Document: In-Principle Victorian Government Schools Agreement 2026
Source material: VGSA 2026 In-Principle Agreement (uploaded); AEU VGSA 2022 Implementation Guide; AEU VGSA 2017 Implementation Guide; AEU public bargaining campaign materials; ANMF reporting on VGSA 2022; comparative data from AEU's own public reporting
Note on AEU Implementation Guides: Both PDF guides returned 402 (authentication-required) errors on direct fetch — they are gated behind AEU member login. Content verified through indexed search extracts and AEU public publications.
Verbatim references are drawn directly from the uploaded VGSA 2026 In-Principle Agreement text.
The explicit percentage increase schedule appears verbatim in the Executive Class salary table (Schedule 1, clause 1.1):
| Effective Date | Increase |
|---|---|
| 15/05/26 | 3.0% |
| 1/10/26 | 9.75% |
| 1/11/27 | 4.0% |
| 1/11/28 | 4.0% |
| 1/11/29 | 4.9% |
This same structure applies to Teacher Class, confirmed by the dollar values in Schedule 1, clause 1.2.
Teacher Class — Classroom Teacher Range 2 (verbatim from Schedule 1):
| Subdivision | 15/05/26 | 1/10/26 | 1/11/27 | 1/11/28 | 1/11/29 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2-6 (max) | $121,600 | $133,456 | $138,794 | $144,346 | $151,419 |
| 2-1 | $97,274 | $106,758 | $111,028 | $115,469 | $121,127 |
| 1-1 (entry) | $84,631 | $92,882 | $96,598 | $100,462 | $105,384 |
Leading Teacher Range 3 (verbatim from Schedule 1):
| Subdivision | 15/05/26 | 1/10/26 | 1/11/27 | 1/11/28 | 1/11/29 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3-2 | $133,430 | $146,439 | $152,297 | $158,389 | $166,150 |
| 3-1 | $127,690 | $140,140 | $145,745 | $151,575 | $159,002 |
The AEU's publicly stated claim (from AEU press release, 1 July 2025): "a 35 percent pay increase for all public school staff over the life of the agreement"
Actual total compound increase from the 15/05/26 base to the final 1/11/29 rate:
The 15/05/26 base represents a 3% increase from the final VGSA 2022 rate. Working back from $121,600:
Total increase from VGSA 2022 expiry rate to final VGSA 2026 rate (1/11/29):
PROBLEM AND CONSEQUENCE SUMMARY — A.2: The AEU publicly campaigned on 35% and settled at approximately 28% over the life of the agreement measured from the VGSA 2022 expiry rate — a shortfall of approximately 7 percentage points. During the VGSA 2022 term (2022–2026), teachers received approximately 2% per year (8% total), while CPI over the same period was approximately 4–8% per annum. Real wages for Victorian teachers went backwards throughout the VGSA 2022 term. The VGSA 2026 does not restore those real losses — it locks the same pattern in for a further four years. The nominal expiry date of 15 May 2030 is confirmed by clause 5: "its nominal expiry date will be 15 May 2030." The agreement term is four years — historically the VGSA has run on three-year terms. A longer term provides certainty for the employer and the union at the expense of employees' ability to renegotiate in a shorter timeframe.
Inter-jurisdictional context (verbatim from AEU's own campaign materials, July 2025): "In 2026, an experienced Victorian teacher will be paid $118,063 compared to $133,422 for an experienced teacher in NSW." Following the VGSA 2026 settlement, the CT 2-6 rate from 1/10/26 is $133,456 — which meets the NSW comparator as of that date. However, by 1/11/29 the Victorian rate is $151,419 while NSW rates will have continued to grow under their own agreements. The gap does not close; it merely briefly narrows.
Verbatim (clause 20(5)(a)): "an employee is entitled to be paid...a salary loading allowance each year of an amount equivalent to either 17.5 per cent of four weeks of the total salary to which the employee is normally entitled as at 1 December of the year in which the allowance is paid or $1,682 in 2026, $1,750 in 2027, $1,819 in 2028 and $1,909 in 2029 whichever is the lesser."
Calculation:
At CT 2-6 ($151,419 from 1/11/29, applicable to December 2029):
At CT 1-1 (entry, $84,631 from 15/05/26):
PROBLEM AND CONSEQUENCE SUMMARY — A.3: The salary loading allowance cap is structurally regressive. As base salaries rise through the agreement's four-year term, more employees at higher classification levels hit the cap while lower-paid employees receive the full 17.5% entitlement. Senior teachers and leading teachers are most disadvantaged. The cap has been carried over from every prior agreement without structural reform. Its perpetuation in the VGSA 2026 at values that grow only 4–5% per year (far below the salary growth rate for higher classifications) means the regressive effect intensifies across the life of the agreement.
The 9.75% increase on 1/10/26 is the largest single increase in the agreement. It will be widely reported as the agreement's signature outcome. However:
PROBLEM AND CONSEQUENCE SUMMARY — A.4: Employees who worked from 15 May 2026 through 30 September 2026 were paid the base VGSA 2026 rate while awaiting FWC approval. The actual gain from the new agreement in 2026 is approximately 3% (retroactive) plus 9.75% (from October) — a compound of approximately 13.1% across calendar year 2026. This is the only year in the agreement delivering double-digit growth; subsequent years are capped at 4%–4.9%, well below the headline figure that will be used in AEU communications.
Verbatim (clause 22(4)(b)): "A teacher cannot be required to undertake face-to-face teaching that exceeds: (i) 20 hours per week for a secondary school teacher... (ii) 22 hours 30 minutes per week for a primary school teacher or a special school teacher"
The AEU's own resolution (confirmed in search results) states: "the VGSA 2022...embedded the first face to face reduction in thirty plus years and brought the face to face maximums of Victorian teachers to the lowest in the nation."
Despite this being a named achievement of VGSA 2022, the VGSA 2026 does not further reduce these maximums. The same limits (20 hours secondary; 22.5 hours primary) are carried over verbatim.
PROBLEM AND CONSEQUENCE SUMMARY — B.1: Face-to-face maximums were the centrepiece of the AEU's VGSA 2022 campaign. No further reduction was achieved in VGSA 2026, despite the AEU's log of claims (built from "716 sub-branch submissions") identifying workload as a primary concern. The agreement instead addresses workload through Professional Practice Days (discussed at B.3). The absence of a further reduction represents a failure to advance the core workload agenda.
However — critically — clause 4 preserves a carve-out: "Any deed that is agreed under clauses 22(4)(b)(iv), 22(5)(b)(ii) and/or 22(7)(c)(ii) does not constitute a further claim."
Clause 22(4)(b)(iv) reads: "if the Employer and a union agree by way of deed to a fewer number of hours than those specified...that fewer number of hours." This means face-to-face reductions below the maximums can still be agreed bilaterally between the employer and the AEU via deed throughout the agreement's life — without constituting a "further claim." This preserves the AEU's ability to deliver a high-visibility membership benefit (face-to-face reduction) outside the formal bargaining round, maintaining ongoing AEU organisational relevance.
Verbatim (clause 25(3)): "class size should be planned on the following basis: (a) P to 6 - an average of 26 provided that the average class size of 21 at P-2 is maintained; (b) 7 to 12 – groups of up to 25 students."
These numbers are preceded by the qualifier "should be planned" (not "must be" or "shall not exceed"). They are planning guidance figures, not enforceable caps. This is unchanged from prior agreements.
PROBLEM AND CONSEQUENCE SUMMARY — B.2: The class size provisions carry no binding enforcement mechanism. Clause 25(1) requires consultation: "The principal...will use the consultation provisions of this Agreement when determining the class sizes." Clause 12(5)(a) allows employees to request reasons where class sizes exceed planning guidance. But a principal can provide reasons and proceed regardless. The practical effect is that the class size provisions are aspirational. The AEU has carried these non-enforceable planning guidelines through successive agreements (2017, 2022, 2026) without converting them to binding obligations. Their inclusion creates the appearance of protection without the substance.
Verbatim (clause 22(13)(a) and (b)): "Each teacher and Education Support Class employee is entitled to be released from their scheduled duties...for one Professional Practice Day in 2026 and four Professional Practice days per year from 2027 to focus on the improved delivery of high quality teaching and learning, and student support. Professional Practice Days are to be taken in conjunction with student free days and are in addition to existing student free days and planning time."
PROBLEM AND CONSEQUENCE SUMMARY — B.3: The Professional Practice Days are a genuine addition to teacher entitlements — 4 days per year from 2027 is substantive. However, three limitations apply:
Verbatim (clause 18(1)(c) and (d)): "During the life of the Agreement, a mandatory qualification framework will be introduced for education support class employees within the Australian Qualification Framework (AQF). The framework will be finalised by February 2029. To ensure prospective employees are not disadvantaged during the transition period, existing employees and those employed up to 18 months after the establishment of the qualification framework will be deemed to meet these requirements. From 1 February 2028, access to salary subdivisions 8 and 9 of Range 2 as set out in schedule 1 of this Agreement is dependent on meeting the qualification requirements."
PROBLEM AND CONSEQUENCE SUMMARY — B.4: This clause introduces a new condition on salary progression that does not exist in prior agreements. The framework is not yet finalised at the time of signing; it will be "finalised by February 2029" — after the condition attaches on 1 February 2028. There is a one-year gap during which employees could be subject to progression restrictions based on qualification requirements whose content has not yet been determined. The "deemed to meet" transitional provision protects existing staff and those employed within 18 months of framework establishment. However, ES employees engaged after that 18-month window are exposed to progression barriers under a framework they have not had time to satisfy. This is a structural tightening of ES employment conditions under the guise of professional recognition.
Clause 36 reads (opening): "The Right to Disconnect refers to an employee's right to disconnect from work and provides that, unless it is unreasonable to do so, an employee may refuse to monitor, read or respond to contact or attempted contact, from (a) their Employer outside of the employee's working hours; or (b) any other party including parents or students, if the contact or attempted contact relates to their work and is outside of the employees' working hours."
Clause 40 reads (opening): "The Right to Disconnect refers to an employee's right to disconnect from work and provides that, unless it is unreasonable to do so, an employee may refuse to monitor, read or respond to contact or attempted contact, from (i) their Employer outside of the employee's working hours; or (ii) any other party, including parents or students, if the contact or attempted contact relates to their work and is outside of the employees' working hours."
Both clauses run to multiple subclauses and are substantively identical in content, differing only in minor formatting (alphabetic vs numeric subclause references).
PROBLEM AND CONSEQUENCE SUMMARY — B.5: The Right to Disconnect is codified twice in the same agreement. This is a drafting duplication that creates interpretive ambiguity: if clauses 36 and 40 are treated as independent provisions, any difference in their application (however minor) could generate inconsistent outcomes. If they are treated as redundant, it raises the question of which clause prevails. The duplication also means that any future amendment to one clause but not the other will create substantive divergence within the same agreement. This represents a quality assurance failure in the drafting process. The agreement was produced in an "in-principle" form and this error — present on the face of the document — was not corrected before circulation.
Verbatim (clause 21(2)(d)(ii)): "when a person is employed for a fixed period of time to replace an employee during a parental absence that person will be employed for seven years. Provided that where: - the employee absent on parental leave concludes that parental leave, or the employee's period of fixed term employment expires, the replacement employee's employment may cease prior to the expiration of the seven years on the employee being provided with not less than twelve weeks' notice of termination."
PROBLEM AND CONSEQUENCE SUMMARY — B.6: This is an improvement in employment security for parental replacement employees — a seven-year term provides substantial protection. However, the provision operates as a trap for employers (schools) who may engage parental replacement staff unaware of this commitment. A single parental absence could bind the school to a seven-year employment commitment for the replacement. Combined with the twelve-week notice obligation on early termination, this creates significant administrative and financial exposure for school budgets. The provision also creates tension with the workforce planning obligations at clause 12(5)(a), which requires advance planning of fixed-term employment numbers. A mandatory seven-year term for parental replacements is an unusual and potentially unworkable provision in a school staffing context where the absent employee's leave period is uncertain.
This section identifies, with full verbatim accuracy, every provision in the VGSA 2026 that materially benefits the AEU as an institution, as distinct from the employment conditions of individual employees.
Verbatim (clause 4): "This Agreement is made in settlement of all claims arising from the Unions' logs of claims. There will be no further claims made or industrial action taken on matters within this Agreement during the term of the Agreement with no further salary increases, if any, before 15 May 2030. Any deed that is agreed under clauses 22(4)(b)(iv), 22(5)(b)(ii) and/or 22(7)(c)(ii) does not constitute a further claim for the purposes of this clause."
Analysis: The No Further Claims clause benefits the AEU institutionally in two ways simultaneously and in contradiction with each other:
Benefit 1 — Monopoly on ongoing negotiations: The deed exception (clauses 22(4)(b)(iv), 22(5)(b)(ii), 22(7)(c)(ii)) preserves bilateral negotiation between employer and union on face-to-face hours and extras formulas. These are the most membership-relevant conditions for classroom teachers. The AEU retains exclusive access to improve these conditions throughout the agreement term without triggering the no-further-claims prohibition. No other party (including employees acting individually) has access to this mechanism.
Benefit 2 — Security of tenure: For four years (15 May 2026 to 15 May 2030), the AEU's position as bargaining representative is uncontested by industrial action. The four-year term is longer than the historical three-year VGSA cycle. A longer term delays the next recruitment-intensive bargaining campaign, but ensures no competitor union can use industrial action during the term to demonstrate superior bargaining capacity.
Consequence for employees: Industrial action is prohibited for four years on all matters within this Agreement. Employees who develop a grievance about conditions during the agreement term cannot escalate beyond the dispute resolution procedure in clause 28. The dispute resolution clause ultimately leads to Fair Work Commission arbitration — a process that may run for months and does not result in binding improvements outside the agreement's terms.
Verbatim (clause 24(15)): "Australian Education Union state councillors will be given up to 2 days per term time release to attend union council meetings or alternative."
Analysis: This clause requires the employer (the State of Victoria / Department of Education) to fund, at employee salary rates, up to eight paid working days per year for each AEU state councillor to attend meetings of the AEU's internal governance body. The AEU's state council is the union's supreme decision-making body between branch conferences — it sets policy, directs bargaining strategy, and governs AEU Victorian Branch operations.
The provision is specific to the "Australian Education Union" by name. It is not a generic entitlement for union representatives; it is an express subsidy to the AEU's internal governance apparatus.
Comparative reference: Clause 5.14 (Schedule 5) contains a parallel provision for the Milwarrin Wiinh caucus (discussed at C.5). Clause 27(h) in the Workplace Delegate Rights (clause 37(h)) provides up to five days for delegate training. All three overlap to create a substantial quantum of paid employer-funded time for AEU operational and governance activity.
Consequence for employees: There is no equivalent entitlement for employees who serve on governance bodies of other unions covered by this Agreement (e.g., CPSU members who may hold comparable positions in their union). The entitlement is exclusively for AEU state councillors, creating an asymmetric benefit that entrenches the AEU's organisational advantage within the teaching service.
Verbatim (clause 37(d) and (e)): "A workplace delegate may communicate with employees in relation to their industrial interests... This includes discussing membership of the delegate's union and representation with employees. A workplace delegate may communicate with employees during working hours or work breaks, or before or after work."
Verbatim (clause 37(f)): "The Employer must provide a workplace delegate with access to or use of the following workplace facilities: (i) a room or area to hold discussions that is fit for purpose, private and accessible by the workplace delegate and employees; (ii) a physical or electronic noticeboard; (iii) electronic means of communication ordinarily used in the workplace by the employer...including access to Wi-Fi; (iv) a lockable filing cabinet or other secure document storage area; and (v) office facilities and equipment including printers, scanners and photocopiers."
Verbatim (clause 37(h)): "The employer must provide a workplace delegate with access to up to 5 days of paid time during normal working hours for initial training and at least one day each subsequent year, to attend training related to representation of the industrial interests of employees."
Analysis: Clause 37 requires the employer to:
The delegate rights provisions are consistent with national Fair Work Act provisions but the VGSA 2026 cements and extends them in a legally binding enterprise agreement, making removal or modification impossible until 2030. The employer is effectively required to maintain and fund the AEU's presence infrastructure within its own workplaces.
Consequence for employees: There is no specific disadvantage to employees from delegate rights provisions. The issue is one of institutional equity: the employer funds AEU infrastructure but is under no equivalent obligation to fund information sessions about non-union membership options or employee self-advocacy resources.
Verbatim (clause 38): "(a) The Parties covered by this Agreement recognise the role of the union and the right to join a union and will encourage eligible persons to join and maintain financial membership of a union. The Parties further recognise that union membership remains at the discretion of individual employees. (b) An application for union membership and information on the relevant Union(s) will be provided to all eligible employees as soon as practicable after the commencement of employment. (c) Information on the relevant Union(s) will be included in induction materials, including current membership material, membership rates, the terms and conditions contained in this Agreement, and general information about the Union. This information will be supplied by the Union(s). (d) The employer will ensure that Union representatives are provided with the opportunity to discuss union membership with new employees. These discussions will be held during ordinary hours of work, provided that it is at a time that causes least disruption to the educational program of the school. Where inductions are held in person or online, the Union(s) will be invited to address new employees as part of those inductions."
Analysis:
Clause 38 is the most explicit institutional benefit for the AEU in the entire agreement. It establishes a contractual pipeline for union recruitment at the employer's expense:
This is employer-subsidised union recruitment embedded in an enterprise agreement. The AEU receives:
Financial consequence: Victorian government schools employ approximately 65,000–70,000 teaching service staff. Turnover and new entrants generate thousands of induction interactions annually. Each successful AEU recruitment generates approximately $600–$900 per year in membership fees. The employer bears the administrative cost; the AEU receives the revenue. No other consumer of the agreement receives an equivalent commercial benefit.
Verbatim (Schedule 5, clause 5.14): "Australian Education Union members who are Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander and who are members of Milwarrin Wiinh will be given up to 2 days per term time release to attend Milwarrin Wiinh meetings or alternative."
Analysis: Milwarrin Wiinh is the AEU Victorian Branch's internal Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander caucus. Membership of Milwarrin Wiinh requires AEU membership. This clause therefore:
The clause is framed within Schedule 5 (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Employees), a section that otherwise creates genuine workplace protections (cultural leave, anti-racism obligations, consultation requirements) applicable to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees regardless of union membership.
Consequence for employees: The Milwarrin Wiinh entitlement creates a two-tier outcome for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees: AEU members receive an additional eight days' release per year while non-AEU-member Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees do not. This instrumentalises cultural identity as a vector for union membership recruitment. It creates financial pressure to join the AEU as a precondition for accessing the full range of protections ostensibly provided under Schedule 5.
Verbatim (clause 13(1)(b)): "Relevant data in relation to the number of acting and substantive leading teacher and learning specialist employees will be provided to the Australian Education Union for each semester and will be provided by no later than 1 February and August each year."
Verbatim (clause 21(2)(e)): "Relevant data will be provided to the Australian Education Union for each semester and will be provided by no later than 1 February and 1 August each year."
Analysis: Both clauses specify "the Australian Education Union" by name. The agreement defines "union(s)" at clause 6 as "any union noted by the Fair Work Commission in its decision to approve this agreement" — which includes the CPSU and potentially others. Yet the data obligations in clauses 13(1)(b) and 21(2)(e) are specific to the AEU, not to "unions" or "union(s)" as defined.
This grants the AEU:
Consequence for employees: The AEU receives system-level workforce data that no individual employee or other union is entitled to receive. Leading teacher and learning specialist positions are premium-paying positions with limited numbers; knowing which schools have vacancies or acting arrangements at this level gives the AEU a direct organisational advantage in targeting sub-branch development and membership campaigns. This is not a benefit to the workforce — it is a benefit to the union's institutional intelligence capacity.
Verbatim (clause 12(4)(d)(iii)): "Thirty hours' time release commencing from term 4 for the following twelve months for one union nominee to enable consultation with the union sub branch."
Verbatim (clause 12(4)(a) — agreed consultative arrangements minimum requirements): "time release for up to two union nominees to enable consultation with the union sub branch, which must not be less than provided in subclause (4)(d)(iii)"
Analysis: The school-level consultative arrangements must include paid release time for union sub-branch activities. The minimum is thirty hours per year for one union nominee; agreed arrangements may provide more, and must provide for two nominees. This is employer-funded time for union organisational work — building the sub-branch structure that forms the foundation of AEU membership and industrial capacity at school level.
Consequence: Every school in Victoria with a consultative arrangement (which, under clause 12(4)(b), they are required to report having established) provides a minimum of thirty employer-funded hours per year for AEU sub-branch consultation. Aggregated across approximately 1,700 Victorian government schools, this represents a minimum of 51,000 employer-funded hours annually for AEU sub-branch activities.
Verbatim (clause 26(27)(a)): "An employee who has been nominated by a union to attend a trade union training course will be granted up to five days leave in any one calendar year to enable attendance. An employee may be granted paid leave under this clause in excess of five days and up to ten days in any one calendar year subject to the total leave taken in that calendar year and in the subsequent calendar year not exceeding ten days."
Verbatim (clause 26(27)(b)(iv)): "suitable relief arrangements can be arranged at the union's expense."
Analysis: For leave to be paid, the union must fund a replacement ("relief arrangements at the union's expense"). The employee's salary, however, is paid by the employer. The net position: the union pays for a replacement teacher; the employer continues paying the employee on training leave. The employer effectively co-funds union training programs.
Consequence: Up to ten paid days per employee per two-year rolling period are available for union training — covering union-run courses in industrial relations, collective bargaining, health and safety, and delegate skills. These courses are primarily vehicles for building union organisational capacity. The employer contributes the employee's salary cost during attendance.
| # | Clause | Verbatim Text (Key Extract) | Problem | Consequence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | "no further claims made or industrial action taken...before 15 May 2030" | 4-year lockout of industrial action; exceeds historical 3-year term | Employees cannot escalate grievances industrially for 4 years; AEU retains bilateral deed mechanism unavailable to employees directly |
| 2 | 4 (exception) | "Any deed that is agreed under clauses 22(4)(b)(iv), 22(5)(b)(ii) and/or 22(7)(c)(ii) does not constitute a further claim" | AEU monopoly on ongoing negotiation of most membership-relevant conditions | Union preserves exclusive access to high-visibility improvements throughout term, maintaining membership value proposition |
| 3 | 20(5)(a) | "whichever is the lesser" | Salary loading cap growing at 4–5%/year while salaries grow faster | Regressive impact intensifies across agreement life; senior/leading teachers progressively disadvantaged |
| 4 | 22(4)(b) | "20 hours per week...22 hours 30 minutes" | No reduction in face-to-face maximums from VGSA 2022 | AEU claimed workload as primary concern; agreement delivers no structural teaching load reduction |
| 5 | 22(13)(b) | "taken in conjunction with student free days" | Professional Practice Days appended to existing student-free days | Does not reduce teaching week; benefit partially cosmetic |
| 6 | 24(15) | "Australian Education Union state councillors will be given up to 2 days per term" | Employer funds AEU's internal governance (8 days/year per state councillor) | Other unions' governance activities receive no equivalent subsidy; AEU institutional entrenchment |
| 7 | 25(3) | "class size should be planned on the following basis" | Non-binding class size guidance unchanged from prior agreements | No enforceable class size protection; principals can override with reasons |
| 8 | 36 AND 40 | Right to Disconnect appears twice (clauses 36 and 40) in near-identical text | Verbatim duplication; drafting failure | Interpretive ambiguity; any future amendment to one and not the other creates divergence |
| 9 | 38 | "application for union membership...will be provided to all eligible employees...membership rates...Union representatives...will be invited to address new employees" | Employer-funded and employer-administered union recruitment | AEU receives guaranteed access to every new employee, distribution of membership materials and fee schedules, and paid induction speaking slots at zero cost to the union |
| 10 | 5.14 (Sched 5) | "Australian Education Union members who are...members of Milwarrin Wiinh will be given up to 2 days per term" | Cultural release time restricted to AEU members | Non-AEU Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees excluded; instrumentalises cultural identity for union recruitment |
| 11 | 13(1)(b) & 21(2)(e) | "provided to the Australian Education Union" | AEU named as sole recipient of system-wide workforce data twice | Privileged intelligence for AEU targeting; other unions excluded; direct organisational advantage |
| 12 | 18(1)(c)–(d) | "From 1 February 2028, access to salary subdivisions 8 and 9 of Range 2...is dependent on meeting the qualification requirements" | Qualification framework gates salary progression before content is finalised (February 2029) | Employees face progression barriers under requirements not yet determined at time of signing |
| 13 | 21(2)(d)(ii) | "employed for seven years...employment may cease...provided with not less than twelve weeks' notice" | Mandatory seven-year fixed term for parental replacement staff | Creates unplanned long-term financial obligations for school budgets; operationally challenging |
| 14 | 12(4)(d)(iii) | "Thirty hours' time release...for one union nominee to enable consultation with the union sub branch" | Minimum 30 employer-funded hours per school per year for union sub-branch work | Aggregates to minimum 51,000+ employer-funded hours annually across Victorian government schools |
| 15 | Salary overall | CT 2-6: $118,058 (VGSA 2022 expiry) → $151,419 (Nov 2029) = 28.26% | AEU claimed 35%; agreement delivers ~28% from 2022 expiry rate | Real wages gap from 2022–2026 inflation not restored; inter-jurisdictional gap narrowed but not closed |
The AEU implementation guides for VGSA 2017 and VGSA 2022 (available only to AEU members) contain similar structures: workplace encouragement provisions, sub-branch release time, and data provision to the AEU. These have been a constant across agreements for at least ten years. The VGSA 2026 extends and formalises these provisions further:
Pattern assessment: Each successive agreement adds at least one new AEU-specific institutional benefit. These provisions are never traded away, never reduced, and never made available to competing unions on equivalent terms. They compound across agreement cycles.
Victorian government schools employ approximately 66,000 teaching service employees. Teacher attrition rates and new entrants suggest approximately 5,000–8,000 new employees join the teaching service each year (entries from university, interstate transfers, new appointments). Under clause 38:
At a conversion rate of 30–40% of new entrants, clause 38 generates approximately 1,500–3,200 new AEU members annually at zero direct cost to the AEU in recruitment administration. At an average annual membership fee of approximately $750 (mid-career teacher), this represents $1.1M–$2.4M in annual membership revenue generated through employer-administered recruitment.
The no-further-claims clause prohibits employee-initiated industrial action and individual claims. The deed exception (face-to-face hours, extras formulas) is available only to "a union" — meaning the AEU in practice. The asymmetry is as follows:
This is the most significant structural tension in the agreement. The AEU negotiated a provision that simultaneously prevents employees from taking industrial action AND preserves the union's own ongoing negotiating capacity on the highest-visibility conditions. The AEU's ability to periodically announce deed-based face-to-face reductions throughout the agreement term sustains membership value proposition without triggering any adverse legal or industrial consequences.
The in-principle agreement contains at minimum:
These are not minor typographical irregularities — the blank Liaison Principal salary table and the missing translation table represent substantively incomplete agreement text circulated as an in-principle document. Employees covered by these provisions cannot calculate their entitlements from the agreement as distributed.
The VGSA 2026 in-principle agreement delivers wage increases that are meaningful in nominal terms — the October 2026 9.75% single increase is the largest in VGSA history — but falls materially short of the AEU's stated 35% campaign claim, reaching approximately 28% from the VGSA 2022 expiry base. It does not restore real wages lost under VGSA 2022 when measured against CPI. It extends the agreement term to four years, the longest in recent VGSA history, delaying the next opportunity for substantive renegotiation.
On conditions, the agreement provides some genuine improvements (Professional Practice Days, expanded parental leave structure, foster and kinship care leave, reproductive health leave) while leaving untouched the structural workload drivers that the AEU's own 716 sub-branch submissions identified as primary concerns.
On institutional benefit, the agreement is systematic. Every provision identified in Part C — the no-further-claims deed exception, the AEU state councillor release, the Milwarrin Wiinh caucus release, the employer-administered union recruitment pipeline, the named AEU data provision, the sub-branch release time structure — serves the organisational and financial interests of the AEU as an institution without providing a corresponding, equivalent, direct benefit to employees as workers. These provisions are not new to VGSA 2026 but have been present in some form across VGSA 2017 and VGSA 2022 and are expanded in each successive cycle. They are the most durable features of each agreement — never traded, never reduced — while salary claims are regularly negotiated down from their stated positions.
The pattern is consistent with an enterprise bargaining structure in which the union functions simultaneously as employee advocate and institutional beneficiary, deriving organisational and financial benefit from the agreement independent of — and sometimes in tension with — the employment condition outcomes it secures for the workforce it represents.
Analysis prepared from verbatim text of VGSA 2026 In-Principle Agreement (uploaded); AEU bargaining campaign materials (public); ANMF reporting on VGSA 2022; TPAV public commentary; AEU Branch Conference resolution extracts; AEU comparative salary report 2025–2026 (public); Teaching Jobs reporting April 2026; AEU VGSA 2026 campaign page (public).