Melanie Bray, Branch Secretary
Melanie Bray was elected Branch Secretary in November 2024, having served as Assistant Branch Secretary for six years prior. Melanie is the Union’s first woman of colour to be elected as Branch Secretary of the CPSU/CSA.
Mel started her career in the WA public sector as a Client Assistant in a Disability Services group home, joining the union immediately at her induction, and has been a member now for 27 years. Soon after joining, Mel was encouraged by her colleagues to nominate as a Delegate. In her seven years as a Delegate, Mel helped lead collective workplace action to secure significant wins on workplace agreements and the reclassification of social trainers. With this experience, and along with her insight into the quiet power and passion of public sector workers, Mel joined the CPSU/CSA as an Organiser in 2008.
Mel has a proud seventeen-year career at the Union, rising through the Organising Division prior to becoming the Assistant Branch Secretary. Her achievements include a significant pay restructure and resourcing for Residential Colleges, which saw instant pay rises of up to $30,000 in 2020, and in 2023, significant safety outcomes for Youth Custodial Officers, followed by a pay reclassification for Youth Custodial Officers in 2023. Mel has also done significant work in modernising union processes and operations to prepare the union to represent public sector workers for the next 120 years of operations.
Mel is a mum of two and a proud PNG Australian who advocates for the development of leaders who can tackle the challenges we face from different perspectives. As Branch Secretary she is committed to developing a culture where all public sector workers feel connected to the work of their union.
Ness Brett, Branch Assistant Secretary
Ness Brett was appointed Branch Assistant Secretary in November 2024, after over twenty years as a member of the CPSU/CSA, including the past seven as a member of staff.
After obtaining a Bachelor of Arts, Justice Studies at Edith Cowan University, Ness spent a significant part of her career in the then WA Department of Corrective Services.
Working in various roles in the Department for over a decade, Ness was nominated by her colleagues to become a Delegate, a role she would hold for eight years, and help advocate for her and her colleagues' rights and working conditions, aspiring to foster continuous improvement and best practice in the state’s corrections system.
Ness joined the CPSU/CSA as an Organiser in January 2018. During her seven years at the Union Ness has worked across the Union’s Organising and Corporate Services Divisions, the latter of which she was Coordinator prior to becoming Branch Assistant Secretary. While working in the Growth and Delegate-led teams in the Organising Division, Ness is proud to have helped deliver secure jobs to 10,000 public sector workers through the “Path to Permanency” Campaign and significant work in fostering a culture of workplace health and safety in Western Australia’s youth custodial facilities, improving safety conditions and pay reclassification for Youth Custodial Officers in 2023.
As well as being incredibly passionate about women’s rights and all things criminology, Ness is a very proud mum of two and very busy grandparent of one, who loves to travel and enjoys spending time on the water.
