Community & Public Sector Union (CPSU) our national union

The Community & Public Sector Union was formed in 1994 by the amalgamation of the State Public Services Federation and the Public Sector Union. It is registered under the federal industrial legislation.

SPSF was the national union of the state "public services associations". CPU was the union of Commonwealth public servants and other employees.

The state and Commonwealth sides of the CPSU still operate separately.

On the SPSF side, most of the state "public service associations" are legally separate and operate independently of the federal union, although there is a great deal of co-operation.

Membership figures at time of amalgamation (1994)

The SPSF numbers in Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and Western Australia have dropped since 1994 because of public sector job losses and anti-union legislation. This latter cause hit Victoria's and South Australia's membership. They are both now rebuilding under more friendly governments.

Cuts to Commonwealth employment announced by the Howard Government resulted in a considerable loss of membership by the PSU side of the union. Passage of the Howard Government's Workplace Relations Bill further damaged PSU Group membership.

For more information on CPSU see CPSU PSU group and CPSU SPSF Group

CPSU Organisation Chart