hasn’t applied yet:
They now have until 30 September 2025 to apply and still secure full backpay.

If an application is rejected:
Councils can request a review up to 31 October 2025, still allowing for backpay to December 2024.

This extension gives more time to get every council on board: but it’s not a reason to wait. Processing times remain slow, and delays could put worker entitlements at risk. Councils that apply too late may miss the backpay window.

The USU is continuing to support members and employers to make sure no one misses out. If you have questions about where your employer is at in this process or you want to learn what you can do to help get the final councils on board, please reach out to the Worker Retention Payment team using this link.