26,05,23 | Professional issues
Our union and the Queensland Teachers’ Union (QTU) have published a set of documents to advise members on using artificial intelligence (AI) in schools. The materials are a set of discussion points and a decision-making framework. Several broad issues regarding AI in...
23,05,23 | Professional issues
Our union has provided a submission to the current independent review of the Queensland Non-State Schools Accreditation Framework. The Framework is overseen by the Non-State Schools Accreditation Board (NSSAB), which works predominantly with governing bodies of...
15,05,23 | Beginning Educators (BEnet), Professional issues
Quality mentoring has proven to be highly beneficial to early career teachers, reducing rates of stress and burnout. While the benefits of mentoring are broadly known and understood, given the wealth of research published on the topic, teachers do not always find...
09,05,23 | Professional issues
Our union has been participating in ongoing consultation regarding a rewrite of the Northern Territory (NT) government’s Education Legislation. IEU-QNT Research Officer Dr Adele Schmidt said consultations commenced in 2021 and our union continued to advocate for...
06,03,23 | Professional issues
Education experts are calling for a radical change to the NAPLAN writing test to encourage students to “incorporate, critique, and exceed Artificial Intelligence (AI) generated writing”. It is a question of whether students are being appropriately prepared to develop...
28,02,23 | Professional issues, Workers' rights
Our union has called for urgent action to address the health and wellbeing of school leaders, their staff and students in light of the alarming results of the latest Australian Principal Wellbeing survey. IEU-QNT Branch Secretary Terry Burke said the summary findings...
20,02,23 | Professional issues
The voice of the profession is central as we navigate the challenges and opportunities of the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in our schools. IEU-QNT Branch Secretary Terry Burke said education unions had a critical part to play as school communities and the...
20,02,23 | Professional issues
A new, simplified reporting band structure for NAPLAN test results will be implemented this year but more will be needed to stop the misuse of data in school rankings. NAPLAN will also be conducted entirely online this year and in March instead of May. The new...
20,01,23 | Professional issues
Our union has called for urgent action on teacher workloads following the damning findings of the Productivity Commission’s Review of the National School Reform Agreement released today (20 January 2023). Branch Secretary Terry Burke said the Commission’s review...
08,11,22 | Professional issues, Teachers
Recently, lesson banks have been trending in the media as a solution to teachers’ excessive workloads, stress and burnout and while helpful for many, IEU members know they aren’t the solution the ongoing workload crisis plaguing our profession. Some jurisdictions,...
08,11,22 | Professional issues, Teachers
Our union remains concerned about the increased use of Permission To Teach in schools as a stop gap for teacher shortages, particularly in regional and rural areas. Permission To Teach (PTT) enables a person who is not a registered teacher to be approved by the...
07,11,22 | Equity, Professional issues
The Queensland government has released an updated and upgraded suite of resources for the delivery of respectful relationships education in Queensland schools, which includes a public online hub for students and families. New and strengthened information on concepts...
07,11,22 | Member action, Professional issues
Our union’s Strong Libraries = Strong Schools campaign continues, with members making use of the new Rate your School Library Tool to provide feedback on the state of their school library. IEU-QNT Chapters have also affirmed their commitment to ensuring a prosperous...
03,11,22 | Member action, Professional issues
The federal government’s draft National Teacher Workforce Action Plan (the Action Plan) to address widespread teacher shortages has been released for public consultation. The Action Plan has been developed as a result of the Teacher Workforce Working Group (the...
05,09,22 | Professional issues, Teachers
If you teach an Applied Syllabus in Queensland, now is the time to have your say in the Senior Syllabus Review. The Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority has released second drafts of the Applied Syllabuses and is looking for feedback from teachers, students...
29,08,22 | Professional issues, Workers' rights
The federal government will deliver an action plan in December 2022, following the recent round table discussion on the national teacher workforce crisis hosted by Federal Education Minister Jason Clare. The National Teacher Workforce Action Plan will include the...
29,08,22 | Professional issues, Teachers
IEU members have a place at the table along with other key on the implementation of the new national curriculum within Queensland. IEU-QNT Research Officer Dr Adele Schmidt, who is representing our union on the implementation working group, said the Queensland...
29,08,22 | Professional issues, Teachers
Our union and the Queensland Teachers’ Union (QTU) are continuing to negotiate for new rates of pay and working conditions for practicum supervision and co-ordination. IEU-QNT Branch Secretary Terry Burke said during the last two meetings, the Australian Higher...
22,08,22 | Early childhood, Professional issues
Our union continues to ensure our members are advocated for and their professional voices are heard at the highest possible levels. IEU Federal Secretary Christine Cooper recently met with the Minister for Early Childhood Education Dr Anne Aly and other stakeholders...
22,08,22 | Professional issues, Teachers
Members should be aware the NT government has exempted the teaching profession from participating in the Automatic Mutual Recognition (AMR) scheme, meaning teachers are currently unable to use the AMR scheme to work as a teacher in the NT. The exemption is in place...
12,08,22 | Professional issues
The reasons behind the current teacher and school staff shortages are many and complex – but Education Minister Jason Clare’s planned Teacher Workforce Roundtable is a good start towards the changes needed to tackle the current staffing crisis. Teachers, school...
09,08,22 | Professional issues, Workers' rights
IEU members’ voices have been heard loud and clear in Canberra following a delegation of members to Parliament House last week. The two days of action, organised by the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), saw a delegation of 90 union members meet with 92 MPs...
13,06,22 | Professional issues, Teachers
Our union continues to advocate for members in practicum supervision negotiations as well as in the initial teacher education space, where our concerns are growing. Supervision rate increase agreed, further negotiations needed around conditions Negotiations for a new...
13,06,22 | Professional issues, Teachers
A new government brings new opportunities for real change in the teaching profession and ensuring the voices of teachers are at the heart of those changes, writes IEU-QNT Branch Secretary Terry Burke. As the voice of members, our union looks forward to having the...
13,06,22 | Professional issues, Teachers
IEU members should be aware of a number of key changes in the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA)’s recently released new Australian Curriculum. Although the new curriculum is in no way radical or transformational, it has been designed to...
13,06,22 | Professional issues, Teachers
New Monash University research has found that nearly half of teachers are ready to leave the profession due to unsustainable workloads. Nearly 2500 primary and secondary school teachers from across the country took part in the research with only 41% of respondents...
13,06,22 | Professional issues, Teachers
The workforce crisis in Australian schools should be recognised as a sign that schools need greater staffing and resourcing to deliver high-quality, high-equity education for all students. This will be our union’s main focus in our submission to the Review of the...
13,06,22 | Professional issues, Teachers
The Queensland College of Teachers (QCT) is undertaking consultation with key stakeholders about its process for transitioning from provisional to full registration policy. IEU-QNT Research Officer Dr Adele Schmidt said our union encouraged members to take part and...
09,06,22 | Professional issues
Employers are creating confusion around the implementation of the new Experienced Proficient Teacher (EPT) classification. The new classification step, to be implemented in Queensland Catholic schools from 1 July, will provide a pay rise of more than $1,800 for...
10,05,22 | Professional issues
Teacher professional boards are significant governing bodies for our profession – ones which IEU members fought to establish and then to be part of the representative body. We asked our union’s representative on the Queensland Council of Teachers (QCT) Aleisha...
10,05,22 | Professional issues, Teachers
Teachers who are working in very remote areas are encouraged to apply for a scheme which reduces Higher Education Loan Program (HELP) debts. The scheme has two parts, the first of which began in 2019 allows teachers to apply to have the indexation on their...
10,05,22 | Professional issues
Our union will host the first School Library Forum on Thursday, 28 July to bring together IEU colleagues working as Teacher-Librarians as well as Library Assistants to create a plan for the future of our school libraries. The forum will be opportunity for School...
10,05,22 | Professional issues
The Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) has developed a new draft model for self-assurance in the Vocational Education Training (VET) sector and are now seeking feedback from the sector. Our union encourages all VET members to become involved in the process to...
10,05,22 | Professional issues, Teachers
With NAPLAN testing being held this week across the country, it is a good time to review the upcoming changes set to be implemented following the 2020 NAPLAN Review and the longstanding advocacy of our union to all levels of government. What are the changes from 2023?...
10,05,22 | Professional issues
Our union has advocated for a focus on protecting school communities from online abuse as part of our joint submission with the Queensland Teachers’ Union to the Department of Education’s Review of the Education (General Provisions) Act 2006. We have also called for...
10,05,22 | Beginning Educators (BEnet), Professional issues
Attaining full teacher registration is a significant milestone for any teacher, recognising both establishment within the profession as well as years of dedicated training. In Queensland, teachers are eligible to apply for full teacher registration after completing...
21,03,22 | Professional issues, Teachers
Union advocacy has secured a payment increase for practicum supervision and continued negotiations for stronger protections of working conditions. Our union, along with the Queensland Teachers Union (QTU) is continuing negotiations with the Australian Higher Education...
21,03,22 | Professional issues, Teachers
Emergence of alternative models of pre-service teacher experience, including paid internships, has potential to put high-quality education practice and delivery at risk. Our union is particularly concerned about emergent trends in Initial Teacher Education (ITE)...
21,03,22 | Professional issues, Teachers
The new national curriculum still has not been confirmed in full, despite the Federal Government aiming for implementation in 2023. The latest version of the curriculum was meant to be endorsed at the last Education Ministers Meeting held in February. This was so that...
21,03,22 | Beginning Educators (BEnet), Professional issues, Teachers
The final report into Initial Teacher Education (ITE) is one characterised by a fundamental failure to understand the profession or recognise that ITE depends upon access to schools and supervising teachers, according to IEU-QNT Branch Secretary Terry Burke. Mr Burke...
21,03,22 | Professional issues, Workers' rights
The ongoing impact of COVID-19 has worsened the risks of long-term damage to principals’ health and wellbeing, according to the latest Australia Principal Occupational Health, Safety and Wellbeing survey. This is the 11th year of the annual survey, tracking the health...
23,02,22 | Professional issues, Teachers
The determination of Queensland Catholic school employers to control the process for Highly Accomplished and Lead Teacher (HALT) applications without seeking the support of our union has led to a woeful take up of the roles across the state. IEU Branch Secretary Terry...
14,02,22 | Professional issues, Teachers
The determination of Queensland Catholic school employers to control the process for Highly Accomplished and Lead Teacher (HALT) applications without seeking the support of our union has led to a woeful take up of the roles across the state. IEU Branch Secretary Terry...
07,12,21 | Professional issues
A recent Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) ruling on underpayment of ‘voluntary’ co-curricular work at St Peters Lutheran College means all non-government schools making such payments are now on notice. The FWO recently entered into an Enforceable Undertaking with St Peters...
02,12,21 | Professional issues, Workers' rights
Alarming new research confirms what our union has long campaigned against; the substantial difficulties teachers on contracts face due to their insecure employment status, as Emily Campbell writes. A recent survey of 18,000 members of the NSW Teachers’ Federation...
25,11,21 | Equity, Professional issues
On 25 November 2021, Prime Minister Scott Morrison introduced the Religious Discrimination Bill 2021. This is the third attempt by the Federal government to amend religious discrimination legislation. Do not be misled by the name of this Parliamentary Bill nor the...
18,11,21 | Professional issues, Teachers
Protecting supervising teachers from workload increases related to new models of preservice teacher practicum as well as ensuring payments meet benchmark standards are the priority matters for our union and the Queensland Teachers’ Union (QTU) as practicum payment...
18,11,21 | Member action, Professional issues
Assistant Secretary/Treasurer Paul Giles reflects on the recent survey undertaken by our union regarding the implementation of Nationally Consistent Collection of Data (NCCD) across Queensland and Northern Territory schools during 2021. The results of our union’s...
18,11,21 | Professional issues, Workers' rights
Information overload was a buzz phrase before the internet, before messaging, the 24/7 news cycle, social media, analytics, keyboard tracking, UX design, LinkedIn,and PowerPoint. But it’s a reality here and now for teachers, writes Will Brodie. Coined in 1964 and...
17,11,21 | Professional issues, Teachers
Global research reveals up to 30% of teachers will experience a voice problem at some stage of their career, creating the need to educate teachers on how to protect and preserve their voices, as journalist Emily Campbell writes. Compared to the general population,...
