Thousands of Victorian public school teachers and education support staff are being forced to choose between their profession and securing a place to live, according to new housing research commissioned by the Australian Education Union (AEU) Victorian Branch.
The University of New South Wales report, What the profession needs now: housing affordability, finds housing costs are locking many public school employees out of both the rental and property markets, pushing them further away from the communities where they work.
“Victoria’s public schools need to attract and retain more staff but any attempt to do so will mean little if they cannot afford to live within reasonable commuting distance of their school,” AEU Victoria President Mr Justin Mullaly said.
The research shows 43 per cent of teaching positions are located in Local Government Areas (LGAs) where it is unaffordable for a graduate teacher to rent a one-bedroom property. More than 4,900 teaching roles are based in areas where a graduate teacher with a median-salaried partner cannot afford a three-bedroom rental suitable for a family.
For single-income households, affordability pressures are even more acute. The report finds that for a family supported by a top-of-the-scale teacher, three quarters of Victorian LGAs have median house prices rated as seriously, severely or impossibly unaffordable. Around 75 per cent of education support staff face severely or impossibly unaffordable house prices in 80 per cent of LGAs.
Only two LGAs – Buloke Shire and West Wimmera Shire – are considered affordable for education support staff to purchase a home, representing just 10 government schools out of 1,575 statewide.
“You know something is seriously wrong when too many teachers cannot afford to live anywhere near their place of work,” Mr Mullaly said.
The report also highlights the time required to save a deposit. At current median house prices in LGAs where rent is unaffordable, it would take a graduate teacher with a median-salaried partner 12 years to save a 20 per cent deposit, and 18 years for an education support staff member with a median-salaried partner.
“Working in a public school must be employment which fairly enables teachers and education support employees to access affordable housing and purchase a home. This is currently not the case for too many in the public school workforce,” Mr Mullaly said.
The AEU Victorian Branch is calling on the Victorian Government to significantly increase public school salaries, establish a dedicated public school staff housing division within the Department of Education, invest in pathways to home ownership, introduce targeted rental subsidies, and provide stamp duty exemptions for eligible school employees.
Mr Mullaly said workload pressures compounded the problem, with public school staff working an average of 12.5 hours of unpaid overtime each week.
“Their daily workload, alongside their family obligations, is demanding enough without adding a daily two hour commute,” he said.
“Teachers are being forced to choose between their profession and their ability to secure housing. That’s not a choice any essential worker should have to make.”
