9.0 Prioritise First Nations education and employment
9.1 Prioritise First Nations education and employment
The QTU recognises that connection to Culture, Country and Language is essential for successful outcomes for First Nations people. Improving the social, educational and wellbeing outcomes OF First Nations people requires significant investment by the state government, but can be achieved through supporting the educational outcomes of First Nations students, improving employment opportunities for First Nations’ educators, prioritising First Nations Language and Culture teaching across the state, and ensuring a safe place for First Nations people to teach and to learn.
First Nations people who live and work in rural and remote settings face compounding disadvantage as a result of geographical inequities, particularly lack of employment opportunities, role diversity and lack of career progression. This requires a genuine commitment from the state government to build better employment opportunities. The QTU calls for enhancements to the Remote Area Teacher Education Program (RATEP), which provides direct pathways for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to become registered teachers. This would encourage First Nations students to enter the teaching profession, as well as go some way toward addressing the teacher shortage plaguing rural/remote areas.
Further to this, the QTU also calls for funding to mentor and support the career progression of Aboriginal teachers and/or Torres Strait Islander teachers. The state government must develop a career progression pathway with the QTU that includes highly remunerated teaching and leadership roles dedicated to teaching, supporting and implementing Culture and Language, and/or place-based pedagogy and curriculum.
The equitable funding of schools as outlined in Section 1 requires the state government to guarantee additional funding needed to address the educational inequities that First Nations students face – this must include funding appropriate programs supporting student retention, student wellbeing and student pathways.
The public service has a duty of care for its employees to provide them with safe workplaces free from racism and bigotry. The QTU calls on the state government to employ measures that ensure the safety of its employees by providing them with an avenue to safely report acts of racism, both personal and systemic, in a culturally appropriate manner.
9.2 Racism and bigotry-free workplaces
• Obtain data on the prevalence of the problem and commit to addressing the issues that arise out of the data.
• Educate the DoE workforce about the issues facing First Nations people via culturally appropriate, mandatory training.
• Fund culturally appropriate and supportive reporting mechanisms.
▫ Create a safe way for employees to report instances of racism and bigotry, both observed and systemic.
▫ Provide a confidential, accurate and user-friendly mechanism to report racism.
• Create and fund positions in regional offices for cultural liaison officers to provide ongoing support to employees.
• Use these positions to provide support for employees who experience all forms of racism and bigotry.
9.3 Enhanced employment opportunities and career pathways
Increase permanent employment and/or pathways to permanent employment for First Nations employees.
- Commit to the improvement and enhancement of the RATEP program.
- Fund, develop and promote culturally appropriate recruitment programs to attract First Nations teacher entrants, particularly those in rural and remote locales, with support from the government to remain in community.
- Fund culturally appropriate mentoring, retention and leadership programs, and provide ongoing support to First Nations employees as they continue their career progression, including paid release to attend professional development.
- Development of classification structures that acknowledge the value of Cultural and Language
knowledge, by way of better salaries for those who have this prior knowledge. - The addition or amendment of clauses within the certified agreement and award to include a
recognition of First Nations Culture and Language knowledge. - Develop career pathways information that outlines the various career options, qualifications,
available courses/departmental career and study support/leave options and salaries paid, so First
Nations education employees have easy access to employment and study information to inform
their employment and education choices. This should be updated annually and communicated on a
termly basis.
9.4 Fair funding for First Nations students and schools
- Ensure that funding of programs and staffing for schools with First Nations students are prioritised
- to address the urgent need to address educational disadvantage and to close the gap in educational outcomes.
- Ensure First Nations students receive 100 per cent of SRS base funding and 100 per cent of associated loadings.
- Fund schools to proactively support diverse engagement and wellbeing needs in a culturally appropriate manner.
- Fund culturally appropriate support programs that focus upon increased retention of First Nations students and their pathways.
9.5 Prioritise Culture and Language programs and Connection to Country
- Commit to the creation and implementation of a HoD/Culture and Language role.
- Fund and support school leaders implementing place-based pedagogy in communities.
RECOMMENDATIONS
69. Prioritise funding to enable schools to proactively support increasingly diverse contexts and the
associated demands of meeting engagement and wellbeing needs, including addressing the ongoing
educational disadvantage experienced in First Nations school communities
70. Commit to development of meaningful and accessible career progression pathways and development
opportunities, and permanent employment for First Nations employees
71. Commit to and fund improvement and enhancement of the RATEP program
72. Improve access to Culture and Language for First Nations students, through recognition of Culture
and Language programs, funding HoD Culture and Language positions, and adequate remuneration
of employees who hold cultural knowledge.
73. Actively develop safe and culturally appropriate workplaces that are free from racism and bigotry, and provide access and support for employees to report instances of racism and bigotry when they occur.
QTU State Budget Submission 2024-25