Eighty-three per cent of ACT public school teachers voted in favour of the ACT Government’s proposed ACT Public Sector Education Directorate (Teaching Staff) Enterprise Agreement 2023‑2026.
“This Enterprise Agreement will deliver nation-leading pay for public school teachers and a better classification structure that supports school leaders, new educators and experienced teachers,” education minister Yvette Berry said.
Australian Education Union ACT Branch President Angela Burroughs said that it achieved the biggest pay increase for ACT public school teachers in two decades, reflecting both the teacher shortage and cost of living pressures.
“The evidence says we have to raise salaries to get people into teaching, and the agreement does that,” Ms Burroughs said. “By the end of 2025, a first-year teacher will receive $91,396 and more than $100,000 in their second year. Mid-career teachers are set to receive pay rises by as much as 8.7% per annum under this deal. This is great news for public education as we navigate the crisis of the teacher shortage.
“Our members overwhelmingly endorsed this agreement because they care about the future of teaching, and they know the power of being recognised as professionals. Top teacher pay will reach nearly $130,000 by the end of the agreement. This retains ACT teachers’ position as the best paid teachers in the country.
“While a pay rise is good news, the AEU ACT remains firmly focused on workload. Teachers are experiencing a crushing workload burden, which must be addressed for the health of the profession and, critically, to retain staff. Endorsing this agreement is the beginning of the biggest challenge this union has embarked upon: that of changing the way teachers do their job. We welcome the Government’s commitment to working constructively with the union on addressing the teacher workload challenge. Workload is a problem that has been building for a long time, and we need sustained and strategic collaboration with the ACT Government to unravel it.”
Ms Berry said: “Union members told the Government that this is about pay, but it is also about time. This agreement outlines a clear approach to managing teacher workloads, so that our public school teachers and school leaders can do what they do best: teach and lead.”
The ACT Education Directorate and the Australian Education Union have already established a Sustainable Workload Management Committee, to identify and address the systemic causes of teacher and school leader workload.
The 2023-24 ACT Budget includes more than $201 million to recruit more teachers, retain more teachers in the profession, and reduce the impacts of the national teacher shortage, Ms Berry said.
The Enterprise Agreement will now be provided to the Fair Work Commission. It will commence seven days after their approval.
Ms Berry thanked the Australian Education Union ACT Branch for “their commitment to championing and advancing public education in the ACT”.
