Prison officers vote to strike in ACT for the first time over pay

October 15 2026 - 11:31am

October 15 2026 - 11:31am

Canberra's prison officers will go on strike for the first time as the ACT government faces continued pressure to resolve protracted pay and conditions talks across its workforce.

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The Community and Public Sector Union said correctional officers at the Alexander Maconochie Centre and court transport unit had overwhelmingly backed industrial action in a ballot.

Corrective Services staff had voted to strike in the ACT for the first time, the CPSU said. Picture by Karleen Minney

More than 89 per cent of union members participated in the ballot and 98 per cent had voted in favour of the strike action, the union said.

Maddy Northam, the union's regional secretary, said the staff were walking out alongside colleagues across the territory's public service to send Chief Minister Andrew Barr a clear message.

"Frontline public sector workers deserve a fair pay offer. CPSU members at the AMC and court transport unit do tough, essential work. Like other Canberrans, they are facing cost of living pressures and a 3 per cent offer simply does not cut it," Ms Northam said.

ACT public sector workers will strike for two hours and march on the Legislative Assembly on Thursday, October 29, the union said.

But the government has been banking on being able to ease the workload concerns of public sector staff to get its enterprise agreements over the line without needing to find more money to offer bigger pay rises.

Public Service Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said the government believed there were issues other than just the proposed pay increases that drove staff to vote down its offer.

"The bottom line is that the budget is in deficit. Our ... fiscal situation is challenging, and so we don't have the opportunity to just come back and offer more," Ms Stephen-Smith said.

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