Key Facts:
- Teachers and support staff in Queensland Catholic schools are demanding immediate action on wages and workloads as collective bargaining negotiations begin.
- Heavy workloads and work intensification are causing teachers to leave the profession and deterring graduates from entering.
- School support staff wages have not been properly reviewed for over 30 years, despite increased responsibilities.
- Some working rights in Queensland Catholic schools are lagging behind other non-government school sectors and community expectations.
- IEU-QNT members are calling for immediate improvements rather than further employer reviews or delays until the next bargaining round.
Queensland Catholic school teachers and school support staff are calling on their employers to take action now on wages, workloads and other critical issues as negotiations on their working conditions begin in 2026.
Independent Education Union – Queensland and Northern Territory (IEU-QNT) Assistant Secretary Nicole Kapernick said IEU-QNT members want action now from Queensland Catholic school employers on the workload crisis, on wages that reflect the value of their work and on implementing contemporary workplace rights.
Ms Kapernick said the workload and work intensification crisis was driving teachers out of the profession and was a key reason graduates were not pursuing teaching careers.
"At the same time, the wages and allowances of Queensland Catholic school teachers and support staff have not kept pace with the real value of the work they perform," she said.
"Nor have they addressed the continuing rise in the cost of living.
"Our school support staff are taking on more responsibility, greater complexity and higher expectations than ever before – yet their wage structures are outdated and have not been properly reviewed for over 30 years.
"IEU-QNT members in Queensland Catholic schools are also facing a situation where some of their working rights have not kept pace with those in other non-government school sectors, with community expectations or with contemporary standards.
"Contemporary workplaces require contemporary rights at work – Queensland Catholic school employees cannot be left behind the rest of the sector.
"IEU-QNT members also want teachers working in specialist roles and the growing flexible school sector to be provided with the working conditions they need to do their jobs.
"Queensland Catholic school employers must address these meaningful improvements to working conditions for IEU-QNT members in this round of negotiations.
"IEU-QNT members don't need another review, another joint working party or another three years until the next bargaining round – IEU-QNT members need action now," Ms Kapernick said.
