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Australian Unions have launched a major new bid to secure an extra week of annual leave for working Australians.

The Australian Education Union asserts that as teachers, school leaders and education support workers and advocates for public education, we hold a deep responsibility to speak out when global events threaten peace, human rights, and the future of the students, families and members we represent.

Education is the backbone of social progress and national development, yet in Mongolia, those who dedicate their lives to teaching have long been undervalued.

Statistics showing Indigenous school students in a negative light are regularly reported in the Australian media and policy debates.

An estimated 15–20 per cent of children are neurodivergent, with diagnoses rising each year.

Early career teachers are reporting overwhelming workloads, insufficient support and inadequate preparation through initial teacher education, causing many to consider leaving the profession, according to a new AEU survey.

The Productivity Commission’s Report on Government Services 2025 exposes again a deeply unfair school funding system, with government funding growth continuing to favour private schools over public schools despite rising student need.

The Anna Stewart Memorial Project continues to be one of the most respected leadership development opportunities for women across the Australian union movement.

TAFE lecturers have the right to disconnect and are not required to monitor or respond to work-related communications outside their ordinary hours, except in the case of an emergency situation, genuine health and welfare concerns or for relief lecturing. Click here to read the Right to Disconnect TAFE Know Your Rights sheet.

Starting your teaching career is both exciting and challenging.

For more than a decade, teachers and school leaders in WA have carried a growing burden of expectations, complexity and intensification.

Over recent months, my focus as SSTUWA General Secretary has been on ensuring our union is more responsive, transparent and firmly grounded in the needs of our members.

It would be no surprise to our members that Australian teachers have one of the largest workloads as reported by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

As governments promote Free TAFE as a response to Australia’s growing skills shortages, WA must also ensure its public TAFE system, and the lecturers who deliver vocational education, are properly supported to meet the state’s workforce needs.

The AEU has launched Australia’s first national inquiry into public school infrastructure, marking the beginning of a nationwide consultation process to ensure every child learns in a safe, modern and inclusive public school.

Last year I spoke about respect for public educators and the teaching profession.

The TAFE teaching workforce and its facilities are under extreme pressure, with complexity of students, increased enrolments and ageing facilities impacting on teaching and learning.

Australian public school teachers are spending more than $175 million of their own money each year on basic classroom supplies, exposing the personal impact of chronic underfunding of public schools, according to new data from the Australian Education Union.

On a typical school day in Australia last year, about 11 per cent of students were absent. In 2014, the figure was seven per cent.

Classrooms are becoming more diverse and more students around the world have identified special education needs.