Bargaining for a new enterprise agreement (EA) covering employees at SDN Children’s Services began on 11 August. It covers teachers and educators.
The current EA expires on 31 December 2026, but bargaining for a new agreement was brought forward due to the extension of federal funding for the early childhood education and care Worker Retention Payment for a further 18 months.
The IEU has been meeting with our members to consult on a log of claims for better pay and conditions.
The union will seek increases in salaries and allowances to ensure pay rates are a minimum of 15% above award rates by 1 July 2027 and a minimum of 20% above award rates by 1 July 2028.
The union will also seek changes in the salary bands to ensure these clearly align with teacher accreditation status.
The union will seek improvements to the accrual of rostered days off and leave entitlements – including personal leave, long service leave and paid parental leave – as well as increasing non-contact time for the preparation of Transition to School Statements.
Another key claim will be inclusion of the right to disconnect in the new EA to protect staff from unreasonable out-of-hours contact.
Negotiations with the employer began on 11 August. IEU organiser Lisa James and rep Katharina Japri attended.
If you’re a member at SDN, you can support the union to achieve the best possible outcome for teachers and educators by encouraging your colleagues to join the IEU.
See also: SDN log of claims presented, 11 August 2026