The union is pushing for better pay and conditions for members employed by Aspect, who continue to raise serious work health and safety concerns.
Aspect (Autism Spectrum Australia) is a large autism-specific services provider. It operates schools across NSW as well as employing staff to work in satellite classes attached to government and non-government schools.
Unfair pay
IEU members employed as Aspect teacher aides say their work is both challenging and deeply rewarding. But they are frustrated by unfair pay and serious safety issues as IEUA NSW/ACT Branch Acting Secretary David Towson explained in a letter to Aspect in May.
“Our members are still frustrated by the significant pay disparity between aides employed at Aspect and aides working in schools operated by the NSW government and Catholic school employers,” he said.
“They do not accept that the benefits of salary packaging compensate for this disparity.”
Under the Independent Schools NSW (Professional and Operational Staff) Multi-Enterprise Agreement (MEA), Aspect teacher aides are paid about 14% less than their counterparts in NSW government schools and Catholic systemic schools.
The annual full-time rate for an Aspect teacher aide is about $10,000 less than the full-time rate for their counterparts in Catholic systemic and government schools.
Towson said teacher aides appreciate they receive a higher personal leave entitlement than the MEA stipulates.
“They are also aware that support staff in Catholic and NSW public schools have access to 15 days sick leave so we do not accept this as a factor in defending the wage disparity between the sectors,” he said.
“Our members have requested that we continue to advocate for higher and fairer rates of pay.”
Classification levels
Towson noted in his letter that Aspect will consult with teacher aides in 2026 to address classification levels.
He said the union is seeking to clarify Aspect’s position on the payment of higher duties to employees who undertake this responsibility for less than a day, for example two hours RFF.
“Members hold a strong view that all hours of higher duties should be paid,” he said.
“Members are concerned that reclassifying a limited number of qualified and experienced teacher aides into senior roles will not address concerns equitably.”
Work health and safety
Aspect has committed to taking its work health and safety (WHS) responsibilities seriously. Towson said the employer had also confirmed that teacher aides are not required to complete incident reports or perform other duties in non-term time.
“Members continue to raise WHS concerns with the IEU, and we seek further discussion with Aspect in addressing these concerns,” he said.
Consultative committee
Towson welcomed the formation of a teacher aide consultative committee and the employer’s invitation to the union to engage with this committee.
“It is positive to note that the employer will work with our members to address their ongoing concerns,” he said.
Published in the June 2026 edition of Newsmonth
