General Agreement: Offer Received! Tell Us What You Think!

Earlier this week the unions received an offer from the Commissioner for a new General NTPS Enterprise Agreement (15 July 2025). Before the Branch Executive decides our position, we would like to hear directly from those who will be affected by the outcome. To facilitate this, we are conducting a short SNAP POLL and holding two online briefings/feedback meetings. Your feedback will guide how we respond, and together we can decide what’s worth accepting and what’s worth pushing for.

Our brief assessment

Having reviewed the offer in detail, I believe there are some positives — but also key areas where it falls short of what members need.

• Pay: 3% per year for four years (12.55% compounded)

• Remote Categories: review to commence by August 2026

• Positives: Right to Disconnect; improved Community Language Allowance; introduction of minor retention allowance for Katherine and Alice Springs based employees

• Backwards: Accident Allowance removed; weaker consultation on By-laws/Determinations.

• What’s not in it: immediate remote fixes; paid cultural and ceremonial leave; reproductive health leave; increased partner leave; a separate paid infectious-diseases bank; clear SESO/Preschool Assistant → Teacher or VET Trainer pathways.

We’ll go through these in more detail at the briefings, leaving time for your questions and feedback.

Who’s covered by the General Agreement (and who isn’t)

Covered: school support staff; Administrative Officer (AO), Professional (P), Technical (T), Physical (PH) streams across DET and other NTPS Agencies

Not covered: aboriginal team teachers (assistant teachers), classroom teachers and school leaders; staff at CDU or Batchelor Institute

If you’re unsure, check your HR classification/payslip, speak to your rep/Principal, or contact our office.

Have your say in our Snap Poll (2 minutes)

Open to everyone covered by the NTPS General Agreement (Union membership not required).

Please share this with covered colleagues in your workplace.

👉 Click here to complete the snap poll

(Closes 4:00 pm Friday 15 Aug. Takes about two minutes.)

Online member meetings (Microsoft Teams)

Choose the session that works best for you. Both cover the same content. We encourage members covered by this agreement and sub-branch reps to attend.

If you have any trouble with the meeting links, please contact the office.

What happens next

The next steps aren’t just a formality — this is where your voice can make the difference in whether this offer stands or is improved.

• No employee ballot yet — this stage is to determine whether the unions agree to the offer. Any ballot would come later.

• Branch Executive meets Fri 15 August to consider member feedback and decide a position (accept or not accept).

• We will write to the Commissioner by Tue 19 August, summarising member feedback and providing a formal AEU NT response.

• Other NTPS unions are running similar processes; we will coordinate and consider a joint positionbefore finalising ours.

• If unions do not agree: the Commissioner may issue a revised offer, or conduct an employee ballot on this offer without union support (technically allowed but not considered good practice).

• If unions agree: there will still be an employee ballot, with union support.

Please take a moment to complete the poll and join one of the feedback sessions and/or send this to a colleague. The strength of our position comes from the strength of your feedback. Finally, our position will be further strengthened by the strength of our membership. Please encourage all who are eligible to join their union!