A federal election is just around the corner, and it is vital that IEU members vote for politicians who will protect workplace rights legislated over the past few years.
Union members have made historic gains since the last election, including stronger rights for reps/delegates in schools. The new right to disconnect is especially relevant to school staff drowning under unrelenting workloads.
These improvements did not appear out of thin air but are the result of years of campaigning by union members for fair wages, secure jobs and better working conditions.
IEU members have been at the forefront of debates over new workplace laws – sharing their experiences with politicians, in Senate hearings and to the media about the changes that are needed in schools, preschools and long day care.
Our message is simple: better pay and conditions for teachers means better outcomes for students.
It is important to ensure your new rights are not rolled back by those in power after the upcoming election.
We invite you to reflect on the gains unions have won in the past two-and-a-half years and vote for the politicians who will strive to improve your pay and conditions.
Right to disconnect
New legislation was passed in February 2024 (in force from August 2024 for most employers) establishing the right for employees to refuse unreasonable work-related contact outside normal hours. The IEU had negotiated similar entitlements with employers in NSW, Western Australia and Queensland.
Employer requests, parental queries and student contact often encroach on the personal time of staff. The growth of mobile technology and assumed 24/7 connectivity have only made this worse. But teachers aren’t permanently ‘on call’. They need valuable downtime to spend with their own family and friends.
While there is still much to be done to address workload pressures in schools, the right to disconnect will help overworked school staff by providing a right to refuse to monitor, read or respond to employer or work-related contact after hours or on weekends.
Stronger rights for union reps
Legislation passed in December 2023 included changes that grant stronger rights for union representatives in the workplace (called delegates under the legislation).
These changes include access to paid union training during normal working hours as well as reasonable access to communications with members and potential members.
The new laws prevent employers from unreasonably refusing to deal with union reps, from misleading them and from hindering, obstructing or preventing the exercise of their rights under the Fair Work Act.
From July 2024, new enterprise agreements and all modern awards are required to have specific clauses on delegates’ rights.
Early childhood gains
The federal government is funding a 15% pay rise over two years for teachers and educators in the long day care sector. In return for this funding, centres must agree to cap fee increases for parents at 4.4%.
Parents will also be guaranteed a minimum of three days subsidised childcare – regardless of how much they work or study – under legislation passed in February 2025 in another step towards universal childcare availability.
The Productivity Commission last year recommended scrapping the childcare activity test because it hurt the families who needed it most without leading to substantial increases in workforce participation.
If re-elected, the Albanese government has pledged a flat-fee system of universal childcare.
Labor has also promised a $1 billion fund to help build more than 160 new childcare centres.
Building the future
The reforms implemented by the federal government represent the biggest changes to workplace laws in the past 25 years.
The IEU is proud to have played a part in passing these new laws, which go a long way to restoring fairness and a level playing field.