VCEA’s offer unpacked - updated
VCEA Offer Analysis updated to include role-specific sections
There’s some movement in the latest offer from the VCEA - but also a lot to be concerned about. The whole package still matters.
We’ve combed through the offer to ensure members know what’s on the table, what has improved, what still needs work, and what the proposed package means for different groups of employees.
Summary
What’s improved in the latest offer
Pay increases and additional payments. Teachers 28.3%–32.4%, ES/SSO at least 28%, principals/deputy principals at least 29%. Diocesan office staff: 22%–29.7%. The first increase is backdated to 10 August 2026 if agreement in principle is reached by 15 November, with later increases in November 2027, 2028 and 2029.
$2,000 sign-on bonus for eligible full-time employees, pro-rata for part-time employees.
Annual 1% position payments and 1% top-of-scale/classification payments for eligible employees. These largely mirror government-school payments, although the VCEA payments are not guaranteed beyond 2029.
Introduction of a camp allowance: $400 per night for teachers, principals and deputy principals, and $250 per night for ES employees - but significantly lower than government-school camp payments.
Five employer-scheduled days off recognising covered out-of-hours duties - but coming at the cost of hour-for-hour TIL entitlements for teachers and current overtime payments for ES staff for specified duties.
Higher leave entitlements: paid parental leave up to 18 weeks (compared with 16 in government schools), paid lactation breaks, paid compassionate leave up to 5 days, special medical leave and natural disaster leave.
8+ student-free days including 4 professional practice days from 2027 for teachers and relevant ES employees working directly with students. The focus of 2 PPDs may be nominated by the employee, with 2 set by the employer.
What still needs work
Less teacher planning and preparation time than in government schools. Teachers could have up to 40 more hours of after-school meetings per year than in government schools. Full-campus assemblies and masses would no longer count towards scheduled class time in secondary schools where they fall during class focus time.
Time in lieu: no stated annual cap on the covered out-of-hours duties recognised by the five-day model, and no routine recording or individual reconciliation of actual hours worked. Teacher TIL arrangements would be moved out of the Agreement into a deed/MOU, making them less secure and potentially harder to enforce.
ES overtime: many common after-hours duties would no longer attract the current overtime/TIL arrangements and would instead be recognised through the five annual days in lieu.
Specialist schools: primary-school scheduled class time limits would apply regardless of year level, with no meeting cap and none of the additional allowance or leave offered in government schools.
Missing important leave improvements on offer in government schools, including removal of the minimum period of service to access parental leave and broader access to reproductive health leave.
Only the minimum rights for union reps already required by law, with no guaranteed access to staff inductions.
Different Sale classifications would be retained, but most other more favourable Sale conditions would be removed.
Major leave clauses - including annual leave, parental leave and long service leave - are proposed to be redrafted, but the IEU has not yet received the drafts.
A simplified redundancy process is proposed, which would allow employers to skip current steps in many cases and restrict redundant employees being re-employed by the same employer within 12 months.
What does the offer mean for me?
The overall package affects different roles in different ways. The summaries below pull together the parts of the offer most relevant to each group, and should be read alongside the detailed analysis further down this page.
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Pay
28.3%–32.4% salary movement over the life of the Agreement, plus new annual 1% payments for eligible staff.
Workload
No equivalent annual 40-hour meeting cap and no equivalent guaranteed block of teacher-controlled professional time.
Full-campus assemblies/masses would no longer count towards scheduled class time in secondary schools if they fall during class focus time.
Teachers would be restricted from absenting themselves from the premises unless it is “occasionally” and does not affect “operational needs”.
Time in lieu
5+ days in lieu would be allocated yearly by the employer to recognise additional covered out-of-hours duties.
There would be no routine recording of the actual time spent on covered duties.
Current teacher TIL provisions would be removed from the Agreement, with the proposed arrangements instead contained in an MOU/deed.
Other teacher issues
Four PPDs from 2027, but teachers nominate the focus of only two; in government schools teachers choose the focus of all four PPDs.
Ad hoc additional hours worked by part-time teachers would be paid at CRT rates rather than the teacher’s salary rate plus 18%; many higher-paid teachers would receive less.
Part-time FTE would no longer be required to be rounded up to two decimal places, and teacher FTEs would be determined on a 38-hour-week basis rather than scheduled class time.
POL allowance rates would rise much faster than the POL pool, meaning fewer positions of leadership may be available.
Analysis
The pay movement is significant, but the offer falls far short of the annual 40-hour meeting cap and increased planning and preparation time on offer in government schools.
Specialist school teachers
Specialist-school teachers are affected by an additional workload issue under the offer.
Primary-school scheduled class time limits would apply regardless of the year level taught.
There would be no equivalent after-school meeting cap.
The offer does not include the additional specialist-school allowance or additional personal/carer’s leave available in the government-school package.
Analysis
So while specialist-school teachers would receive the general teacher salary increases, the workload package would remain materially behind the government-school outcome for specialist-school teachers.
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Pay and classifications
At least 28% wage movement, plus new 1% position and top-of-classification payments for eligible staff.
Classification changes depend on your employer. For employees in schools currently covered by the CEMEA, the offer would introduce a new Level 6 for secondary-school ES roles and move existing Level 3-0 employees to Level 3-1. DOSCEL and Catholic College Sale already have different ES classification structures, which are proposed to remain. The offer also includes separate school-based psychologist classifications and higher starting classifications for nurses.
Overtime and additional hours
Employers would have greater scope to direct ES staff to undertake additional after-hours work, including meetings, interviews, parent-teacher meetings, school events and open days.
Those duties would be covered by the five-day arrangement rather than the current overtime/TIL arrangements.
Actual hours would no longer be routinely recorded, and ES would lose the current default right to overtime payment for many of these duties.
Camps
$250 per night for eligible overnight camps - in most cases substantially less than government-school payments.
Other ES issues
Recall allowances for ES, SSO and Education Officers increase 19.9% over the Agreement - below the salary increases for school staff.
The reclassification process would change so employees would no longer need to prepare supporting evidence; the employer would assess the relevant information available.
Important IEU claims around ES workloads, including paid preparation time for classroom-based staff and improved meal breaks, have not been addressed.
Analysis
The pay and classification changes are significant, but the detail differs between employers. They should not obscure important changes to ES working conditions and the potential effect on take-home pay for employees who currently receive overtime.
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Pay
At least 28% wage movement. The VCEA says SSOs would receive the same increases and allowances as ES employees.
From May 2027, eligible SSOs at Levels 2-5, 3-5 and 4-5 who have spent at least 12 months at the top would receive a 1% top-of-classification payment. The payment is proposed for 2027, 2028 and 2029 and is not guaranteed beyond then.
How SSO arrangements differ
SSO arrangements are currently different across Catholic employers. In schools currently covered by the CEMEA, ES and SSOs are separate classification streams. In DOSCEL and Catholic College Sale, SSO roles sit within the broader ES structure. The employers propose to retain those different arrangements in the new Agreement.
The new ES Level 6, psychologist classifications, nursing changes and CEMEA Level 3-0 translation are ES-specific changes, not SSO classification changes.
Category D School Services Officers are a CEMEA classification and are not covered in the same way under DOSCEL; that difference is also proposed to remain. Relevant non-teaching staff are included in the proposed five-day model for covered out-of-hours duties. However, the separate overtime/TIL replacement clause in the September offer is expressly framed around ES employees.
Analysis
The pay movement is significant, but SSO members also need clarity about how their current classification, overtime and additional-hours arrangements will carry into the new Agreement - particularly because the existing position differs between CEMEA-covered schools and DOSCEL/Catholic College Sale.
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Pay and classification
At least 29% salary movement over the life of the Agreement.
A new common salary and classification structure is proposed for primary principals across CEMEA and DOSCEL schools, removing the current bottom level and lifting salaries at the bottom and top of each level. Some existing DOSCEL-specific conditions would continue separately.
The proposed four enrolment bands are 1–399, 400–549, 550–699 and 700+.
At least three months of recent acting-principal experience could be recognised when determining the starting salary for a future principal appointment.
Where a principal receives a Higher Enrolment Band allowance for one year and remains entitled the following year, they would be reclassified to the higher level and able to increment within it.
What remains unresolved
The offer retains an enrolment-based classification structure rather than the IEU claim for classification based on school budget.
Important principal claims remain unresolved, including administrative support, car allowance, permanent employment at the highest rate attained, tenure, earlier renewal, role sharing and genuine part-time principal work.
Analysis
There is substantial salary and classification movement for primary principals, but important claims about the sustainability and structure of the role remain unresolved.
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Pay and classification
At least 29% salary movement over the life of the Agreement.
Revised Category A and Category B classification structures, with higher starting salaries and higher salaries at the bottom and top of each level.
For DPs in schools currently covered by the CEMEA, one important improvement is alignment with the current DOSCEL arrangement: a teacher appointed as a DP before reaching the top of the teacher scale would receive the full applicable DP salary rather than a teacher salary plus an allowance.
DPs would receive a 1% position payment in 2026, 2027, 2028 and 2029, plus a 1% top-of-classification payment from May 2027 for eligible DPs. These payments are not guaranteed beyond 2029.
For secondary DPs in schools currently covered by the CEMEA, a new senior-DP allowance equivalent to the top POL allowance is proposed, aligning with an arrangement already available in DOSCEL and Catholic College Sale. It would still be discretionary rather than automatic.
Workload and TIL
DPs are included in the proposed five-day model recognising covered out-of-hours duties, and eligible overnight camps would attract a $400 per night allowance.
Covered duties would no longer be routinely recorded or individually reconciled under the five-day model.
Analysis
There is real movement for DPs, particularly on salary and classification. The detail still matters: some new payments are time-limited, the senior-DP allowance is discretionary, and the five-day model weakens the link between actual additional work and time returned.
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If you work in a diocesan office, your proposed pay increase depends on both your role and your employer:
CEMEA administration: 22%–28%.
DOSCEL office-based employees: 23.9%–25%.
Education Officers: 28.3%.
CEMEA office-based psychologists at Levels 2 and 3: 29.7%.
CEMEA office-based speech pathologists: 28.3%.
CEMEA administration employees would move to a revised classification structure with higher starting and maximum salaries, while DOSCEL office employees would retain a separate structure.
Analysis
Pay outcomes therefore vary significantly across diocesan office roles. The final impact will depend on an employee’s role, classification and employer. The IEU will continue to assess the proposed salary and classification structures so employees can see clearly what the offer means for them.
Office staff are also affected by the proposed redrafting of major leave, redundancy and other conditions, so the salary outcome needs to be assessed as part of the whole package.
Detail & analysis
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Latest VCEA offer
Teachers: 28.3%–32.4% increases.
Education Support Staff (ES) and School Services Officers (SSO): at least 28%.
Primary principals and deputy principals: at least 29%, plus revised classifications that further increase some starting and maximum salaries.
Diocesan office staff: 22%–29.7%, depending on role, classification and employer.
The first wage increase applies from 10 August 2026 through a lump-sum payment if agreement in principle is reached by 15 November. If agreement in principle is reached later, the first increase and backdating apply from the first day of the month in which agreement is reached.
$2,000 sign-on bonus, pro-rata for part-time staff, for eligible employees employed when the Agreement takes effect.
IEU members claimed increases 2% above government schools, reflecting the expectations on Catholic school employees.
A 1% position payment applies to teachers, eligible ES employees and DPs through 2029.
A 1% top-of-scale/classification payment applies to eligible teachers, DPs, ES and SSOs through 2029.
Analysis
These significant salary increases would largely maintain parity with government schools for many school-based groups. For ES and diocesan office employees, the outcome depends more heavily on classification and employer, so the detailed salary and translation arrangements still matter.
The sign-on bonus broadly mirrors the government-school offer.
The position and top-of-scale/classification payments also mirror features of the government-school package, but under the VCEA offer they stop in 2029 unless renegotiated into a future Agreement.
For diocesan office employees, the proposed increases vary by role, classification and employer, so members need to look at the outcome for their own classification rather than a single headline figure.
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Latest VCEA offer
No directed meetings in parent-teacher interview weeks unless absolutely required; if a meeting is required, it would not occur in either the week before or the week after.
Teachers restricted from absenting themselves from the premises unless it is “occasionally” and does not affect “operational needs”.
Full-campus assemblies/masses would no longer count towards scheduled class time in secondary schools if they fall during class focus time.
8+ student-free days including 4 PPDs from 2027 for teachers and relevant ES employees working directly with students. The focus of 2 PPDs may be nominated by the employee, while 2 are set by the employer.
Analysis
The parent-teacher-week change would help at a known workload peak, but the package still falls far short of the annual 40-hour meeting cap and increased planning and preparation time on offer in government schools.
No improvements are offered on class sizes or teacher planning and preparation time. The offer also does not address key IEU claims on challenging student behaviour and workload-related health and safety.
PPDs are an improvement, but the proposal does not fully match the government-school arrangements. Government-school teachers choose the focus of all four PPDs, and ES coverage is broader.
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Latest VCEA offer
5+ days in lieu allocated yearly by the employer to recognise covered out-of-hours duties.
The model extends beyond teachers to relevant non-teaching staff undertaking covered duties outside normal hours.
There would be no routine recording of time spent on covered out-of-hours duties and no individual reconciliation where one employee performs materially more covered work than another.
Current teacher TIL provisions would be removed from the Agreement; VCEA proposes the teacher TIL arrangements be contained in an MOU/deed.
Camp allowance of $400 per night for teachers, principals and DPs, and $250 per night for ES employees, for eligible camps during the normal school week.
The camp allowance would not apply to weekends, non-term time, extended-stay camps or overseas trips.
Analysis
The camp allowance is a genuine improvement, extending payment for camps to teachers and now ES and DPs.
But the camp allowance would be substantially lower than in government schools.
For ES, many common after-hours duties would move into the five-day arrangement rather than the current overtime/TIL arrangements. That could reduce take-home pay for employees who currently receive paid overtime.
The five-day model would weaken the link between the actual additional work performed by an employee and the time returned. The key issue is not the existence of common days itself, but the absence of routine actual-hour recording, individual reconciliation and clear recognition of higher individual workloads.
Moving the teacher TIL arrangements out of the Agreement and into an MOU/deed would make them less secure and potentially harder to enforce than provisions contained in the Agreement.
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Latest VCEA offer
Position of leadership (POL) allowance rates increased 27.9% over the life of the Agreement.
The POL pool, which determines availability, increased 17.9%–18.9%.
Recall allowances for ES, SSO and Education Officers increased 19.9% over the Agreement.
Medical support allowance increased to $1,500 and then a further 13.5% over the Agreement.
Placed/visiting teacher and school adviser allowances increased 27.9% over the Agreement.
Analysis
The POL pool increases are higher than in previous offers after the IEU raised concerns.
But the pool still increases much less than the allowance rates, meaning major cuts to POL availability. Employers are also directing schools not to exceed the pool, which could mean even larger reductions in available POLs.
The medical support allowance improves.
Other allowance increases generally fall below the salary increases for school staff, including recall allowances.
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Latest VCEA offer
Paid parental leave increased from 16 to 18 weeks for the primary carer, while partner leave can be taken within 12 months.
Paid lactation breaks.
Employer superannuation on parental leave would be offset by any government superannuation contribution on government-funded parental leave.
Compassionate leave increased to 5 paid days.
Special medical leave of up to 5 paid days for chronic symptoms associated with endometriosis, menopause, PCOS, perimenopause, prostate disease and menstruation, once personal leave falls to 15 days or less.
Natural disaster leave of 5 paid days.
Analysis
Paid parental leave would be 2 weeks more than in government schools.
But government schools have other potentially more favourable improvements, including removal of the minimum period of service before accessing parental leave.
The proposed special medical leave is narrower than the reproductive health and wellbeing leave available in government schools.
IEU claims on compassionate leave and natural disaster leave appear to be substantially accepted.
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Latest VCEA offer
ES classifications: for schools currently covered by the CEMEA, a new Level 6 is proposed for secondary-school ES roles (appointments require employer approval) and existing Level 3-0 employees would translate to Level 3-1. DOSCEL and Catholic College Sale would retain separate ES structures. The offer also includes separate school-based psychologist classifications and higher starting classifications for nurses.
Reclassification process: employees would no longer need to prepare supporting evidence; the employer would assess all relevant information available.
VCEA proposes retaining the Sale classifications that are different in an appendix but removing most other more favourable Sale conditions, including differences in consultation and dispute-resolution arrangements.
CRT pay rates would remain aligned to the award but would not fall below government-school CRT rates over the life of the Agreement.
Ad hoc additional hours worked by part-time teachers would be paid at CRT rates.
Specialist schools would have the same scheduled class time limit as primary schools regardless of year level, and no after-school meeting cap.
The proposed delegates’ rights clause provides the minimum statutory framework, including paid training, but no guaranteed access to new-staff inductions.
Leave clauses including annual leave, parental leave and long service leave are proposed to be redrafted.
Changes are also proposed to leave formulas, incremental progression timing, part-time FTE rounding and teacher FTE calculations.
A simplified redundancy process is proposed, with some current steps no longer applying where redundancy follows a major change process, and a 12-month restriction on re-employment by the same employer after redundancy.
Analysis
The ES classification changes address some IEU claims but are relatively limited compared with the wider workload issues still unresolved.
Other than retaining separate classifications where different, the proposal would remove a number of more favourable Sale conditions won in the current Sale agreement.
Part-time teachers would no longer be paid for ad hoc additional hours at their salary rate plus 18%, meaning many higher-paid part-time teachers would receive less.
Specialist-school staff would receive weaker workload recognition than their government-school counterparts, with no equivalent specialist-school allowance or additional personal/carer’s leave.
The proposed delegates’ rights provisions largely reflect minimum legal requirements. Unlike in government schools, union reps would not be guaranteed access to new-staff inductions.
The IEU has not yet received the proposed redrafts of several major clauses. Bargaining cannot be finalised until the union can assess the wording and assure members that critical protections will not be removed.
IEU claims on severance provisions and staff facing significant reductions to their hours remain unaddressed.
Bargaining is continuing
This is not the end of negotiations.
There has been significant movement in the VCEA offer, particularly on salaries, some classifications and leave. But there are still important issues to resolve around workload, TIL, ES overtime and the protection of existing conditions.
The IEU is continuing to bargain for an overall package that delivers the pay improvements members deserve without asking employees to give up important workload protections and existing conditions.
Any final Agreement will ultimately be for members to consider.
Join the union that is campaigning for you at www.ieuvictas.org.au/join
