Wednesday, 26 August 2026

 Will FOWLES (Ringwood) (14:25): My question is to the Minister for Education. The teachers and education support staff across the Ringwood electorate deserve to be properly recognised for the vital work they do in classrooms and school communities every day. Minister, following the endorsement of the pay deal, what benefits will the new pay and conditions deliver for teachers and education support staff across Melbourne’s eastern suburbs?

 Gabrielle WILLIAMS (Dandenong – Minister for Education, Minister for Skills and Training, Minister for First Peoples, Minister for Women and Gender Equality) (14:25): I thank the member for Ringwood for his question. I was very pleased to hear him rightly praise the efforts of our educators, our principals and our education support staff in schools across Victoria, including in Melbourne’s east. We know that our education staff show up every day for our kids, and we have worked hard to put on the table a pay and conditions offer that values that work.

As I just had cause to outline, the pay offer that we put on the table, which was voted on by AEU members, was resoundingly endorsed with a 79 per cent support vote. I can see why, because that offer will deliver a pay increase of between 28.3 and 32.4 per cent for teachers, assistant principals and principals over the four years of the agreement. It means that an experienced teacher’s salary will rise from about $118,000 to about $150,000. An early career teacher pay increase will be about $12,000 by later this year, bringing them into line with New South Wales. A minimum pay increase of 29.8 per cent over four years for range 2 education support staff is also included. That includes classroom support, administrative staff and those supporting students with a disability, and we know how important that work is.

But it is more than just a significant pay increase for educators across our system. It is also giving teachers back what they have told us is so very important in their day for them to do their jobs properly, and that is time. As part of that, this offer halves meeting hours from 80 to 40 a year, effectively giving staff more time for planning, for preparation and for assessments so that they can make sure that the time they get with students in the classroom really counts.

 Will FOWLES (Ringwood) (14:27): Minister, how will this significant investment in our education workforce strengthen local schools and improve outcomes for students across the eastern suburbs?

 Gabrielle WILLIAMS (Dandenong – Minister for Education, Minister for Skills and Training, Minister for First Peoples, Minister for Women and Gender Equality) (14:28): Again, I thank the member for Ringwood for his question. We know that when we value the work of our hardworking teachers and support staff and principals as well we have the best possible chance of retaining the best and brightest right here and attracting the best and brightest to the Victorian education system, and that is exactly what we want to do. We do this through investing in the facilities that we know our schools need and deserve. We have invested at record levels in our time in government to make sure that we are not only delivering the programs that students need and delivering the pay and conditions that our teachers and education staff need but also delivering world-class learning environments for students as well. Holistically, that is all about creating learning environments where students are ready to learn, with teachers, education support staff and principals who feel supported in their roles and who have the time to do what they need to in support of Victorian students.