‘Important win’ as Victorian teachers, support staff to be paid to attend school camps

The state government has agreed to pay teachers and support staff to attend overnight school camps after a four-year battle.

Teachers and support staff who go on camp will accrue time-in-lieu entitlements for working outside their normal hours for the first time.

In an embarrassing backdown, the state government has been forced to pay teachers and support staff around $200 to attend school camps overnight.

The $130m win, which took four years to achieve, means school staff attending camps overnight will be regarded as being at least on call for eight hours and receive payment for their time.

In addition, teachers and support staff who go on camp will also accrue time-in-lieu entitlements for working outside their normal hours for the first time.

The payments, set out in a recent Fair Work Commission ruling, will be backdated to January.

The Department of Education had previously argued teachers on camps overnight were “off duty” and wouldn’t be liable for time off as compensation.

Meredith Peace, Australian Education Union Victorian branch president, said it was an “important win”.

“It means that when a teacher or education support staff member is required to attend a camp overnight or to meet student supervision ratios, they cannot be deemed to be ‘off duty,” she said.

“The significant new funding will reduce the pressure on schools to provide time in lieu to staff where they are required to work outside of their normal hours of duty while enabling schools to plan their camps programs with certainty,” Ms Peace said.

Education Minister Natalie Hutchins announced the additional $130m funding package over four years.

“Extra support for staff at school camps shows we are serious about backing our teachers and their efforts to provide students with extra-curricular activities they will remember for a lifetime,” she said.

“This agreement means schools can plan camps and excursions this year and into the future with clarity and confidence.”

Under the new state enterprise agreement, teachers were given time-in-lieu for attending school camps for the first time. However, many schools could not afford to pay to replace teachers when they took the time off and were cancelling camps, asking teachers to “volunteer” their time or relying on untrained parent helpers.

Outdoors Victoria chief executive Andrew Knight told the Herald Sun in March the issue was very widespread and would affect every state school and many private schools.

Catholic teachers are in final negotiations to sign off on an enterprise agreement similar to the one struck by the state school teachers.