Consultant called to host focus groups

AN independent consultant worth $25,000 has been brought in to facilitate focus groups in a major review of principal contracts

An independent consultant has been hired to facilitate focus groups for a review into principal contracts.

AN independent consultant worth $25,000 has been brought in to facilitate focus groups in a major review of principal contracts.

On September 11 a consultancy tender was released for the facilitation of the Principal Classification Review focus group.

The NT government is negotiating with stakeholders to potentially introduce permanent contracts for principals.

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Principals on executive contracts are currently required to sign up to the Gunner government’s pay freeze, which halts the pay of politicians and senior public servants on executive contracts.

The tender was recently awarded to ZeD Management Consulting Australia. The contract is valued at $25,810.

An Education Department spokeswoman said it engaged an independent consultant based on feedback from the advisory committee for the review.

“The group includes representation from the Australian Education Union NT, Northern Territory Principals’ Association and the Northern Territory government,” she said.

“The advisory group saw the need for an external facilitator to co-ordinate some focus groups and a wider survey in order to gain principal perspectives on specific elements within the review.

“These focus groups are expected to run in Term 4. A final report will be presented to the advisory group for consideration.”

Thirty-seven principals out of 91 have signed up to the executive contracts.

This number has not changed since the NT News last reported on it in July.

Australian Education Union NT branch secretary Adam Lampe said any progress towards introducing permanent contracts was positive.

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“Putting them on executive contracts leads to a lot of uncertainty and obviously we want as many people on permanent as possible,” he said.

“There’s a lot of good reasons why principals should be on them, and one is they’re more likely to stay permanently. We see this as one way of mitigating the turnover in workforce.”

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