IEU’s Lauren Hall honoured for service to women in unions

IEU stalwart Lauren Hall has been awarded the Woman Unionist of the Year award for the Geelong region.

Lauren, in blue t-shirt, with colleagues at the award ceremony.

The award, presented by the Geelong Women Unionists Network (GWUN), recognises a female union member who makes outstanding efforts “to promote women’s participation in the union movement.”

Lauren, Rep at St Joseph’s College, Newtown, was presented with the honour at the Geelong Labour Day Dinner by GWUN co-convenor Nada Iskra, who noted that Lauren has played a leading role in building a “confident, organised and growing union culture in her workplace”.

Citing the IEU’s nomination, Nada said Lauren, “encourages participation, supports new activists and leads by example”.

“Her approach is inclusive and practical, and she has a genuine ability to make union involvement feel fun rather than intimidating.”

Many colleagues, particularly women, have been encouraged by Lauren to engage with the union for the first time. Working with the school’s assistant representative, Charlie Purdy, she helped the sub-branch grow by 55 members in 2025, a 56% increase, making her sub-branch the second largest in Victoria’s Catholic education sector.

St Joseph Reps Lauren Hall and Charlie Purdy.

Lauren is a treasured member of the IEU family. She has made an outstanding contribution to the IEU’s Single Interest Authorisation campaign, discussing with members the need for fair and effective bargaining rights for Victorian Catholic education staff, organising support in Geelong, and motivating colleagues to take part in collective action. Her work helped connect complex industrial issues to the everyday realities of women in schools, who face issues with including workload, gendered violence, flexible work, respect, and job security.

Typical of Lauren’s approach was her action after the award on 24 March, when she helped organise St Joseph’s staff to raise over $1,300 for “solidarity coffees” for their Geelong public school colleagues attending a strike-action rally in Melbourne.

In addition to her local organising, Lauren has represented IEU members at the national level, speaking at the National Teacher Workforce Roundtable in Canberra, ensuring that the voices of educators, particularly women, were heard in discussions about workforce challenges, wellbeing, and retention.

Lauren also contributes her time on the IEU’s Committee of Management, where she serves as Deputy of the Catholic Secondary Council. In this role, she is a strong advocate for ensuring the IEU effectively represents all staff across non-government education.

The IEU’s nomination of Lauren for the award described her as a leader “who brings warmth, humour and authenticity to union work”.

“She makes unionism feel relevant, positive and powerful, and consistently works to lift others up alongside her. It is a genuine privilege for IEU organisers to work alongside Lauren. They see firsthand the care, energy and commitment she brings to her work every day, and the way she inspires educators, particularly women, to step forward, speak up, and believe in their collective power.

“Lauren is an incredible example of a strong woman, a staunch unionist, and a deeply committed, hardworking, and devoted mother to her two young boys. Her leadership is grounded, values-driven, and contagious, and the impact she has on those around her is inspiring.”

Lauren’s heartfelt speech in response to the award was met with a standing ovation.

Guest speaker Justin Mullaly, Victorian Branch President, AEU, reflected on the SIA process in multi-employer bargaining, noting key flaws in the framework and the huge effort unions – like the IEU - must make to secure an SIA, ensuring there are still major barriers to collective bargaining.

The evening offered a rare opportunity for the union, as Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles was in attendance, and a meeting to discuss the SIA campaign followed from his meeting with IEU members.

Lauren Hall, IEU General Secretary David Brear, Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles, Charlie Purdy and Organiser Heather Macardy.

Lauren Hall’s speech in full:

Thank you so much for this honour.

I want to begin by acknowledging the Geelong Trades Hall, the Geelong Women Unionists Network, and everyone involved in this award. I also want to acknowledge the Deputy Prime Minister, the elected representatives here tonight, my union colleagues, and the incredible women unionists in this room.

To be recognised in this way– among women who fight every day for fairness, dignity, and justice in workplaces across our region– means more than I can say.

I grew up as the daughter of a strong unionist. My beautiful dad was a proud member of the Tramways Board and instilled in me a deep sense of what is right and what is fair. To say he is proud of me tonight is an understatement!

I came to unionism as a 15-year-old working at Safeway Rosebud Central. Lorraine, the staff trainer and all-round icon, told me to join the SDA. From there I was heavily involved in student unionism at Deakin University in the days before Howard put an end to compulsory student unions. In my first graduate teaching role at Oberon High School, I was warmly welcomed into the AEU sub-branch and was mentored by incredible women who taught me about the importance of solidarity and activism.

Before I knew it, I inherited the sub-branch Rep role at St Joseph’s College from one of the kindest and most supportive comrades, who saw the potential of a young woman in an all-boys school who was prepared to be outspoken and, at times, difficult. Together, we built a sub-branch that tackles significant workplace and gendered issues.

Several years ago, when I was on family leave, I found myself as a single mother to two beautiful little boys. I became a single mother because I left a situation of domestic violence. It was the hardest, most frightening decision of my life. I walked away, not knowing what would come next – only knowing that I had to build a safer future for my children and for myself.

What carried me through that time – what gave me independence, autonomy, and a voice – was my work. My incredible principal at that time knew what it meant for me to return to the classroom, and I began to rebuild my life.

And what made that work possible was my union.

Unionism didn’t just give me support at work. It gave me a community. It gave me people who saw my worth at a time when I struggled to see it myself. It reminded me that collective strength isn’t just a slogan – it’s something that lifts women up when we need it most.

And this is why I am so passionate about the role of unions in the lives of working women, and especially single mothers.

Being a single parent is already an act of endurance. It’s juggling the mental load, the emotional load, and the financial load – often all at once, often with no fallback option. When you add insecure work, unsafe work, gendered violence, or lack of flexibility, it becomes nearly impossible for women to stay in the workforce, let alone thrive in it.

Unionism changes that.

It gives women protections.
It gives us structures to push back.
It gives us language for things we were once told to simply “put up with.”
And it gives us power – collective power – to reshape workplaces so they work for us, not against us.

In my own workplace, I have seen what happens when women are given the chance to tell the truth about their experiences– like in our Women’s Rights at Work Chat. When women simply had space to speak freely, so many said the same thing: I thought it was just me.

This has led to real change and a commitment to ensuring that SJC is a workplace that values and respects the work of women, promotes women into senior roles, understands that teachers rarely work the designated hours, and encourages a more flexible approach to the workday.

I’m particularly proud of the work we’ve done around the Single Interest Authorisation campaign. Whilst it is incredibly frustrating that in 2026 our employer, the VCEA, refuses to agree to negotiate our next EBA under a fair and balanced model of bargaining which places teachers and education staff on a level playing field, this struggle has reignited the fight in many weary teachers who feel completely let down by the current agreement.

Hundreds of conversations have been had, and a team – who are here tonight and deserve this award just as much as I do – has grown into a fun, energised movement that seeks to make our school the best place to work.

The inability to bargain without the ability to take protected industrial action is an indictment on our employers. It shows a complete disregard for the rights of workers and places us in a position of limited power.

The subsequent actions of the VCEA are union-busting. Attempting to circumvent the bargaining process and pitting members against non-members is something that all unions need to sit up and take notice of.

The actions of the IEU are landmark, and we can only hope that the Fair Work Commission sees the injustice in restricting the rights of Catholic education staff and grants the Single Interest Authorisation as soon as possible.

Here in Victoria, teachers and education support staff are amongst the lowest paid in the nation. Never have schools and teachers worked harder. A key component of a flourishing society is an education system that works.

Right now, many teachers are working additional jobs to make ends meet. Thousands of children are without a consistent teacher in front of them as more teachers leave a job they can no longer afford to do.

Teachers and support staff are bearing the brunt of struggling families, economic instability, a lack of respect in the classroom, and an unsustainable workload. Many of us have real solutions to the problems education is facing, yet our voices don’t seem to be heard.

To Justin Mullaly and all at the AEU, we throw our full support behind the AEU members in government schools who will be taking industrial action on March 24 and hope to be able to join you in the not-too-distant future!

I stand here tonight because unionism helped me rebuild my life.

It helped me turn fear into confidence.
It helped me turn survival into purpose.
And it allowed me to model strength – not only for the women I work with, but most importantly, for my two boys.

They are the reason I do this work. I want them to grow up knowing that respect is non-negotiable, that fairness is worth fighting for, and that women have the right to safety, dignity, and opportunity – both at home and at work.

So to my union, the IEU – thank you. Thank you for believing in me, for backing me, and for giving me space to lead. To Heather and Jacqui – your support, encouragement, and faith in me means more than you know. To the educators I work alongside – you inspire me every single day. To my co-Rep at SJC, Charlie Purdy, you are the future of the union movement in this country, and we need more young members like you who understand that we stand on the shoulders of giants.

And to every woman who is carrying more than the world knows – especially single mothers – this award is for you. Your strength deserves to be seen. Your stories deserve to be heard. And your workplaces must be places where you are protected and respected.

Unionism made that possible for me.
And I will spend every day I can working to make it possible for others.

Thank you.