The new schools Staffing Agreement between Federation and NSW Department of Education came into operation on day 1, term 2, 2024 and will continue until the commencement of term 1, 2029.
The Agreement reintroduces significant staffing mechanisms that Federation pursued in accordance with decisions of Annual Conference and State Council.
The previous alternating model of appointment for classroom teachers and school counsellors has been replaced by a three-step process, consisting of:
Step 1, transfers and other appointments of permanent teachers, in priority order as follows:
- Transfers actioned by the Department under section 51A or Part 4A of the Teaching Service Act 1980
- Incentive transfer applicant
- Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander employment applicant
- Approved Section 51A transfer (compassionate) applicant
- Teacher appointed permanently at the school under the 2023 Temporary Workforce Transition initiative (see below)
- Nominated transfer applicant
- Priority transfer of an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander teacher or teacher from a special education setting
- Service transfer applicant
- A permanent teacher appointed to an equivalent Above Centrally Identified Position (ACIP) position at the school
- Where they are not otherwise eligible for a service transfer, a permanent part-time teacher appointed to the school seeking an increase to a permanent full-time position and/or an increase to the full-time equivalent (FTE) load of their permanent part-time position where this can be operationally accommodated.
Step 2, in no specified order, centralised permanent appointments of teachers who are scholarship holders, sponsored teachers, targeted graduate teachers and via the Approved to Teach List (prioritising employment of temporary teachers currently working in 4, 6 and 8 point schools to vacancies).
Step 3, via local choice options.
Due to the flawed architecture prescribed by the former Liberal and National NSW government, Tranche 1 Temporary Workforce Transition Initiative teachers are currently employed in schools in above entitlement positions, a situation that both Federation and the Department agreed needed to be addressed. The appointment process for these teachers will:
- be situated in step 1 after section 51A (compassionate) transfers and ahead of nominated transfers
- occur into a vacancy within the teacher’s current school
- require that the teacher matches the Approved to Teach codes for that vacancy
- operate for a time-limited period only, not exceeding the last day of term 4, 2026.
Matching of teachers seeking transfer to vacant positions will continue based on approved to teach codes only (not “willing to teach” or “skills and/or experience” codes). The Agreement also sees the introduction of an “imperfect match” for step 1 and step 2 where if no match occurs, the matching process will be repeated using one less subject code.
Executive teachers and principals will be able to seek regression to lower executive levels or to classroom teacher positions via service transfer, and there will be capacity for permanent part-time teachers and executive teachers to increase their FTE to permanent full-time employment, or to increase their part-time FTE where it can be operationally accommodated within their school.
Where a teacher is a nominated transfer, every effort will be made to place the teacher (including teachers returning from non-school based appointments) to a suitable vacancy within approximately one hour’s travel time from their residential address associated with their current workplace, as recorded in the Department’s personnel system. Teachers returning from nonschool based appointments will be able to elect that the nominated transfer occurs based on either their current residential address or their most recent schoolbased permanent appointment. The Staffing Procedure specifies that if the commuting time from that address to their current school exceeds one hour and/or there has been a recent change of address submitted by the teacher coinciding with their nominated transfer being submitted, the Department will require a teacher to provide documentary evidence verifying they are living at the address recorded in SAP.
Section 51A transfers based on compassionate grounds will be approved according to exceptional and/or compelling circumstances, which can include where a teacher is permanently unable to return to their school based on medical restrictions that are accepted by the Department. It is agreed that updated procedures associated with compassionate transfers will be introduced in term 3, 2024, including a transition to a more centralised approval model, to strengthen consistent decision making on compassionate transfers.
Existing transfers for principals and executive teachers are maintained in order of priority, and from day 1, term 3, 2024, long-awaited service transfers will be reintroduced for executive teachers (assistant principals; head teachers; deputy principals; senior psychologists, education and leaders, psychology practice) with four years’ service in their current position, as follows:.
- Section 51A (non-compassionate) or Part 4A appointment required under the Teaching Service Act 1980
- Incentive transfer applicant
- Approved Section 51A transfer (compassionate) applicant
- Nominated transfer applicant
- Priority transfer of an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander executive teacher or principal, or executive teacher or principal from a special education setting
- Executive service transfer applicant
- A permanent executive teacher appointed to an equivalent Above Centrally Identified Position (ACIP) position at the school.
There is in-principle agreement on a significant review of the Merit Selection Procedure, with an interim updated procedure currently in operation and a new procedure to be implemented no later than day 1, term 1, 2025. Changes will include:
- centralising initial eligibility checks
- limiting the number of specific selection criteria that can be used in advertisements
- introducing a consistent approach to capturing panel member declarations, including conflict of interest declarations
- standardising advertisements and position descriptions for classroom teacher and executive positions
- developing a standardised bank of specific selection criteria, initially for classroom teacher positions
- removing the mandatory requirement for ‘first’ referees, while retaining a requirement for the principal/current supervisor to provide an attestation within the merit process consistent with other staffing movements
- introducing online reference checks
- reviewing the requirements for referee checks, with comprehensive reference check required only for recommended applicants or applicants to be recommended for the eligibility list
- introducing a consistent approach to capturing panel outcomes
- providing clearer guidance for schools on best practice local EOI processes, including closed-merit pool processes and selection processes for temporary appointments and higher-duty relieving opportunities.
Federation has secured reductions in the size of some practical classes, which will be applicable to classes being planned for the 2025 school year. Commencing in 2025, agriculture and visual arts classes from year 7 to year 10 will be formed on the basis that no class need exceed 20 students.
Finally, the Department has provided a commitment to engage with Federation throughout 2024 on related matters to the Staffing Agreement, including:
- staffing entitlement, inclusive of the school counselling service
- recruitment strategies for harder-to-staff schools
- staffing formulae for specialist school settings
- the Non-School Based Teaching Service.
Work will continue on the development of updated procedures in the coming months, which will provide additional clarity around the processes which are outlined in the Staffing Agreement.