Victorian public school teachers are set for pay rises of up to 32.4% over four years under an in-principle agreement between the Allan government and the Australian Education Union, a deal that could end one of the state’s most significant education pay disputes in more than a decade. The package still needs member approval, but union leaders have endorsed it after months of industrial action, stalled bargaining and warnings about teacher shortages.
What The Victorian Teachers Pay Deal Includes
The proposed agreement would lift salaries for teachers, assistant principals and principals by between 28.3% and 32.4% over four years, depending on role and classification. Education support staff would receive similar gains, with Range 2 staff receiving a minimum increase of 29.8% and Range 3 staff receiving at least 29.29%.
For classroom teachers, the headline change is the jump in top-of-scale pay. An experienced teacher currently earning A$118,063 would move to A$151,419 by 2029. A new graduate teacher would rise to A$105,384, bringing early-career salaries closer to, and then beyond, comparable rates in New South Wales.
The first increase is heavily front-loaded. By October 2026, every teacher would receive between A$12,343 and A$15,393 more, depending on their point on the salary scale. The government has framed that as a move to make Victorian teachers among the best paid in Australia.
AEU Backs Offer After Long Dispute
The Victorian branch of the AEU has endorsed the offer, calling it a significant improvement on earlier government proposals. The endorsement does not make the agreement final. Members are expected to vote on the package in June, and formal approval would still need to move through the workplace relations process.
The union entered bargaining seeking a 35% pay rise, stronger workload protections and broader changes to conditions. Earlier government offers were rejected, and the dispute escalated into statewide strike action in March, when tens of thousands of teachers, principals and education support staff joined rallies and work stoppages.
The latest offer is therefore both a pay settlement and an attempt to restore stability in schools. It gives the union a substantial wage result while allowing the government to avoid further disruption during the school year.
Workload Changes Are Part Of The Package
Pay is the most visible part of the deal, but workload measures are also central. The agreement includes additional student-free time for planning, preparation and professional practice, lifting the total number of student-free days available across the year.
The package also includes changes to camp arrangements, including overnight payments and simplified time-off-in-lieu rules. Those details matter because camps, excursions, report writing, assessment and administrative duties have been among the practical workload pressures raised repeatedly by school staff.
The AEU has argued that pay alone will not fix recruitment and retention unless teachers also have more time to do the work expected of them. The new deal does not deliver every workload claim, but it gives the union enough movement to recommend acceptance.
Early Childhood Educators Also Set For Gains
The broader settlement includes a separate offer for early childhood teachers and educators. Early childhood teachers would receive salary outcomes aligned with school teachers, while educators would receive average increases of about 39% over four years.
That part of the package reflects both the state’s kindergarten expansion and the national push to recognise undervalued care and education work. It also addresses a practical staffing problem: Victoria needs more early childhood workers to sustain its kinder reforms, and low pay has been a major barrier to attraction and retention.
For early childhood teachers, wage parity with government school teachers is a major symbolic and financial shift. For educators, the larger average increase reflects the lower starting base and the impact of recent industrial and gender-undervaluation decisions.
Why The Deal Matters For Schools
Victoria has faced sustained pressure over teacher shortages, burnout and pay comparisons with other states. The dispute became politically sensitive because the state brands itself around education while many teachers argued they were being paid less than peers elsewhere.
The agreement is designed to reverse that position quickly. By front-loading increases, the government and union are trying to close the interstate gap before the end of 2026 rather than waiting until the final year of the agreement.
The stakes extend beyond wages. Schools struggling to fill vacancies often rely on casual relief teachers, merge classes or reduce programs. Better pay may help recruitment, but principals and staff will still be watching whether workload measures are strong enough to keep experienced teachers in the system.
Some Members Remain Unconvinced
The deal is likely to face debate before the member vote. Some teachers have already questioned whether the four-year structure falls short of the union’s original claim, especially once inflation and future interstate agreements are considered.
Others are concerned that the package does not go far enough on class sizes, face-to-face teaching loads or broader workload reform. The uneven percentage increases across classifications may also become a point of discussion among members assessing whether the offer is fair.
That debate is normal in a major enterprise agreement. The AEU leadership has chosen to back the deal, but the final decision rests with members who will judge the offer against their school conditions, cost-of-living pressure and the strength of the industrial campaign so far.
What Happens Next
The Victorian teachers pay rise deal is not yet locked in. The immediate next step is the union member ballot, expected in June. If members vote yes and the agreement clears formal approval, the first salary increase would be backdated to the first pay period on or after May 15, 2026.
For the government, approval would end a damaging dispute and give it a major education workforce announcement. For teachers and education support staff, it would deliver one of the largest pay adjustments in the sector’s recent history.
The result now depends on whether members see the offer as a hard-won breakthrough or a compromise that still leaves too many workload problems unresolved.
