Victorian public school educators have rejected the state government’s proposed pay and conditions agreement, clearing the way for renewed industrial action as tensions escalate over workload pressures and school funding.
The Australian Education Union (AEU) Victorian Branch confirmed on 19 June 2026 that a majority of members voted against the in-principle agreement through the union’s democratic processes.
“AEU members have had their say through the union’s democratic processes with a majority of members voting to reject the Allan Labor Government’s pay and conditions offer,” said AEU Victorian Branch President Mr Justin Mullaly.
The rejection comes just weeks after the union and the state government reached an in-principle agreement that would have delivered salary increases of between 28.3% and 32.4% over four years, positioning Victorian teachers as the highest paid in Australia. Under the proposed deal, an experienced teacher’s salary would have risen from $118,063 to $151,419 by 2029, including a $15,393 increase in the first year.
Despite the size of the pay offer, the union said members remained concerned the package failed to adequately address excessive workloads and chronic underfunding in Victorian public schools.
The AEU says teachers, education support staff and principals are currently working an average of 12 hours of unpaid overtime per week, and argues Victoria’s public schools remain the lowest funded in the country.
Following the vote, the AEU Joint Primary and Secondary Council has now resolved to consult members on next steps in its campaign, including the possibility of further industrial action and stopwork action, and is calling on the state government to immediately restart negotiations for a new Victorian Government School Agreement.
“Despite the improvements to the offer put to members in March, the government’s May offer does not go far enough to address the concerns of the majority of union members,” Mr Mullaly said.
“Through a survey, union members will be able to have their say on the specific areas of focus for negotiations and particular campaign actions to be taken, including stopwork action.”
The Council also confirmed it will lift the suspension on previously imposed industrial bans and limitations on work, including a ban on state Labor politicians attending public schools.
Mr Mullaly said funding remained a central issue in the dispute.
“The fact that Victoria’s public schools remain the lowest funded in the country is a core issue for public school employees as it is a central cause of excessive workloads and the average of 12 hours underpaid overtime worked each week,” he said.
“At the same time, teachers, education support employees and school leaders in our public schools are undervalued.
“The state government must act now to address the concerns of public school employees. This is the message I will be delivering to the state government.”
