The Victorian Government has struck an in-principle deal with the Australian Education Union (AEU) that will deliver pay rises of up to 32 per cent for public school teachers.

The agreement, announced on Friday, would deliver wage increases of between 28.3 and 32.4 per cent over four years for teachers, principals and education support staff, alongside additional student-free days aimed at easing workload pressures.

If ratified by union members, an experienced teacher’s salary will rise from about $118,000 to more than $151,000 by 2029, with early-career teachers also receiving significant increases designed to bring Victorian wages in line with interstate counterparts.

Premier Jacinta Allan said the deal would make Victorian educators the highest paid in the country.

“Labor is making our hardworking teachers, school leaders and education staff the best paid in the country. They’ve earned it,” the Premier said in a statement.

AEU Victorian Branch president Justin Mullaly described the agreement as a “significant improvement” following months of negotiations and industrial action, including a statewide strike in March that saw tens of thousands of teachers walk off the job.

The union had previously rejected an earlier government offer of around 17%, arguing it failed to adequately address both pay and workload concerns, including burnout and staffing shortages across public schools.

Early childhood teachers will see a pay bump of 39 per cent over four years, bringing kindergarten teachers’ pay into parity with primary and secondary school teachers.

The new deal is also expected to have broader flow-on effects across the education sector, with private and Catholic systems often aligning their wage outcomes with public agreements.

However, some teachers have raised concerns that workload pressures remain unresolved despite the increased pay, particularly around class sizes and out-of-hours work expectations.

Louie Robertson, a primary school teacher at Bayside College in Altona, said she was glad the deal put teachers in line with their New South Wales counterparts, but hoped the final deal will reflect the work she has to do outside of the classroom.

“As a primary teacher, so much of my time is spent on tedious written reports that it eats into my weekends,” Louie said.

The agreement will now be put to a ballot of AEU members, who will decide whether to formally endorse the deal. If approved, it will bring an end to a protracted wage dispute that has disrupted Victoria’s public education system throughout the year.