Cost of living adjustment

Queensland Government employees

For the purposes of a COLA payment, a Queensland Government employee is a person employed by a Queensland Government entity as defined in Section 24 of the Public Service Act 2008.

Full-time and part-time government employees

To be eligible, you must have worked under a relevant Certified Agreement during the specified period and be a Queensland Government employee at the calculation date of that agreement.

You do not have to be under the relevant Certified Agreement at the calculation date. For example, you may have moved agencies and be working under a different Certified Agreement. However, you must be a Queensland Government employee, and will need to provide evidence of this to the payroll team overseeing the COLA payment process.

The calculation date is the last day of the specified period as defined in the relevant Certified Agreement. To find out the Certified Agreement calculation date, you will need to contact the HR team of the agency from where you want to claim the COLA payment.

If you were employed under the Queensland Police Service Agreement and had a Forced Retirement arrangement, you may still be eligible for a COLA payment. Please contact your HR team to talk about your circumstances.

1. You were employed full-time or part-time under the Certified Agreement for the relevant year.
   1. You were still employed under the same Certified Agreement at calculation date.
      1. You are eligible for the COLA payment. No further action required. COLA payment will be automatically processed.
   2. You changed agencies and are no longer employed under the same Certified Agreement at calculation date.
      1. You were a Queensland Government employee at calculation date.
         1. You are eligible for the COLA payment. You must complete the COLA form to receive payment.
      2. You were not a Queensland Government employee at calculation date.
         1. You are not eligible for COLA payment.

Casual government employees

To be eligible, you must have performed work under the relevant Certified Agreement or as a Queensland Government employee within the 12-week payroll period leading up to the calculation date. You must have performed work, not only have been available for work. Unpaid parental leave is an exception and doesn’t impact your eligibility.

1. You were casually employed under a Certified Agreement for the relevant year.
   1. You were still employed under the same Certified Agreement at calculation date.
      1. You worked under the same Certified Agreement in the 12 weeks leading to the calculation date.
         1. You are eligible for the COLA payment. No further action required. COLA payment will be automatically processed.
      2. You did not work under the same Certified Agreement in the 12 weeks leading to the calculation date.
         1. You are not eligible for COLA payment.
   2. You changed agencies and are no longer employed under the same Certified Agreement at calculation date.
      1. You remained a Queensland Government employee and worked within 12 weeks leading up to the calculation date.
         1. You are eligible for the COLA payment. You must complete the COLA form to receive payment.
      2. You were not a Queensland Government employee as at calculation date or you did not work within 12 weeks leading up to the calculation date.
         1. You are not eligible for COLA payment.

You will need to contact your HR team in the agency from where you want to claim a COLA payment to find out the Certified Agreement calculation date, or search for it on the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission website. This determines what you do next.

Working under the Certified Agreement at the calculation date

If you were still working under the Certified Agreement at the time of calculation, you do not need to do anything. Your COLA payment will be automatically processed.

Not working under the Certified Agreement at the calculation date

If you were no longer working under the Certified Agreement but were a Queensland Government employee at the calculation date, you need to provide evidence confirming your employment. The payroll team overseeing this process may not have visibility of employees who are no longer under the relevant Certified Agreement at calculation date.

Please see Apply for COLA payment below to submit your evidence.

Once your employment is confirmed, the COLA payment will be processed according to the timeline outlined in the relevant Certified Agreement. The payment will be a one-off lump sum in each year of the relevant Certified Agreement and is taxed and superannuable according to the relevant law.

If you are required to confirm your eligibility for a COLA payment, it is your responsibility to provide the necessary information to the appropriate agency.

To ensure a timely payment, consult with the agency’s HR team where you are claiming the COLA payment.

Claim cost of living adjustment (Opens in new window)

Your COLA payment is calculated on the base wages you received while working under the relevant Certified Agreement.

If you work part-time, your base wages will be calculated on a pro-rata basis, factoring in any changes in the number of hours worked over the year.

If you are a casual employee, your base wages will include casual loading earnings.

Leave

All periods of paid leave form part of your base wages.

If you’ve been on leave without pay, this will reduce your payable base wages under the relevant agreement, resulting in a reduced COLA payment.

Leave loading, payouts for additional time, and leave cash out payments, do not form part of your base wages under the Certified Agreement for the purpose of calculating the COLA payment. This includes payout of recreation leave and long service leave.

Salary sacrificing

Salary sacrifice arrangements do not impact your base wages when calculating the COLA payment.

Worker’s compensation

If you are receiving workers’ compensation payments, you’ll still be eligible for a COLA payment. This will be calculated based on the percentage of normal weekly earnings payable under legislation.

Income protection

Income protection payments are not considered as base wages and are not included in the calculation of the COLA payment.

Higher duties

Higher duties form part of your base wages to calculate the COLA payment. This includes any time where an employee has taken on higher responsibilities during the relevant Certified Agreement period.

Scenario 1

You have worked continuously for the Queensland Ambulance Service for the past 3 years under each Certified Agreement. You are eligible for the COLA payment.

You don’t need to do anything. Your payment will be automatically calculated.

Scenario 2

You work for Queensland Police for 3 months under a Certified Agreement during their agreement year but leave before the Certified Agreement calculation date. You move to Queensland Health where you remain at the time of the Certified Agreement calculation date. This makes you eligible for the Queensland Police Certified Agreement COLA payment.

To receive the payment, you must submit the form available above in consultation with Queensland Police’s HR team. They will need to confirm your Queensland Government employment as at the Certified Agreement calculation date.

Scenario 3

You work for the Department of Education Certified Agreement from 1 September to 1 December 2022. Then you go on secondment to the Department of Premier and Cabinet where you remain an employee at the time of the Certified Agreement calculation date. You are eligible for the COLA payment for your 3 months at the Department of Education.

To receive the COLA payment from the Department of Education, you will need to contact their HR team.

If you continue to work for the Department of Premier and Cabinet up to and including their relevant Certified Agreement calculation date, you’ll be eligible for their COLA payment, which will be paid automatically.