The pledge comes while discussions continue on a long-term funding agreement for Victoria that honours Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s pre-election promise to deliver in full the Gonski reforms.
It also follows a National School Resourcing Board report on school funding revealing that the State Government failed to deliver $219 million to public schools in 2023 as part of their signed agreement with the Commonwealth, denying, the Australian Education Union said, Victorian public school students much needed resources.
All other states have signed agreements with the Federal Government and with the current enterprise bargaining agreement with teachers due to expire at the end of next month, Carroll’s comments seem to suggest the Government is ready to seriously negotiate.
AEU Victoria Branch president Justin Mullaly remains unconvinced.
“The Education Minister’s commitment comes with no detail and no funding because of the ongoing failure of the Premier and Treasurer to deliver to Victorian public schools the same level of funding as other states,” Mullaly said in a statement.
“You can’t get the pay rises unless there is the funding available to deliver them.
“The Allan Labor Government has not reached a funding agreement with the Commonwealth; they have created a funding mess.”
The AEU log of claims for the next Victorian Government Schools Agreement includes a 35 per cent pay increase for all public school staff over the life of the agreement and smaller class sizes so every student can have greater individual attention and support.
The union is also calling for increased allied health and classroom support for students
Modern and flexible working arrangements and significant improvements to working conditions, including workload reductions.
In 2026, an experienced Victorian teacher will be paid $118,063 compared to $133,422 for an experienced teacher in NSW, according to Mullaly.
“At the entry level, a Victorian teacher will be paid $79,589 compared to $92,882 in NSW.”
After NSW Premier Chris Minns swept to power in March 2023 with a campaign promise to hire more teachers and improve teacher salaries, his Government has stuck firmly to its word and accelerated its commitment to fully fund to Gonski’s recommendations.
It subsequently delivered what it called a “once in a generation” 8 per cent pay rise in September 2023, adding nearly $10,000 to starting teacher salaries.
There has since been a further agreement to increase salaries by 10 per cent over the coming three years.
Mullaly claimed the Victorian Labor Government lacks competence when comes to school funding and “that it’s no wonder teachers, education support staff, and school leaders feel completely neglected and abandoned”.
“When Victorian public schools are the lowest funded in the country and teachers are the lowest paid, with principals and education support staff also undervalued, we expect no less than full school funding to better support student learning and wellbeing and significant pay increases to value the profession and help address chronic staffing shortages,” he said.
Valuing and respecting school staff through decent pay is a key means of retaining existing employees and attracting the next generation to the profession, Mullaly argued.
In January this year, Premier Jacinta Allan and Prime Minister Albanese announced they had reached an agreement to deliver full and fair funding for Victorian public schools, with Allan pledging to lift her Government’s funding of government schools to 75 per cent of the School Resource Standard.
“But, in May it was revealed that instead of delivering this funding, the Premier had in fact ripped $2.4 billion of that promised funding from public schools, by delaying the deal to 2031,” Mullaly said.
“If the Premier and Education Minister were serious about supporting public school principals, teachers, and education support staff, they would end the con-job and fix the public school funding mess.”
AEU’s Victoria branch has organised a series of demonstrations in resent months outside the offices of government MPs, to protest against the funding cuts and appears prepared to escalate its campaign if the State Government, as it appears likely, heads into an election year without a new wage deal.
“There is no bilateral agreement and I haven’t seen any evidence that we are going to get one that matches what is happening in other states and territories,” Mullaly said.
