After a career securing wage rises for low-paid workers and working with three Prime Ministers, ACTU Secretary Sally McManus is ready for a break and plans to go birding.

Melissa Donnelly, currently the national secretary of the Community and Public Sector Union, has been named the new leader of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU). She will replace the outgoing head, Sally McManus.

ACTU leaders Sally McManus and Michele O'Neil are stepping down from their roles, making way for a new generation of leadership. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese praised them as 'giants' of the Australian union movement.