Suspended teachers, principals costing taxpayers $5m a year

Forty teachers and principals are on paid suspensions due to ongoing disciplinary matters at a cost to Queensland taxpayers of up to $4.9m in annual wages. SEE THE FIGURES

Forty teachers and principals are on paid suspensions due to ongoing disciplinary matters at a cost to Queensland taxpayers of up to $4.9m in annual wages.

The Department of Education and College of Teachers are under fire for allowing cases to languish for years, with new data revealing two cases originated in 2020, another dates back to 2021, and a further 10 started in 2022.

A Question on Notice in State Parliament from Opposition education spokesman Christian Rowan revealed that as of April 30 there were four principals, two deputy principals, and 34 teachers from the state’s public school system who were suspended with pay.

Under the Education Act, a teacher’s registration is suspended for a serious offence charge or an unacceptable risk of harm to children. An employer can also suspend a teacher.

Using the Department of Education’s publicly-available salary brackets, this cohort amounts to a combined annual salary of $3.6m at a minimum, but could be as high as $4.9m.

Teachers’ Professional Association of Queensland president Scott Stanford said he was previously working with a member involved in a disciplinary case, which they were later cleared over, which dragged on for three-and-a-half years.

“It puts the staff member through stress,” Mr Stanford said.

“Staff won’t resign while they’re in that process because it makes them look guilty, and when the College of Teachers decides they’re not guilty and they can return to work, a lot of staff members say ‘well stuff you, after you treated me like this’.

“I’m all for the system, don’t get me wrong, if it saves one child or one person, then I’m all for it. But it needs to be expedited because you’re playing with people’s lives.”

Mr Stanford said he believed the College of Teachers did not have the resources and staff to expedite cases.

“In a lot of cases, unless the suspended person jumps up and down or gets a lawyer involved, it just goes on,” he said.

“But in some cases, yes, some staff think it is a paid holiday.”

Mr Stanford said there is a knock-on effect for prolonged disciplinary cases.

“You have to get someone else acting in these roles while these staff members are suspended with pay, so in reality, the cost of all these cases is far more than $3.6m, that’s probably a very conservative figure overall,” he said.

Opposition education spokesman Dr Christian Rowan

Queensland College of Teachers said it understood the importance of timely and thorough investigations, but the priority is student welfare and maintaining the profession’s integrity.

“Each matter of professional conduct is treated differently – some are more highly complex

than others and require varying degrees of investigation,” the statement read.

“Matters of professional conduct are often impacted by dealings by external agencies including employing authorities, state and federal police, or the courts.

“Some matters that have been referred to the QCT may have matters that are still ongoing

with these agencies.

“We continue to monitor the work around disciplinary matters and employ additional staff

where required to manage cases and maintain the integrity of our regulatory functions.”

A Department of Education spokeswoman said every effort is made to resolve suspensions in a timely manner.

“The length of a suspension may be impacted by a number of factors – the complexity of an investigation, or if the matter is being investigated by the Queensland Police Service.

Queensland Teachers' Union president Cresta Richardson

“Periodic reviews are undertaken throughout the suspension period to determine if suspension remains the most appropriate form of action.”

But Queensland Teachers’ Union president Cresta Richardson said she did not support extended periods of suspension, instead advocating for early return to duties, or allocation of alternative duties, for affected teachers and school staff.

“If a teacher or school leader cannot return to their usual position during an investigation process, the department ought to, and is required under legislation to, consider alternative duties,” she said.

“Long periods of suspension are known to be harmful to the health of the teacher or school leader. Indeed, some long investigations have resulted in findings of only minor wrongdoing and no serious penalty.

“Hence the requirement for open, transparent, and timely investigations of incidents or complaints.”

Dr Rowan said the suspension data is another reason he is not surprised teachers are leaving in droves.

“In the middle of a teacher workforce shortage, it’s not good enough and exposes Labor’s complete lack of accountability and leadership,” he said.

“Teachers deserve the respect of having matters resolved quickly, not dragging on for years because of Labor’s chaos and crisis.”