Victorian public school teachers will walk off the job after the Australian Education Union (AEU) rejected the state government’s latest pay offer on March 24. This will escalate a long-running dispute over wages, workload and school funding.

The 24-hour strike, endorsed by 98 per cent of union members, will see teachers, principals and education support staff rally at Trades Hall before marching to Parliament House. It follows more than eight months of negotiations, with the union arguing the government has failed to put forward a deal that adequately addresses its concerns.

The AEU said it was presented with a 17 per cent pay offer which it said included an eight percent pay rise for teachers and four per cent rise for education staff to come into effect in April, followed by a three per cent rise each year for the following three years.

AEU Victoria President Jusin Mullaly criticised the offer, “How can Education Minister Ben Carroll call Victoria ‘the education state’ while teachers, principals and education support staff are overworked, underpaid, and already leaving the profession in droves?”

The AEU says this falls short of inflation and would leave Victorian teachers—already the lowest paid in the country—further behind their interstate counterparts. By late 2026, experienced teachers in New South Wales are expected to earn more than 13 per cent more than those in Victoria.

Speaking to Farrago, an AEU state councillor said the offer “will do nothing to fix the staffing shortage crisis in Victoria’s public schools,” and warned that schools could expect teachers to work up to 10–20 hours of overtime a week with no additional pay.

The union’s log of claims includes a 35 per cent pay increase over three years and sweeping changes to working conditions. The AEU is pushing for reduced face-to-face teaching hours, smaller class sizes, increased planning time and fully funded time-in-lieu provisions, emphasising improved pay and conditions for education support staff, who it says are among the lowest paid in the sector.

“This is a strong offer that rewards our best teachers with the best conditions in the nation. I urge the union to prioritise dialogue over disruption.” Education Minister Ben Carrol defends the government’s position, denying the deal would leave Victorian teachers lagging behind other states and said the government remains open to further negotiations.

Teachers argue that pay rate is only one part of a broader crisis. Workloads have intensified significantly in recent years. Increasing administrative demands, complex student needs and staffing shortages have all contributed to mounting pressure in classrooms.

Katie, who has been teaching for 13 years, said the job has changed dramatically over time. “The demands are just insane compared to when I first started,” she said, pointing to higher reporting requirements, greater behavioural challenges and the need to support student wellbeing alongside academic learning.

Underfunding is another key issue driving the strike. According to reporting by the Herald Sun, Victoria has the lowest per-student public school funding in the country, with families and teachers increasingly forced to cover basic costs. Gabriella, a teacher in Hume, said this reality is evident in schools. “Teachers are being forced to work extra hours, fund their own equipment, which is leading to a lot of burnout.”

The funding gap is also reflected in broader inequalities across the education system. Investment by private schools in Victoria has outpaced public schools by $10.8 billion over the past decade. The AEU argues this difference contributes to widening gaps in resources, facilities and student outcomes between sectors.

As reported by The Age, school principals are also expected to join the March 24 strike, highlighting the scale of concern across the system. The involvement of school leaders underscores union claims that the dispute is not limited to classroom teachers but reflects systemic pressures affecting the entire public education workforce.

The strike echoes similar disputes in the tertiary sector. Staff at the University of Melbourne undertook significant industrial action in 2023 over pay, workload and job security, eventually securing a new enterprise agreement in 2024. While that campaign delivered some gains, many issues remained unresolved, pointing to broader challenges across Australia’s education sector.

Despite the disruption the strike will cause, union leaders argue it is necessary to secure long-term change. An AEU sub-branch president said the goal was not only to improve conditions for current teachers but to ensure the profession remains viable in the future. “Take teachers seriously, fully fund schools, and actually look after your teachers, pay us what we deserve.”

The Fair Work Commission has authorised the industrial action, allowing teachers to legally stop work for 24 hours. Further strikes remain possible if negotiations fail to produce a revised offer.

With both sides holding firm, the March 24 strike is set to become a major test of the Allan government’s approach to education and a flashpoint in the ongoing debate over how Victoria funds and values its public schools.

Image source: AEU Victoria