ANF Helpline

Unique ANF Helpline in WA means greater convenience for members, better triage of issues and quicker service.

The ANF Helpline enquiries cover a wide range of issues including; • workload grievances • responding to allegations • statement for Coronial inquests • disciplinary processes • performance management • AHPRA investigations - including , immediate action against the member • registration and other legal issues, • in addition to enquiries related to basic entitlements such as overtime, ADOs, correct pay scales, long service leave and parental leave.

ANF members do not wait on the phone when needing help with a workplace issue. Instead members can book an ANF Industrial Officer to call them back within a specific timeslot that has been selected by the member. The service has been evolving for the last few years and now other states branches of the ANF are starting to follow this model.

ANF Assistant Secretary, Janet Reah tells members; “there is no need to sit on the phone for hours waiting for someone at the ANF to take your call as was the case many years ago. You book in a timeslot that suits you and one of our highly qualified ANF Industrial Officers calls you within that hour’s timeslot.” “There is no need to stress if you miss our first call, because our staff continue calling within that hour until they reach you. If for some reason you are not available within that hour, they will always send a follow up email directly to you to ensure you get your questions answered and the help you need.” The ANF Helpline has a straightforward triage system that enables the ANF Industrial Officers to gather the relevant information to meet your enquiry. “Sometimes the answer to a question is quick and other times it may take a little longer depending on the complexity of the issue and whether or not it requires a referral to the ANF legal department” Jeanet said. “Since the Industrial Officer knows which member the booking is for before making the call, they also know where that member works and will organise themselves to have the EBA and other relevant documents ready prior to making the call to help speed up the process.” It is important to remember any disciplinary action in the workplace can become an AHPRA complaint, or if suspended or terminated a reportable event for AHPRA. “AHPRA issues and legal matters are given priority, and legal referrals are completed the same day,” Janet says. Ms Reah says the level of complexity with issues on the ANF Helpline has risen quite markedly over the last decade because members have increasing access to wage rates, EBA’s and other basic information using their ANF iFolio.

ANF developed surge capacity during COVID

There have been times during the pandemic where the ANF had to increase the number of staff and available timeslots each hour so the ANF Helpline now has a permanent feature where the senior officer on duty can increase the number of timeslots, up to 12 an hour, and call up extra Industrial Officers for that period whenever there is a surge in demand.

Janet says it is all about monitoring and matching demand so that resources are increased when needed. She says there was always an increases in member queries certainly occurred whenever there was a snap lock down or whenever the government made a significant COVID related announcement over the last 12 months. “We developed the surge capacity after reading the feedback from members. And that’s why it’s important members send us their views, particularly when they think the service should be improved or changed to allow greater flexibility,” Janet said.

ANF Emergency Helpline Hotline 24/7 - After hours & weekends

Another service unique to members of the ANF in Western Australia is the after-hours emergency service that starts from 5pm each day and goes through until 9am the following morning. This deals with matters that cannot wait until the ANF Office reopens such as police inquiries ( arrest, or forced questioning), death of a patient that involves the coroner or where an employer is demanding a member provide a statement about an incident at work. Another emergency situation is being locked out of your ANF holiday apartment.

Janet Reah has taken over the after-hours phone from Mark Olson who fielded calls from members at all hours of the day and night for more than two decades.

There is no other nursing union where you can ring up the State Secretary at any time of the day or night and it’s so important for members to be safe with the knowledge that the ANF is there for them in those after-hours emergencies.

The new ANF Membership Helpline

Every day members contact the ANF about issues that are related to the ANF membership rather than a workplace issue so the ANF now as a dedicated Membership Helpline service for those matters – see details on next page.

New ANF Helpline service during COVID

In February the ANF Helpline reactivated the COVID Enquiries Support Team (CEST) that was first established at the beginning of the COVID lockdown in March 2020 to provide ANF members with speedy, accurate and up-to-date advice on COVID related questions. The size of team has increased to meet the challenges of 2022 and the hours have also expanded so it’s a now a 7-day a week service including public holidays. You can contact the CEST at any time, through the red ‘COVID’ tab on your iFolio or by sending an email to: COVID@anfiuwp.org.au . There are also links to the ANF COVID Enquiries Support Team on every page in the COVID section of your iFolio as well as on the regular iFolio Helpline page.

ANF COVID Inquiries Support Team – Janet Reah, Mark Olson, Kim Bohn and Harsini Kugan

The team suggest that if you do need a call back, it’s always useful to provide some idea of the question or the topic so the team can be better prepared to provide the answer when they call you. At the time of going to press over 1500 members had used this additional ANF Helpline service with frequent topics including:

• COVID Leave • Close contact rules • PPE availability and fit testing • Distribution of

Rapid Antigen Tests • Current and changing employment requirements, public health and social measures • Private sector elective surgery

Need to talk to an ANF Industrial Officer about a workplace matter?

The quickest way to get help and advice:

Log in to your iFolio, and click the blue ‘Helpline’ tab in the top RH corner Select a ‘Date’, convenient ‘Time slot’, your ‘Preferred number’, and click ‘Request Booking’, then we’ll call you. Or you can now book a Helpline appointment on your ANF iFolio App. Simply click on ‘Helpline’ in the menu, then select ‘Industrial Officer’, then a ‘Date’, convenient ‘Time slot’, your ‘Preferred number’, and click ‘Request Booking’, then we’ll call you.

Need to update your Membership Payment or Contact details?

The quickest way is to either:

Simply log in to your iFolio, click ‘My Account’ in the top RH corner, then click on ‘Update Payment Type’ or ‘Edit card details’, or scroll down and click ‘Edit Account’

Or if you’d like the ANF Membership team to call you back’... log in to your iFolio, click ‘My Account’ in the top RH corner and under the heading ‘My Account’ click the blue ‘click here’ in the 3rd line: ‘If you have any questions about your ANF membership, click here and the ANF Membership Team will give you a call’, then we’ll call you Or you can now book a Helpline appointment on your new ANF iFolio App, simply click on ‘Helpline’ in the menu, then select ‘Membership’, your ‘Preferred number’, and click ‘Request Call Back’, then we’ll call you.