Victoria has announced a job scheme for casual staff, but it does not include council workers.

Victoria’s Treasurer Tim Pallas has announced a scheme that will see casual public sector workers redeployed to other departments or agencies and paid $1,500 per fortnight.

The Treasurer said the scheme would only pay workers who agreed to being redeployed to other public sector jobs where demand was high.

Eligible casuals must prove they have been paid over the past two fortnightly pay cycles in “regular employment with the state and have seen that employment adversely and negatively impacted”.

It is expected to include staff from Melbourne Museum, Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre and botanical gardens, as well as lifeguards from the state-run Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre.

However, the scheme does not cover council workers, who are also not eligible for JobKeeper.

The Municipal Association Victoria (MAV) says about 5,000 casual workers employed by local governments have been stood down due to coronavirus.

MAV president Coral Ross wants a state plan to help local councils too.

“The National Cabinet has shown that the Victorian community is served best when governments work together,” Cr Ross said.

“It's very reasonable for a council employee to expect some degree of support from the Federal and State Government.

“The Commonwealth says the states need to come in and help local councils get through this.”

Mr Pallas kicked the issue up the ladder, saying the problem has “been created by the Commonwealth making it clear that JobKeeper does not apply to state or local government employees”.

“The state has had to take action to take care of its employees, we would expect that local government similarly would step up to the plate and look after their own employees,” he said.

Australian Services Union secretary Lisa Darmanin called the state’s response, “buck-passing”.

“The livelihoods of thousands of casual council employees have disappeared, and Treasurer Tim Pallas dismisses their plight as someone else's problem,” Ms Darmanin said.

“Only the immediate personal intervention of Premier Dan Andrews will avoid these workers being abandoned.”