State School Teachers’ Certified Agreement—update
In February, the Department of Education formally commenced negotiating a replacement certified agreement covering the employment of teachers, with a view to ensuring our teachers are supported to continue delivering what matters—world-class education for Queensland students.
On 19 June 2025, the department provided to the Queensland Teachers' Union (QTU) an offer to settle negotiations for its consideration.
On 20 June 2025, the QTU formally rejected the offer.
On 27 June 2025, the department provided to the QTU a revised offer to settle negotiations.
On 9 July 2025, the QTU formally rejected the offer provided on 27 June 2025.
On 28 July 2025, the department filed an application in the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission seeking assistance in accordance with section 175(1)(b) of the
Industrial Relations Act 2016. The department maintains a commitment to achieving a negotiated outcome that values our Queensland state school educators.
On 29 July 2025, the department was advised that QTU members would participate in a 24-hour stop work action on Wednesday 6 August 2025.
On 26 October 2025, the department provided to the QTU an enhanced offer that represents the productive and amicable discussions held to resolve outstanding issues. This offer demonstrates the department’s continued willingness to respond to feedback from the QTU and its members.
On Friday 31 October 2025, the QTU formally advised that the QTU member ballot was unsuccessful and an in-principle agreement has not been reached for a replacement State School Teachers Certified Agreement 2025.
On 18 November 2025, the department was advised that QTU members would participate in a 24-hour stop work action on Tuesday 25 November 2025.
Frequently asked questions
Who is covered by the Department of Education State School Teachers' Certified Agreement?
The certified agreement covers approximately 55,000 teachers comprising:
- Stream 1—‘Teaching Stream’ / fully classroom teachers
- Stream 2—‘Heads of Program’ (includes heads of program, heads of curriculum, heads of department, guidance officers, heads of special services 2 and 3)
- Stream 3—‘School Leaders’ (deputy principals, principals, and heads of special education services 4)
- Other—community teachers and assistant teachers; supply teachers.
What is the enterprise bargaining process?
There are 4 key phases during the enterprise bargaining process:
- Negotiations (in progress)
- Consultation and ballot
- Certification
- Implementation
What is the proposed term for the replacement agreement?
The replacement agreement is proposed to have a 3-year term.
What is the consumer price index uplift adjustment (CUA)?
The CUA is an additional payment to wages, subject to conditions, designed to account for inflation. The proposed adjustments are:
- up to 0.5% in the first year of the agreement
- up to 1% in year 2 and year 3 of the agreement.
If in-principle agreement is not reached between all of the parties within October 2025, the first wage increase date will be the first day of the month in which the parties reach in-principle agreement and subsequent wage increases yearly thereafter.
What are the proposed reforms to student free days (SFD)?
Scheduling SFD
It is proposed to move the 2 Easter/autumn student vacation SFDs as follows:
- move one SFD to the last day of Term 4.
- move the other SFD into the last week of the summer student vacation (i.e. Wednesday). Noting Thursday and Friday of that week remain gazetted and fixed SFDs.
Use of SFD
It is proposed within the 25 mandatory staff professional development hours:
- 5 hours are teacher led / at the discretion of the teacher (which can include the ability to undertake peer-to-peer, teaching, student and/or learning discussions, a minimum of which should be 2 hours. Currently 3 hours of the 25 hours are at the teacher's discretion.
- 20 hours will be determined by the principal.
These changes to SFD will occur for the 2027 school year to allow for planning and revisiting of mandatory training suites.
What are the proposed enhancements for Experienced Senior Teachers?
It is proposed to reduce the service requirements at Experienced Senior Teacher 1 (EST1) from 3 to 2 years from 1 July 2027.
It is also proposed to introduce a new pay increment called 'Experienced Senior Teacher 3' (EST3) of $132,033 per annum, effective from 1 July 2027. This rate will increase by 2.5% to $135,333 per annum on 1 October 2027.
How would salary progression change for 3-year trained teachers in a new agreement?
From commencement of the agreement, 3-year trained teachers will now have the same salary progression as 4-year trained teachers to support attraction and retention of classroom teachers.
What changes are being proposed for beginning teachers?
Removing the beginning teacher Band 2 Step 1 pay point from January 2026. It is proposed from January 2026 beginning teachers will start on the equivalent of 1 pay point higher, being $90,833 per annum (plus super and other incentives).
Additionally, the current reimbursement of Queensland Teachers’ College registration fees will be replaced with a $400 beginning teacher payment. This payment will be processed through Payroll (PAYG) without requiring an application form, reducing red tape. It covers registration fees and contributes to other initial costs for newly graduated teachers.
What are the attraction and retention incentives in a new agreement?
- Retaining for 12 months (first year of agreement / 2026) the existing $900 Regional Attraction and Retention payment—transfer rating (TR) 2 and TR3 schools—to existing employees in receipt of the payment in 2025.
- In the second year of the agreement (2027), introducing a new $1,000 attraction or attraction and retention payment for TR3 schools experiencing recruitment challenges.
- Conducting a fulsome review of the existing attraction and retention initiatives and payments in the first 6 months of the agreement.
- Rural and remote employees (TR4–7) eligible for the additional discretionary leave under the Recognition of Rural and Remote Service Scheme (RoRRS) will be able to cash out unused leave not taken in the relevant calendar year. Previously, unused leave was forfeited. There are no changes to the amount of leave available and principals are to ensure all reasonable efforts made to grant an employee's application to take additional discretionary leave in the first instance.
What is the proposed new camp allowance for teachers?
A $100 per night overnight domestic camp allowance will be introduced for teachers in Stream 1, Stream 2 (heads of program) and Stream 3 (teaching principals—up to 124 student enrolments)
classifications who volunteer for school camps. This recognises the disruption to normal work and home routines.
What is the proposed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employee initiative for community and assistant teachers?
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community teachers with at least 12 months of service at Step 4 will automatically progress to Senior Community Teacher. The requirement to sign an undertaking for higher duties will be removed.
In addition, the current 4-step pay structure for assistant teachers will be consolidated into a 1-step structure, using the existing Step 4 pay point. This aims to improve attraction and retention in schools serving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
What is the Safety Taskforce?
It is proposed to establish a Safety Taskforce out of the Director-General's office which will explore safety in schools in its entirety, including important matters such as:
- use and management of tools, equipment and chemicals
- occupational violence prevention and response
- workload and fatigue management.
What happens next?
Once in-principle agreement is reached, and subject to government approval, the department and QTU will continue drafting the proposed agreement.
Once government approval is received, the proposed agreement and supporting explanatory material will be shared with employees. Following consultation, the department will conduct a ballot of all employees covered by the proposed agreement and seek employee support for the proposed agreement.
If majority of the employees who vote, vote ‘yes’ in the department’s ballot and the agreement is subsequently certified by the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission, the wage increase can be paid.
Information explaining the proposed agreement will be provided before the ballot. Balloting all employees is a requirement of the
Industrial Relations Act 2016.
How can I find more information?
Employees will receive email updates relevant to their specific certified agreement. These updates will also be available to all employees under the 'Awards, agreements and salaries' section on OnePortal (search 'enterprise bargaining' on OnePortal to access). If you have an individual query that isn’t covered in the material, please visit Services Catalogue Online and search for ‘Enterprise bargaining enquiry form’ to submit your query.