ACT public school teachers will be earning over $100,000 after two years of service by the end of 2025 under a new pay offer endorsed by the Australian Education Union.
It will make ACT teachers the highest paid in the country and represents the biggest pay increase in two decades.
All schools will also have additional pupil-free days on the first day of Term 2, 3 and 4 each year from 2024 to be used for professional learning and planning.
The current classroom teacher pay structure will be changed so teachers reach the highest level after eight years instead of nine, through adding an extra level to the end of the pay scale and collapsing earlier pay levels.
By 2025, a classroom teacher at the top of the pay scale will be earning $129,106, excluding superannuation, while a graduate teacher will be earning $91,396 in their first year of service.
Currently a four-year trained teachers' salary is $76,575 and a teacher in their eighth year of service earns $107,832.
A casual teacher will be earning up to $524 per day (casual rate 2) from 2024.
The most experienced school leaders will be earning $225,158 by December 2025.
Superannuation contributions will be bumped up to 12.5 per cent from January 1, 2026.
The ACT government's proposal also comes with a raft of extra conditions, including:
- increased birth leave from 18 weeks to 24 weeks
- assisted reproductive leave of five days per year
- A one-off credit of 18 days personal leave for existing and new full time staff
- A one hour reduction of face-to-face teaching for new educators in their first three years
Building services will be centralised in the education support office within the Education Directorate to take some of the administrative burden off schools.
The latest offer was accepted by Australian Education Union members at a special meeting on Wednesday night, but the decision was not unanimous.
ACT branch president Angela Burroughs said members felt the deal was the best way forward amid acute staffing shortages.
"Last month the union rejected the government's earlier offer as it failed to deliver on pay for school principals and other teachers in leadership positions," Ms Burroughs said.
"This revised offer delivers a pay package that better reflects the immense responsibilities and workloads of our school leaders."
Ms Burroughs said there was more work to be done to reduce the workload of teachers.
"Excessive workload remains an ongoing challenge in the context of a teacher shortage when there is little to no moderation of expectations of schools by the community."
Education Minister Yvette Berry said it would make the territory more attractive for teachers.
"The ACT is a great place to live and work, this teacher pay offer is the best in Australia and provides a compelling reason for more interstate teachers to consider a move to the territory," Ms Berry said.
"This offer also funds a range of workload reduction measures, including the Teacher Shortage Taskforce's recommendations, demonstrating that the ACT government is serious about delivering better workloads for our public educators, to help us retain the fantastic teachers already working in our schools."
Union members had been threatening to take industrial action if their concerns over pay progression and workload were not addressed through enterprise bargaining.
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