A $300 watch and Dom Perignon: The gifts lavished on Queensland’s teachers

Forget an apple for the teacher – Apple AirPods, a $300 watch and Dom Perignon champagne are among some of the expensive gifts being bestowed on Queensland’s public school teachers.

Analysis of the gifts and benefits register – anything worth more than $150 must be declared – reveals the total value was almost $50,000 over the past year.

Most were from groups of parents and given in December as an end-of-year teacher appreciation gift.

One teacher received a $300 bottle of champagne from a parent in March, with the reason listed on the register as “appreciation”.

Some of the group presents for individual teachers – no doubt spurred by enthusiastic class parent reps – included Apple AirPods, an Oroton bag, a CoolCabanas tent, a Pandora bracelet, Frank Green water bottles, a Gorman picnic rug, a Bluetooth speaker, a fire pit, a Collingwood membership, and a Moet hamper.

A group of students gave their teacher a $500 Lego set.

There were also gift cards worth hundreds of dollars, flowers, bath products, candles, chocolate and jewellery.

A few presents were given by individual parents, including a Guess LDS Moonlight watch worth $259 as a birthday gift in April, and a $300 bottle of Dom Perignon in March, with the reason given as “appreciation”.

While a Public Sector Commission directive states gifts worth more than $350 should only be kept by employees in exceptional circumstances, 37 declarations were higher than that amount.

These included an $858 gift basket with baby toys and clothes for an employee going on maternity leave; a hamper, including a gift voucher, PJs, chocolate, makeup, champagne and flowers worth $600; a $500 gift card wedding present; a $500 Harvey Norman gift card; and a $375 voucher for a spa treatment.

This masthead is not suggesting there was anything improper in these gifts, and they have been declared according to the department’s policy.

Griffith University senior research fellow in moral philosophy Dr Hugh Breakey said it was unlikely that a teacher would give a child an A+ because they got a “really shiny present”.

But he said there could be perception issues and concerns that a gift, particularly from an individual parent, could lead to a relationship shift that might be subtly beneficial.

“Could that result, in smaller ways, in the child getting some type of favourable treatment or the teacher interacting more readily with those parents, being willing to give them a call or a heads-up about something not going well with this assessment?” Breakey said.

“I don’t think it’s purely a perception issue, but I think the perception issue is the strongest issue and why we would be most worried.

“If the school year is over and it’s coming from the group as a collective, it’s much less likely to create a conflict of interest or a perception that there’s a conflict of interest.”

Breakey said he could understand the gratitude a parent might feel if their child was struggling and they got a teacher who turned things around.

“You can understand a parent wanting to go over the top to let them know you recognise how important this was for their kid,” he said.

“[However] if there is a gift-giving expectation, parents might feel really pressured to have to live up to that, even if they’re feeling those cost-of-living squeezes.”

An Education Department spokesman said employees must obtain approval to keep gifts of any value, and it was committed to the highest standards of integrity and ethical behaviour.

“In many cases, the individual amounts contributed are not a high value, however the gift value may be greater than $350 due to the number of contributors, such as parents or carers,” he said.

“The acceptance of a gift or benefit is assessed on an individual basis, and all employees, including teachers, must not accept any gift which is likely to affect, or could be perceived to affect, the independent and impartial performance of their official duties.

“Employees must not ask for or encourage the giving of a gift or benefit in connection with the performance of their official duties.”

This register only captures declared gifts worth more than $150, so it’s the tip of the iceberg, given that the department employs more than 55,000 teachers, and I shudder to think of the paperwork required if cheaper items were all declared.

I can’t tell you how many teachers received a thoughtful note, mug, homemade biscuits, candy cane sticky-taped into a Christmas card, or some other token.

But I suspect if you asked them what they really wanted, it would be a pay rise, relief from impossible workloads, a safe workplace, and parents who were eager to work with them, instead of against them.

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