Housing crisis, salary boosts not enough to keep remote NT teachers

A remote educator has outlined why the NT’s housing crisis and limited incentives are failing to put a dent in the Territory teacher shortage.

Students in bush schools are becoming the “forgotten community” as the Territory’s surging teacher shortage and housing crisis intensifies, with a “camping allowance” even on the table.

Speaking to the NT News anonymously, a remote teacher said the Territory’s inability to compete with interstate schools made it “incredibly difficult” to place teachers in remote settings.

There are currently 48 remote teacher vacancies in the NT, according to the Teach in the Territory site, with 18 positions to start work immediately.

“It’s quite literally the death of remote schools, and these children, these families are entitled to an education the same as everyone else,” she said.

The teacher said her own school was considered very remote and had not been able to recruit a new high school teacher even though the school had funding available for the position.

“There was a lady who applied who was from an interstate place, and she asked about the incentives that she would receive at our school,” the teacher said.

“The retention bonus would be $16,000 less than the current school that she was at.

“Getting teachers out here is just near impossible with the current climate of pay, bonuses, incentives.”

For example, a teacher joining a “hard-to-staff” school in Victoria would be entitled to a $50,000 commencement incentive and annual retention payments after their second, third, and fourth year of employment at the school.

An Education Department spokeswoman said a teacher joining one of the Territory’s most remote schools would be entitled to an annual remote incentive allowance of $10,348 and an annual retention incentive of $1000.

The remote teacher said moving into a “rent-free home” was one of the biggest non-financial incentives for remote educators but the Territory-wide housing shortage meant this was not always possible.

Educators even voted in favour of demanding the government provide a “camping allowance” to staff who are given inadequately furnished homes at a recent Australian Education Union NT conference.

“I have worked in four remote category three schools in the Northern Territory, and I have never moved into one that was clean,” the teacher said.

“My most recent house at my most recent school, when I walked into the bathroom, it was covered in black mould.

“Everything was filthy, dusty, dirty – I spent a month cleaning that house.”

Australian Education Union NT president Michelle Ayres.

Australian Education Union NT branch president Michelle Ayres said the housing crisis would likely cause a “bottleneck” in teacher recruitment even though the government had committed to investing in plugging classroom vacancies.

Ms Ayres said principals in remote areas were already being forced to turn away potential teachers simply because “they don’t have accommodation for them”.

“They don’t have housing, which is a significant benefit that needs to be offered in order to attract people here,” she said.

According to the Education Department’s 2022-23 annual report, 1610 staff members work in remote or very remote places.

But a Department spokeswoman said there were just 765 dwellings for education staff in remote locations.

“On 1 July 2022, Government Employee Housing transitioned to be centrally managed by the Department of Territory Families, Housing and Communities,” she said.

“All tenancies are managed by TFHC including lease arrangements, shared housing arrangements, inspections, vacates and alterations or additions.”

Opposition Education Spokeswoman Jo Hersey said the CLP’s chief plan to incentivise teachers was to move educators “off short term contracts into permanent places so they can afford to put down roots in the Territory”.

“The CLP’s focus for education has three key elements: increasing school attendance, boosting literacy and numeracy by getting back to basics, and retaining and attracting exceptional teachers,” Mrs Hersey said.

“The CLP will restore the safety of students and staff by expanding School Based Policing and ensure qualified school counsellors are based in schools and properly resourced.”