Melissa Donnelly

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Melissa Donnelly is the National Secretary of the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU), an Australian trade union with coverage of more than 198,000 [1] Commonwealth Public Servants, as well as those in the Northern Territory Public Service and the ACT Public Service. [2] [3] is the CPSU's youngest ever national secretary, as well as the third woman and the first working mother to hold the role. [4]

CPSU National Secretary Melissa Donnelly speaking at a CPSU Governing Council Meeting Melissa Donnelly-1.webp
CPSU National Secretary Melissa Donnelly speaking at a CPSU Governing Council Meeting

Donnelly was first elevated to the role, following tenure in the union's legal and industrial relations team and its Executive Committee, when former National Secretary Nadine Flood resigned for health reasons in 2019. [5] [6] Donnelly was most recently reelected to the position in December 2023. [7]

Under Donnelly's leadership of the union, its membership declined by more than 9% between 2019 and 2022. Between 2022 and 2024 Australian Public Service employee numbers grew by more than 16%, leading to the absolute number of CPSU members increasing to be about 1% higher in 2024 than when Donnelly assumed leadership. However CPSU density continues to decline, in line with broader trends in the Australian trade union movement since the 1980s [8] .

CPSU (PSU Group) membership and APS staff numbers between 2013 and 2025.
DateCSPU (PSU) membership APS employee numbers Approximate APS union density (%)*
30 June 2013 54,379 166,14932.7
30 June 2014 54,725 157,94334.6
30 June 2015 55,188 152,24236.3
30 June 2016 53,089 155,60734.1
30 June 2017 50,193 151,94833.0
30 June 2018 46,778 150,25831.1
30 June 2019 44,579 146,75830.4
30 June 2020 44,500 150,36329.6
30 June 2021 43,039 153,57128.0
30 June 2022 40,654 159,17925.5
30 June 2023Data not found170,086
30 June 2024 44,864 184,85824.3
30 June 2025Not yet published198,529

(*) Note that the PSU Group covers some employees outside of the APS (for example, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, the territory public services and privatised government businesses), so the true APS union member density will be slightly less than shown in the last column of the table.

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, Donnelly was responsible for championing a "groundbreaking" working-from-home deal with the Australian Public Sector Commission in 2023 which allows public sector employees to seek unlimited working from home flexibility arrangements. [9] [10] [11]

References

  1. ↑ Australian Public Service Commission (30 June 2025). "The Australian Public Service Employment Database". APS Employment Data 30 June 2025. Retrieved 16 November 2025.
  2. ↑ "CPSU Media centre". www.cpsu.org.au. Retrieved 2024-02-01.
  3. ↑ Tribune, The National (2019-10-10). "New CPSU National Secretary appointed". The National Tribune. Retrieved 2024-02-01.
  4. ↑ Director, Institute; giwl@anu.edu.au (2021-06-04). "Melissa Donnelly". Global Institute for Women's Leadership. Retrieved 2024-02-01.
  5. ↑ Easton, Stephen (2019-10-10). "Melissa Donnelly appointed acting Community and Public Sector Union national secretary". The Mandarin. Retrieved 2024-02-01.
  6. ↑ "'Expect us to be a champion': CPSU appoints youngest ever national secretary". The Canberra Times. 2019-10-13. Retrieved 2024-02-01.
  7. ↑ "CPSU 'voted for unity' with national president chosen". The Canberra Times. 2023-12-13. Retrieved 2024-02-01.
  8. ↑ "Union membership slumps to a new low". Australian Financial Review. 2022-12-14. Retrieved 2024-02-02.
  9. ↑ "Work-from-home deal 'groundbreaking', but business groups warn of CBD 'death knell'". ABC News. 2023-07-13. Retrieved 2024-02-02.
  10. ↑ "Public sector agrees to uncapped WFH days". Australian Financial Review. 2023-07-11. Retrieved 2024-02-02.
  11. ↑ Thompson, Angus (2023-04-09). "The WFH deal that challenges the future of office culture". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2024-02-02.


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