The Provisional Committee set up to establish the organisation stated that the Association would not have a political character nor would it be a trade union.

In November of the same year, Mr. John Osbourne was appointed as the first permanent Secretary and the first Council was elected to conduct the business of the PSA.

The proposal fired spirited debate but a referendum resulted in 670 members supporting registration with 538 votes cast in opposition.

In an attempt to correct this situation the PSA waged a major political campaign between 1925 and 1930 to regain access to the system.

[4] In the same year the Association changed the name of its newspaper from The Public Service Journal to Red Tape in July.

Two years later she campaigned for amendments to the 1902 Public Service Act to include equal pay for women.

[4] During the Great Depression years – 1930 to 1945 – the Association fought a rearguard action to protect members and conducted campaigns to maintain jobs.

[3][5] O'Keefe, Dorothy Beveridge and others lobbied to have women who were qualified public servants to be given permanent and not temporary contracts.

It was years before the Association was able to restore pre-depression salaries and it was not until 1944 that the State Government repaid the money taken from the Superannuation Fund.