Year in review, 2025: The Victorian Catholic school SIA campaign
It is only thanks to recent union-won amendments to the Fair Work Act that we can legally pursue a Single Interest Authorisation – and as this year has demonstrated, winning one is no easy feat.
The starting line – Term 1
After strategic review aimed at making structural changes which would strengthen its campaigning capacity, the IEU engaged industrial expert Patrick Lee to help research wage claims around Australia. With Victorian teacher salaries trailing other states and cost-of-living pressures making pay a central concern, his extensive experience working for unions and government on Agreements was invaluable.
Surveying staff
Members’ priorities were mapped through a survey of more than 3,000 members who generously provided more than 70,000 words of commentary. Member focus groups confirmed the same priorities while providing rich additional context. Results showed:
Pay:
Teachers knew that Victorian salaries have fallen behind the national standard, and prioritise a catch-up that would properly value their work. Education Support staff faced unfair classifications; principals and deputies endured extreme workloads and insecure tenure.
Workload:
Past gains (no extras, reduced loads, TIL, 30+8 model) have been inconsistently applied, with more protections needed.
Safety:
83% reported harm to health, 22% serious psychological injury, and 63% had taken leave in the past year to deal with such issues. Aggression from students and parents and rising administrative duties were key drivers of ill health.
Importantly, over 80% of survey respondents said they were ready to take industrial action to force overdue action on these issues – a clear message to their union that they are ready for a big industrial campaign.
The union shared these findings via The Point, online and social media, with the words of members providing unrivalled insights into the challenges in the sector for employees.
The need for an SIA
The union asked, several times, for employers to apply for an SIA from the Fair Work Commission (FWC), which delivers access to Good Faith Bargaining Orders and the right to ballot for protected industrial action, rights afforded to the vast majority of other Australian educators. If the VCEA had agreed, genuine and fair bargaining could have commenced long before the expiry of our current Agreement.
When Catholic employers refused, the IEU resolved to apply for a SIA itself. New laws made this possible, but without the agreement of employers, the Fair Work Commission cannot grant an SIA until after the Agreement expires on 31 December 2025.
Member training and Organiser visits confirmed that despite the complexity of the situation, staff grasped what was at stake and understood why an SIA was needed. Anger grew that employers were blocking the process while accusing the union of delay. Employees understood that employers wanted them to bargain with one hand tied behind their backs.
Log of Claims
Consultation for the Log of Claims highlighted members’ frustration and strengthened their resolve. In August, when Council endorsed the Log, campaigning intensified and the commitment to securing a SIA became paramount.
The union knew it faced a major challenge: For the Fair Work Commission to grant a SIA, a majority of all eligible staff (not just members) working for each employer had to support the application. That meant equipping members with the information they needed to explain the SIA to non-members and get their signatures supporting the application.
To achieve this, the union pulled out all stops with Organiser visits, training, and extensive communications via print, online news stories and social media. Members spread the word through morning teas, phone banks, and one-to-one conversations.
The campaign went into overdrive at the end of September with a massive phone blitz. Call by call, members, staff and supporters from Victorian Trades Hall Council dispelled misconceptions sowed by employers and discussed with members why they needed a SIA behind their push for improved pay and conditions.
Call by call, chat by chat, meeting by meeting, members and allies built strength and solidarity across the sector.
Why an SIA matters
Collective strength – Unites staff across employers for greater bargaining power.
Streamlined action – A single ballot covers all workplaces, removing red tape.
Legal protection – Industrial action under an SIA is shielded from penalties.
Stronger leverage – Coordinated action across schools increases pressure for fair outcomes.
The employer ‘offer’, Monday 6 October
Realising the momentum being built by the IEU’s statement of support campaign, employers released a purported ‘offer’ to employees on the first day of Term 4, including a one-off bonus – and a repeated (and unfounded) threat that there would be no improvements to salaries or conditions for up to a year if staff didn’t support it. This despite the fact bargaining had not actually officially commenced.
The VCEA’s proposal ignored many of the key improvements sought through the IEU’s Log of Claims – and sought to leave the salaries of staff far behind their interstate colleagues, with teachers at each end of the salary scale paid over $7000 less than their NSW counterparts by the end of 2026.
This divisive, anti-union, anti-bargaining ploy immediately galvanised members, who called talk back radio and flooded forums with memes urging their workplaces to sign up and share information with non-members about the need for an SIA. IEU Organisers, buttressed by support from NSW colleagues, targeted their visits to regions and workplaces that most needed personal attention.
Increasingly desperate, employers concocted a non-binding survey of staff in mid-October, presumably in the hope that majority support for their ‘offer’ would provide evidence to convince the Fair Work Commission to permit them to then run a formal vote for a non-union Agreement.
As a result, the IEU had to pivot to a twin campaign, asking staff to say No to the employer offer and Yes to an SIA.
The results speak for themselves – on the day that the VCEA announced that their proposal had support from just 34% of staff across the state, nearly 50% had signed a Statement of Support for an SIA, and the IEU announced that confirmed majorities had been reached in a further four employers, bringing the total to 28.
The fight for an SIA wasn’t something we wanted, but it now has unstoppable momentum thanks to the efforts of IEU members statewide. Once won, we can focus on negotiating lasting improvements to salaries and conditions for Victorian Catholic education staff.
