Canberra teachers' union considers another one-day strike — ABC News Australia

Workers at public schools in Canberra, Australia, took protest action for the third time this year on September 24 amid protracted negotiations over a new collective agreement. On Thursday, schools in the Australian Capital Territory opened two hours later as members of the Australian Education Union stopped work and distributed leaflets to residents about the situation in the education system, ABC News Australia reports.

Staff shortage

Union representatives and teachers link the protest to staff shortages and employee overload. Dickson College teacher Tom Griffith said public schools lack resources, teachers are leaving the profession, and new specialists cannot be recruited in the required numbers.

Due to staff shortages, classes are sometimes combined. In particular, 63 students were taught in one primary school class. Dickson College teacher Freya Bundy said her classes had been overcrowded for most of the year.

Angela Burrows, president of the Australian Capital Territory branch of the Australian Education Union, said there was a chronic staff shortage in the public education system. According to her, the union had received reports from members who were supervising up to 90 students at the same time.

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Negotiations and funding

Burrows did not rule out further protest action later this year, including another full-day strike, if the Australian Capital Territory government does not improve its offer. This is already the third school closure due to protest action in 2026: a two-hour work stoppage took place in May, followed by a full-day strike in June.

Education Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said negotiations on pay had progressed, but issues of workload, classroom management, combining classes, and support for schools when teachers are absent still needed to be agreed.

At the same time, some schools may receive less funding in 2027 due to a new model for allocating available resources according to students' needs. The minister stressed that the published budgets were still indicative and final decisions had not yet been made. A separate reserve of funds is envisaged for schools that will find it difficult to meet the conditions of the new model.