Qld teachers under attack: Violence in the classroom sees compo claims skyrocket

Hundreds of Queensland teachers have been forced to take time off work following vicious assaults in their schools, shocking new data has revealed. SEE SOME OF THE WORST CLAIMS

Hundreds of Queensland teachers have taken time off following vicious assaults in their schools, shocking new data has revealed.

A total of 379 teachers have made WorkCover claims for workplace violence this financial year, almost 30 per cent up on the previous year.

The LNP has lashed Education Minister Grace Grace over the issue, saying she has lost control of her portfolio, with the government already accepting 350 claims this year, compared to 277 last financial year. That equates to almost two teachers a day taking time off after being attacked.

The violence is not just being perpetrated against teachers, with 209 other school staff also putting in claims for WorkCover following violent incidents.

Opposition education spokesman Christian Rowan said the data shows that the government is losing control of safety in schools.

“Since the Palaszczuk Labor government was elected, injury payouts to teachers and school staff have more than doubled,” he said. “Teachers and staff have suffered through more than $420m of injuries on this government’s watch.

“In just one year, injury payouts jumped 10 per cent and claims skyrocketed 30 per cent.

“This is more proof that the safety of our dedicated teachers and staff is not a priority, and they’re being failed by the chaos and crisis of this government.”

Opposition education spokesman Dr Christian Rowan. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Josh Woning

Ms Grace said violence against staff in schools was unacceptable, but the WorkCover claims represented less than 1 per cent of the state’s 55,000 teachers.

“When there is an accident or an incident in a school, staff should have access to make a claim through WorkCover,” she said.

“That’s what it’s there for. We have implemented several changes to Queensland’s workers’ compensation scheme, including expanding the definition of injury, to make it more accessible.

“This means there are more claims being accepted and more workers getting the support they need, so year-on-year figures can’t be compared as like for like.”

In the 2021-22 financial year, school staff made WorkCover claims totalling $67.2m. In this financial year so far, staff have claimed $73.5m.

These are not just related to classroom violence but for all types of WorkCover claims, including annual statutory and common-law workers’ compensation claims.

These payments to teachers for common-law worker’s compensation damages can be from incidents as far back as two or more years, which would have been in the middle of the Covid pandemic.

Queensland Teachers Union vice-president Leah Olsson said the union encouraged workers to report occupational violence, and support-ed members in making claims.

“The QTU is always concerned about any increasing evidence of workplace injuries,” she said. “Prevention is better than cure – when teachers and school leaders can’t return to work, that is a failure of the system and a failure to protect our teachers.”