6.0 Deliver a fair go for regional and remote Queensland

To attract and retain teachers and school leaders in regional and remote areas, it is crucial to prioritise investment in and improvement of teacher housing accessibility. Additionally, a continuous evaluation of the Recognition of Rural and Remote Service (RoRRS) scheme is necessary to ensure its effectiveness in enhancing employment opportunities within Queensland’s geographically diverse school system. Given the current teacher shortage, it is important to consider the unique challenges faced by regional and remote schools when designing incentives and programs. These schools often have a higher number of early career teachers, making it essential to allocate additional resources for mentoring and support programs for beginning teachers (MBT).

6.1 Teacher housing

In order to fulfill its responsibility of attracting and retaining competent teachers and education leaders for rural and remote schools, the Queensland Government must ensure access to subsidised teacher housing. The current provision of teacher housing is facing significant challenges, including inconsistent quality, limited flexibility in tenancy options (especially individual sole tenancies), and growing demand. Even rural centres that were previously considered easier to staff are now finding that housing provision is necessary to attract potential employees. Moreover, the scarcity of suitable teacher housing is aggravated by the limited availability of private rental properties in regional and rural areas of Queensland.

The QTU urges the Queensland Government to uphold its commitment to constructing or acquiring higher standard accommodation in rural and remote areas. It is crucial to address the issue of teacher shortages by increasing housing availability in locations where waiting lists are exacerbating the problem. Additionally, the QTU believes that both the Department of Education and the Department of Energy and Public Works should receive funding to acquire accommodation from the private market, where feasible. Furthermore, the state government should prioritise the wellbeing of teachers as tenants when providing housing in remote and rural Queensland. This includes ensuring a variety of housing types are available, including units for individual tenants, particularly in remote areas.

Increasing the number of locations with access to available department funded housing options would serve as an additional incentive to attract teaching professionals. Due to the significant number of schools classified as transfer rating 2 and transfer rating 3 who face ongoing staffing attraction and retention problems, the QTU calls on the government to provide departmental housing in these locations.

The QTU acknowledges the increased challenges faced by teachers in areas with teacher housing due to the current teacher shortage. In response, the QTU urges the Queensland Government to suspend rent deductions until schools have reached the appropriate staffing levels they are entitled to. Furthermore, the QTU recommends that the government explores the possibility of providing rent-free teacher housing in rural and remote areas, which experience the highest number of teacher vacancies. This measure would contribute to the recruitment and retention of teachers in these regions and align with existing policies for other professions, such as policing and nursing.

6.2 RoRRS improvements

The RoRRS scheme, which offers cash benefits, extended emergent leave provisions, and induction programs for teachers assigned to facilities with a transfer rating of 6 or 7, requires further enhancements. The state government must continue to collaborate with the QTU to improve the program in the future. To strengthen RoRRS, it is recommended that it includes advanced progression in the incremental salary scales, accelerated transfer point accrual, accelerated accrual of leave entitlements, and additional TRS for teachers and school leaders to access face-to-face professional development. To support the current restrictions on accessing leave for attraction and retention purposes, an option to cash out any remaining RoRRS leave at the end of each calendar year should be considered.

The QTU suggests that RoRRS incentives should be indexed and that differentiated incentives for classified officers should be implemented. One approach is to make the incentives a percentage of annual pay, such as 4 per cent for transfer rating 4 schools and 5 per cent for transfer rating 5 schools. Indexing could be on the enterprise bargaining (EB) increase or the Consumer Price Index (CPI), to ensure the incentives keep up
with economic changes. This proposal aims to provide fair and appropriate incentives to attract and retain teachers and school leaders in regional and remote areas.

To attract classified teachers to rural and remote schools, it is recommended that a relocation system is established that offers incentives and guarantees a return to the teacher’s previous region. The duration of this guaranteed timeframe for return would be determined on the basis of the transfer rating of the specific rural or remote location. This approach aims to provide teachers with the assurance that they can
temporarily relocate to these areas while maintaining the opportunity to return to their previous region when desired. Such a system can help alleviate concerns and encourage more teachers to consider teaching in rural and remote locations.

The enhancements to RoRRS must be adequately funded through Treasury. It is crucial to allocate sufficient financial resources to support the improvements and ensure the effective implementation of the scheme. By securing full funding, the government can demonstrate its commitment to attracting and retaining teachers and school leaders in regional and remote areas, ultimately strengthening the education system in those regions.

6.3 Improved professional support

In order to ensure equitable access to specialist services in rural and remote areas, it is necessary for the
government to cover the cost of travel for educators providing these services. This includes language,
physical education, and music teachers, AVTs and guidance officers who travel to rural and regional school circuits. Centrally funding the travel expenses prevents schools from bearing the burden of these costs, which they may not be able to afford. It is important that financial constraints do not result in students in these schools having reduced access to these subjects and services. Schools that contribute a portion of the funding for these services should receive the exact level of service without having to contribute additional travel time. Currently, there is a discrepancy in the amount of time specialists spend with rural school students compared to those in urban areas, and addressing this issue is crucial for ensuring equal opportunities for all students.

To support rural and remote schools in providing face-to-face professional development (PD) opportunities, it is necessary to allocate additional Teacher Relief Scheme (TRS) resources.

Furthermore, it is crucial to provide additional funding for beginning teacher (MBT) support, considering
the higher concentration of early career teachers in rural and remote locations. This will help address the unique challenges faced by these schools and ensure adequate support for their teaching staff.

RECOMMENDATIONS

50. Establish and fund a new needs-based model of school resourcing that invests in clarity and equity for Queensland state schools, including addressing the significant inequities of resourcing across school
sectors, school sizes and geographic locations.
51. Increase investment in teacher housing in more rural and remote locations via increases in the
numbers and types of housing options and increases to maintenance of current housing stock.
52. Invest in the provision of subsidised accommodation in transfer rating 2 and 3 locations, as a means
to attract and retain teachers in these locations.
53. Commit to further improvements to the Recognition of Rural and Remote Service (RoRRS) scheme,
including advancement through salary scale, accelerated accrual of transfer points, improved leave
entitlements, and access to remuneration equivalent to the value of unutilised RoRRS leave.
54. Improve funding for language, PE, and music teachers and guidance officers in regional and remote
locations to cover travel time during working hours, and increase TRS to support PD opportunities for
teachers and education leaders in accessing face-to-face PD.

QTU State Budget Submission 2024-25