As negotiations on their working conditions begin for 2026, Independent Education Union – Queensland and Northern Territory (IEU-QNT) assistant secretary Nicole Kapernick says members want action from Queensland Catholic school employers on the workload crisis, on wages that reflect the value of their work and on implementing contemporary workplace rights.
The workload and work intensification crisis, Kapernick said, is driving teachers out of the profession and was a key reason graduates were not pursuing teaching careers.
“At the same time, the wages and allowances of Queensland Catholic school teachers and support staff have not kept pace with the real value of the work they perform,” she said.
“Nor have they addressed the continuing rise in the cost of living.
“Our school support staff are taking on more responsibility, greater complexity and higher expectations than ever before – yet their wage structures are outdated and have not been properly reviewed for over 30 years.
IEU-QNT represents more than 17,000 teachers, school support staff, principals, early childhood educators as well as VET and RTO workers.
Kapernick said some members in the state’s Catholic schools are also facing a situation where their working rights have not kept pace with those in other non-government school sectors, with community expectations or with contemporary standards.
“Contemporary workplaces require contemporary rights at work – Queensland Catholic school employees cannot be left behind the rest of the sector,” she said.
Catholic schools, the union said, rely on a wide range of specialist roles including instrumental music tutors, counsellors, specialist teachers, Support Teacher Inclusive Education (STIEs), boarding school staff and library teachers.
These roles often underpin a school’s unique identity and the reasons why parents and students choose to enrol, yet their work is often under‑recognised and/or not properly resourced in the current agreement.
Staff working in flexi schools support some of the most complex and vulnerable students in the system, yet some of their working conditions remain out of step with those of their colleagues in other Queensland Catholic schools.
“IEU-QNT members also want teachers working in specialist roles and the growing flexible school sector to be provided with the working conditions they need to do their jobs,” Kapernick explained
Catholic school employers, Kapernick shared, must address what she called “these meaningful improvements to working conditions” for members in the current round of negotiations.
“IEU-QNT members don’t need another review, another joint working party or another three years until the next bargaining round – IEU-QNT members need action now,” she said.
