Introduction
The Queensland Teachers’ Union (QTU) proudly represents more than 48,000 tutors, teachers, heads of program, school leaders, and educators in state schools, TAFE institutes, and other discrete education facilities. The QTU is the democratic voice of public educators on professional and industrial issues and proudly promotes and protects public education throughout the state.
In the face of a nationwide teacher shortage, the state government must commit to world-class salaries, not only to attract new entrants to teach in Queensland, but to retain the existing workforce in rural, remote and regional parts of the state. Innovative attraction and retention incentives, in addition to those in the Department of Education State School Teachers’ Certified Agreement 2022, must be urgently considered in the 2024/2025 Budget, to stem the flow of teachers from our great state schools.
Investment must be made to fully fund state schools, increasing the share of education funding to 25 per cent of the Queensland Budget in 2024/2025, and the state government must commit to sustaining this in the forward estimates.
Adequate resourcing is required to address workload complexities and restore some balance, in order to attract and retain teaching and non-teaching employees in the state schooling sector.
The state government must commit to increased resourcing in state schools, fully funding QTU recommendations arising from the Comprehensive Review of School Resourcing – including funding additional workload reduction strategies, incentive and attraction initiatives, professional development, and quality programs – to ensure that our members can continue to deliver quality state education and training for Queensland’s students.
The QTU believes that every Queensland child has a right to a school that is free from violence, a right to support where it’s needed, and a right for disruptions to be minimised in order to maximise student learning.
The QTU calls on the state government to build additional positive learning centres for at-risk students, and to employ additional positive behaviour management specialists, AVTs, extra teacher aides, and social workers in schools to assist with this goal.
The QTU 2024/25 State Budget Submission contains 84 recommendations, which call on the Queensland Government to:
- invest in public education and training
- address the teacher shortage
- reduce teacher and school leader workload
- invest in professional learning and curriculum support
- ensure schools and TAFE are safe workplaces
- deliver a fair go for regional Queensland
- provide support for students with additional learning needs
- support school leaders
- prioritise First Nations education and employment
- invest in TAFE
- invest in infrastructure and facilities.
QTU State Budget Submission 2024-25