Introduction #
School assistants are vital to our public education system. We provide essential support that enables every student to reach their potential. We are at the forefront on delivering greater inclusion for students in public schools. Working on the frontline of education, we demonstrate professionalism, expertise, and dedication every day. We deserve recognition, fair compensation, and working conditions that reflect our vital contribution to student learning and wellbeing.
We are education professionals who deserve:
- Recognition of our essential role in student learning and school communities
- Fair compensation that reflects the increasing complexity and demands of our work
- Career pathways that enable professional growth and development
- Safe, supportive working conditions
- A voice in decisions that affect our work
This log of claims represents the collective voice of over 500 school assistant members of the AEU ACT Branch. Based on extensive consultation, these claims put forward a vision for school assistant workplaces that are fair, safe, and sustainable; that provide decent, dignified work; and where school assistant expertise and experience is valued and respected.
Claims #
Our claims address the five key priority areas identified by our membership:
- Fair pay and conditions that recognise our unique work
- Clear career pathways
- Enough time to do our jobs
- Quality professional learning and development
- Safe workplaces
| Claim | Presented | Status |
| Classification structure, review of School Assistant Classification Standards Framework & higher classification positions. School assistant work is frontline work. It is dynamic and unpredictable. School assistants should have pay scales that reflect the unique nature of their work rather than being tied to the Administrative Service Officer (ASO) classification. Implement the outcomes of the review of the ‘School Assistant Classification Standards Framework’, which must provide role clarity and definition for school assistants. Recognition of specialist roles, experience and qualifications through substantially expanding positions at the SA4 classification level, as well as introducing new SA5 and SA6 classification levels. This would recognise the need for specialised and experienced school assistants to assist with literacy and numeracy intervention programs, and the need for supervision, coordination and mentoring to be performed by experienced school assistants. There must be merit-based recruitment and promotion processes for these positions. | 11 February 2026 | Awaiting response |
| Pay Increases. Deliver pay increases that provide real wage growth and achieve nationally competitive salaries. Increases must deliver genuine increases to pay and permanently incorporate the temporary school support allowance into base salaries. | 22 January 2026 | Awaiting response |
| Recognition of qualifications. Recognise school assistants who hold relevant qualifications through additional remuneration. | 22 January 2026 | Awaiting response |
| Additional training and studies assistance. Introduce opportunities and incentives for school assistants to undertake additional training or study directly relevant to their roles. | 2 December 2025 | Awaiting response |
| Inclusive education and high-complexity work. Provide recognition and support for school assistants performing high-complexity work, such as those working within specialist settings, or who provide complex support or regular personal care. This should also include those performing HAAS duties. The inclusive education strategy has fundamentally changed the work of school assistants. Replace the outdated special education allowance with a modern compensation framework that fairly recognises the crucial role of all school assistants in delivering inclusive education. | 2 December 2025 | Awaiting response |
| Minimum Staffing Structure. School assistants deserve secure employment that recognises the growing need for school assistants. The Education Directorate should increase secure employment opportunities by establishing and funding a minimum school staffing structure. This structure must address the need for every school to have enough school assistants. The system must take responsibility for ensuring every school has enough school assistants, including clear system-wide workforce planning. | 2 December 2025 | Awaiting response |
| Protected time. Ensure school assistants have genuinely protected time during the day to undertake tasks outside of the classroom. Current arrangements under the enterprise agreement are insufficient and inconsistently applied. This should include guaranteed paid time for school assistants to plan and collaborate with teachers, attend student support meetings, attend all staff meetings, undertake administration such as reporting in SAS and Safety Portal and participate in professional learning. | 4 November 2025 | Awaiting response |
| Out-of-hours compensation. Strengthen the entitlements of school assistants in relation to out-of-hours work including school events, camps, and extended duties which provide educational experiences for students. Those undertaking this work must be appropriately compensated. | 4 November 2025 | Awaiting response |
| SA4 stand down & full-time arrangements. Remove the requirement that SA4s work 2 days within each stand down period. All program preparation and planning should occur during paid time during the school term. Introduce optional full-time arrangements for school assistants to work up to 36.75 hours per week. Initially implement this for SA4 and higher classifications, with proportionate increases in salary to compensate for the additional hours. The EDU commit to working with impacted unions and employees on the feasibility of increased hours being expanded to all school assistant classification levels during the life of the next enterprise agreement. | 4 November 2025 | Awaiting response |
| Supports for School Assistants Studying teaching. School assistants who want to study to become a teacher should be provided enhanced support and opportunities to do so which does not result in them needing to choose between further study and continuing to work. This should include the introduction of paid practicum leave for school assistants studying to be a teacher akin to leave that is currently available to permit-to teach employees. | 21 October 2025 | Awaiting response |
| Mandatory professional learning. Reduce mandatory professional learning from 25 hours to 20 hours annually to align with teacher requirements. Guarantee that all mandatory professional learning occurs during paid hours and during the school term. Ensure professional learning offerings are specifically designed for school assistants and delivered by learning support and other specialists. Professional learning should be directly related to the work school assistants perform. | 21 October 2025 | Awaiting response |
| Student free days. Student free days should be protected time for school assistants to undertake relevant duties such as professional learning and development, planning and collaboration. | 21 October 2025 | Awaiting response |
| School assistant safety. The enterprise agreement should reflect clear expectations and processes to protect school assistant safety, including psychosocial safety. This should include system-wide procedures for preventing and managing occupational violence. | 21 October 2025 | Awaiting response |
| Health and Safety Representatives. Health & Safety Representatives perform an important role in schools. For school assistants elected as HSRs, they should be provided with appropriate resources to perform their roles. This should include at least 80 hours over the school year of paid time to perform their HSR duties. | 21 October 2025 | Awaiting response |
| School assistant delegate entitlements. The role of the union in upholding workplace safety is crucial. Include equivalent conditions for school assistants elected as delegates as is contained in the teaching staff agreement, including recognised time away from duties to perform their roles. | 21 October 2025 | Awaiting response |