Deputy Premier

Minister for Education and Training

Minister for Infrastructure
Minister for Advanced Manufacturing and Defence Industries
Level 10 15 Murray Street HOBART TAS 7000 Australia
GPO Box 123 HOBART TAS 7001 Australia
Ph: +61 3 6165 7754
Email: Jeremy.Rockliff@dpac.tas.gov.au

29 May 2019

Dear Teaching staff member

You may have read in the media today that the AEU Branch Council members will vote on a motion to
reject the Government’s Teachers Agreement offer.

This vote will take place despite 70% of the 3 500 AEU members who participated in the poll voting to
accept, in principle, the offer put forward by the Government.

Benefits will not be delivered

Rejection of the offer by the AEU will mean that major benefits negotiated by the Union will not
proceed, including:
 Two hours less instructional time for primary school teachers;
 The employment of an additional 95 specialist teachers for primary schools;
 The ability for appropriately qualified Teacher Assistants to take up positions under the Teaching
Award, entitling them to all benefits, including being paid for all paid school holidays;
 Introduction of a new Band 1 Level 14 and pay rises for Advanced Skills Teachers (which would
have benefitted over 50% of the teaching workforce);
 One-off payments equivalent to .5% in the first year for Band 1 Levels 1-13 and for Band 1
Level 14 and AST in year three.

The proposed relief rate is nationally comparable

It is the proposed change in relief teacher pay loading that will enable more teachers and the reduction in
contact hours for primary school teachers. The relief rate change was put to the Government by the
AEU in an offer on 6 May 2019, and then unanimously endorsed by the AEU Executive in the
Government’s subsequent offer.

During negotiations the AEU and Government acknowledged that relief teachers in Tasmania are
currently the highest paid in Australia at $488 per day for teachers at Band 1 Level 13. The new
proposed relief hourly rate is still higher than a number of other states and territories.

Difficult to staff schools will be supported

Acknowledging some schools currently find it difficult to find relief staff, the Government has also
proposed: a permanent pool of relief teachers of at least 50 full time equivalent staff, to be placed over
quota at hard to staff schools; and that schools who cannot attract relief will be able to pay relief teachers
150% of normal salary.
The AEU has previously publicly announced that the current offer provides more class planning and
preparation time, improved support for new educators and principals, and recognition of our teachers
with a nationally competitive wage. Members have overwhelmingly supported this view in voting for the
agreement.

I encourage you to work with the AEU over the coming days to ensure that the significant benefits that
the AEU has successfully negotiated with the Government, and that members have supported, can be
delivered.

Yours sincerely

Jeremy Rockliff MP
Deputy Premier
Minister for Education and Training