Independent schools Now’s the Time Campaign Updates

All the latest updates relating to bargaining for teachers in AIS independent schools in NSW and the ACT.

AIS Independent Schools Multi-Enterprise Agreements Approved

The new Multi-Enterprise Agreements (MEAs) have been approved by the Fair Work Commission. The Teachers MEA and the NSW Professional and Operational Staff MEA commenced operation from 9 April 2025. The ACT Professional and Operational Staff MEA commenced from 28 March 2025. The MEAs will have a three-year term, expiring in January 2028.

The improved pay and conditions were legally enforceable from the commencement date. Under the MEAs, employers must pay back pay to the first full pay period on or after 1 February 2025 as soon as practicable. Do not hesitate to contact the union if you are experiencing a delay in receiving back pay or if there is any difficulty in relation to the new conditions of employment.

Schools will also need to comply with the new workload transparency requirements – that is, advise teachers about the usual face-to-face teaching hours per week or per cycle, general requirements in relation to extracurricular duties and the release time provided for teachers in Leadership Level 1 and Level 2 positions. Read more about workload transparency here.

Download your MEA:

AIS Independent Teachers: Download your new MEA
AIS Independent NSW Professional and Operational Staff: Download your new MEA
AIS Independent ACT Professional and Operational Staff: Download your new MEA

Check your pay! Download your pay and translocation tables

NSW and ACT Teachers Pay Scales

Allowances (including the Accomplished Teacher allowance) are on top of the rates shown. Existing Band 3 teachers will get the new Accomplished Teacher allowance of $4,979 in addition to a leadership position allowance if applicable as well as the teacher salary.

NSW PAOS Pay tables and Translocation tables

ACT PAOS Pay tables and Translocation tables

What we won

IEU claim for workload transparency

Schools will now have to be transparent about key aspects of teacher workload required at their school and advise teachers on engagement and, from time to time, about:

The usual number of face-to-face teaching hours per week or per cycle for a full-time teacher
General requirements in relation to extra-curricular activities, and
The release provided for teachers in Level 1 and Level 2 leadership positions.

This is a historic win that was fiercely resisted by schools until the very last minute. It is a first step in achieving greater transparency about workload in all schools.

The IEU has created a range of resources to assist with the implementation of this provision in your workplace. Resources are available here.

Salary wins for teachers

These include:

Teachers with four or more years’ experience at Proficient (five or more in the ACT) will now go straight to Level 2.5 (Level 8 in the ACT), matching the rate that will apply to new teachers. This rate is $127,281 in NSW and $130,643 in the ACT. Teachers will receive a pay rise in 2025 of between $12,000 and over $20,000 (depending on their current MEA) and approximately $6,000 above the previous AIS offer.
All existing teachers classified as Band 3 – Experienced Teacher or Senior Teacher 1 will receive the Accomplished Teacher allowance of $4,979 in addition to their salary at Level 2.5 (Level 8 in the ACT). This gives a total salary of $132,260 in NSW and $135,622 in the ACT. This guarantee will continue to apply if the teacher moves to another MEA school in the future. Teachers employed after January 2025 will only receive the Accomplished Teacher allowance if they have been through the ISTAA process.
Existing Band 3 teachers and Senior Teacher 1 teachers will be entitled to receive both the Accomplished Teacher allowance and a Leadership position allowance if they are in a leadership position when the new MEA commences. They will retain this right if they move to another school under the MEA in the future. Teachers employed after 1 January will receive both the Accomplished Teacher allowance and a leadership allowance only if they have been through the ISTAA process and hold a Leadership position Level 1 or 2. These improvements will particularly benefit teachers with teaching experience of four or more years at Proficient, teachers who have been deemed Band 3 under the previous MEAs and Band 3 teachers in leadership positions.

These improvements will particularly benefit teachers with teaching experience of four or more years at Proficient, teachers who have been deemed Band 3 under the previous MEAs and Band 3 teachers in leadership positions.

Improvements in rates of pay for PAOS

The new MEA for Professional and Operational staff will provide annual increases as follows:

Effective from the first full pay period on or after:	Annual percentage increase
1 February 2025	4%
1 February 2026	4.5%
1 February 2027	4%

Depending on your classification and salary step, you may receive increases above the stated annual percentage due to transitional arrangements under a revised classification structure.

Translocation to the new classification structure will provide:

Classification	Range of increases at commencement of MEA
Clerical and Administrative Levels 1 – 4	Between 5% – 22%
School Assistants Levels 1 – 4	Between 5% – 7%
Grounds and Maintenance Levels 1 – 3	Between 4% – 13%
General Operational Staff Levels 1 – 5	Between 7% – 23%
Preschool and Children Services Employees	Between 4% – 17%
Psychologists	Between 5.6% – 16.8%

School Assistants Levels 1 – 4 will also receive further 5% annual increases in both 2026 and 2027. The new School Assistants classifications include annual salary increments that provide an additional 0.5% to 1% salary increase. These adjustments ensure a fair transition, recognising the varying roles for PAOS.

Expanded coverage of MEA

The proposed MEA has expanded coverage compared to the existing MEA, ensuring more employees benefit from its improved conditions. The new MEA will include:

a new instructional services stream to cover sports coaches, sports assistants, music tutors (not including music or arts tutors engaged on an individual basis) and trainers
human resources managers and those employed in marketing services are part of the clerical and administrative stream.

The broader coverage means more employees will receive the protection and beneficial conditions contained in the MEA.

Modernised classification structures

Through extensive negotiations by the IEU, the proposed MEA introduces a modernised classification structure aligned with the Educational Services (Schools) General Staff Award 2020. This new structure establishes a common competency framework across all occupational groups, ensuring fairer pay alignment.

Key improvements include:

a dedicated classification stream for ICT Services
introduction of 12-monthly incremental salary steps for School Assistants for the first time
faster salary progression for most occupational groups, based on 12 months of service rather than full years, allowing quicker movement up the pay scale
new higher-level classifications for School Assistants in curriculum and resources roles within laboratories and libraries, recognising higher qualifications and experience.

Special Education allowance

The union has also ensured that teachers at a registered special school teaching classes of children with a disability will continue to receive the special education allowance – the MEA will have a list of schools to which this applies. New teachers employed will also receive the allowance, which will be increased throughout the life of the MEA.

Conditions

The union has achieved the following improvements in paid parental leave which will apply to leave commencing after the start of the new MEAs:

The 14 weeks of paid parental leave will count as service for the purposes of salary progression and leave accrual.
Male employees who are the initial primary care-giver immediately after birth or adoption will now be entitled to 14 weeks paid parental leave.
An employee who is not the initial primary care-giver will be entitled to two weeks of paid parental leave at the time of birth or adoption. If that person becomes the primary care-giver within 12 months of the birth or adoption, they are now entitled to an additional 12 weeks paid parental leave.

The AIS have dropped the proposed reduction in personal/carer’s leave for teachers (the removal of the 15 days on commencement) and the proposal that workload requirements during non-term time be specified in the MEA.

Understanding your new MEA

Professional and Operational Staff – Read more

Teachers – Read more

What happened to single interest bargaining?

Our campaign for single interest bargaining led to significant improvements in the offer made by the AIS in late December. A majority of teachers in a majority of schools had voted for our petition for single interest bargaining for the Teachers MEA. This placed enormous pressure on employers. The employers’ applications to force a vote on their sub-standard Teachers MEA and PAOS MEAs were set down for hearing before the Fair Work Commission on 19 December. Our application for single interest bargaining for the Teachers MEA was listed on the same day. Under the pressure of the looming court cases, the AIS made crucial concessions. There were no trade-offs by the union for these concessions. The IEU Executive authorised Officers to accept this vastly improved deal.

This significant outcome could not have been achieved without the dedication, commitment, and support of our members. But there is still more to do. We need to ensure that union members continue to build on this outcome. The stronger we are, the greater capacity we have to obtain competitive salary and condition outcomes.

We are stronger together.

Join the IEU

2024 UPDATES

Independent schools: Say YES to single interest bargaining

In May 2024, the Association for Independent Schools (AIS) commenced bargaining with the IEU for a new multi-enterprise agreement (MEA) for teachers in NSW and ACT independent schools.

Key issues in bargaining for a teachers’ MEA

Although the AIS had agreed to some of the union’s claims (such as improvements to paid parental leave), there were key issues outstanding which make the AIS’ offer unsatisfactory, including:

Pay offers are below (or only marginally above) the expected rates of pay for teachers working in NSW government schools for the next three years (link to pay comparisons). While the pay offer for NSW teachers is unsatisfactory, the offer for ACT teachers is still not there yet either (see comparison), and
Lack of fairness and transparency about teachers’ workload. The IEU is calling for school-based standards that clearly set out the workload expectations at your school. The school-based standards should include your face-to-face teaching hours, PD days, meeting times, term dates.

Bargaining had reached a stalemate.

Watch an update on the state of pay for teachers in ACT independent schools.
Read why the union has said no to the proposed CMEA

What is single interest bargaining?

A new bargaining opportunity in bargaining for MEA.

The AIS commenced bargaining for a ‘cooperative MEA’, meaning it would be made under the cooperative bargaining stream. In this stream, the IEU, as your bargaining representative, has very limited bargaining power.

The IEU seeks to bargain for a new Teachers MEA under the single interest bargaining stream. This stream, introduced in June 2023, will provide the union with more rights in bargaining.

With the single interest bargaining stream, for the first time in nearly 20 years, the IEU can:

ask the Fair Work Commission to resolve bargaining disputes for fairer outcomes and
take protected industrial action!

Under this stream, teachers will have the option to take protected industrial action for better pay and conditions.

The IEU did not want to lock in a substandard deal for the next three years.

How can we achieve single interest bargaining?

To convince the Fair Work Commission to authorise us to bargain in this stream, the IEU needed at least 50% of all teachers at your school to sign our petition.

Action on workloads: School-based standards

The IEU is calling for school-based standards that clearly set out the workload expectations at your school. The school-based standards should include your face-to-face teaching hours, PD days, meeting times, term dates.

Here’s a video overview: