Template Email 1 — Emergency Leave

(For members dealing with an active emergency at home)

Subject: Emergency Leave Request – [Your Name]

Dear [Principal/Manager’s Name],

I am writing to request Emergency Leave for [date/s], as my home and living situation have been directly impacted by the recent cyclone. I am currently dealing with:

• [brief description: structural damage / flooding / unsafe conditions / major debris / loss of utilities / evacuation or displacement].

I require time to make my home safe and stabilise my immediate living arrangements, including arranging repairs, temporary accommodation and essential services.

Please let me know if you require any further information.

Thank you,

[Your Name]

[School / Worksite]

[Contact Number]

Template Email 2 — Emergency Management / Miscellaneous Leave

(For members who volunteered or were directed as part of the official emergency response)

Subject: Emergency Management / Miscellaneous Leave Request – [Your Name]

Dear [Principal/Manager’s Name],

I am writing to request Emergency Management / Miscellaneous Leave for [date/s]. I was involved in the official emergency response over the weekend and:

• [volunteered with NTES / Bushfires NT / Fire & Rescue], or

• [was directed by the Department to assist at a public shelter or emergency site].

My participation was part of the recognised emergency response and should not disadvantage my personal leave balances. I am seeking confirmation that the time will be recorded as duty or covered by the appropriate leave type.

Thank you,

[Your Name]

[School / Worksite]

[Contact Number]

Template Email 3 — Personal Leave

(For members who are unwell, injured, exhausted, or caring for someone)

Subject: Personal Leave Request – [Your Name]

Dear [Principal/Manager’s Name],

I am writing to advise that I am not fit for duty and need to take Personal Leave on [date/s]. I am currently affected by:

• [brief description: illness / injury / exhaustion / distress or anxiety / caring for an unwell or unsettled family or household member].

I will forward documentation once I am able.

Thank you for your understanding.

Kind regards,

[Your Name]

[School / Worksite]

[Contact Number]

We are BARGAINING!

We are currently involved in negotiations with the Commissioner of Public Employment for a replacement agreement. Updates available here:

Bargaining: NTPS General Enterprise Agreement

Download Enterprise Agreement

NTPS General Agreement 2021-2025

Click the image to download a printable PDF.

Once downloaded, you’re encouraged to print the PDF,s pin them to your union noticeboard (along with the Support Staff Flyer), and share them with staff on your site. Agreements covering NTPS employees give reps the right to use workplace facilities like printers and to consult with members and potential members. The OCPE’s Working with Unions guideline also confirms that distributing union material is permitted, provided it doesn’t disrupt normal work.

Please click the “Make an Enquiry” button to reach out to our office if you encounter any issues or if you would like to request any additional resources.

Click the images to download a printable PDF.

Once downloaded, you’re encouraged to print the PDF,s pin them to your union noticeboard (along with the Office Admin Flyer), and share them with staff on your site. Agreements covering NTPS employees give reps the right to use workplace facilities like printers and to consult with members and potential members. The OCPE’s Working with Unions guideline also confirms that distributing union material is permitted, provided it doesn’t disrupt normal work.

Please click the “Make an Enquiry” button to reach out to our office if you encounter any issues or if you would like to request any additional resources.

In-Principle Agreement Frequently Asked Questions

Log of Claims

Please Note:

Although Senior Teacher (ST) and Principal salaries were not restructured in this agreement, we are committed to pursuing improvements in these areas outside of the enterprise agreement process, ensuring these roles remain competitive and attractive.

ST Salaries

PLO Salaries

Click here to download a PDF version of this report:

24-27 NTPS Education EA AEU NT Log of Claims – Outcome Report

AEU NT Log of Claims

Australian Education Union NT proposals for a replacement NTPS Non-Contract Principals,  Teachers and Assistant Teachers’ 2021-2024 Enterprise Agreement

It may be called a ‘Guide’, the contents of the Teacher Responsibilities Guide (TRG) is a mandatory resource for leadership teams in NT schools to consult and work within. This is because its wording is agreed between AEU NT and DoE. It is also referenced in the Teachers, Assistant Teachers’ and Non-Contract Principals Enterprise Agreement. This makes it enforceable. However, AEU NT will always advise members to engage in genuine consultation that is offered and to work with school leadership teams to reach mutually beneficial negotiated outcomes as much as possible.

We encourage you to download the Guide here and ensure it is available both on your union noticeboard and more widely for all staff.

Available online at Teacher Responsibilities Guide

The evidence across Australian jurisdictions and internationally is clear: to keep teachers healthy and teaching reducing their workload must be a priority in every system. In the year ahead, we will have an opportunity to, once again, move the industrial levers we have in the NT on teacher workload to try and reduce maximum class sizes and increase non-contact time when we go back into enterprise bargaining. The other piece of work already underway at the Department, closely monitored by AEU NT, is the Teacher Workload Review Project, with a focus on things that can be done now and are in the Department’s and its schools’ control. More to come on this important work as the year develops!

The primary purpose here though is to promote two vital pieces of teacher, support staff and other employees paperwork that, despite the keenness of some to dismiss or ignore it – do have to continue.

Incident and accident reporting

All employees have a responsibility, set out in policy, and underpinned by work health and safety legislation, to report any accidents, incidents and near misses involving them. By recording, monitoring, and investigating incidents, we can learn and put in place measures or changes to prevent them from happening again.

AEU NT and the Department know there is already an under reporting of actual incidents, and that each unreported event is a learning opportunity lost.

Every employee, student or visitor who arrives at a school deserves to leave as fit and healthy as when they arrived. So, it is up to everyone to record incidents, both for themselves and everyone else.

Professional growth plans (PGPs)

Since their introduction in 2019, the current Department ‘staff performance management’ measure of PGP’s has been increasingly taken up but, notably, this has not happened everywhere in the NT’s system. With work pressures increasing, AEU NT is concerned they may be seen as optional by some.  It is important to note they are underpinned by clause 79, Staff Performance Planning and Review of our Enterprise Agreement.

Both managers and employees are expected to engage constructively in the PGP process. Most of the time, when PGPs are approached in the manner suggested in clause 79, they provide a positive space for teachers to reflect on current practice and career goals then authentically use the results for professional development. They also serve to reduce misunderstandings and misperceptions of performance that do occur and, if left to fester, can prove far harder to debunk later and significantly erode workplace relationships. Smart school leaders accept personal responsibility for making sure their school has a strong culture around PGPs.

Thus, PGPs provide protection for both teachers and school leaders from falling into a position where underperformance is present, potentially leading to the formal Managing Underperformance Procedure (MUP). Beware that failing a MUP invariably leads to a teacher losing their job, in turn leading to a referral to the Teacher Registration Board and, ultimately, a possible loss of registration. In short, a MUP can be a career-killer.

Downloads

Performance-Growth.pdf

What is Non-Contact Time (NCT)?

Non-contact time is for the teacher to prepare, plan, assessment and correction without the need to supervise children. It can also be referred to as release time.

How much NCT do I get?

Pre-school teachers with a full teaching load are entitled to one session a week, which should equate to 3 hours.

Primary school teachers with a full teaching load receive a minimum of 3 hours per week. This includes teachers in settings such as special schools, units and annexes, intensive English units, gifted units as well as specific purpose units and classes.

Secondary teachers with a full teaching load in colleges, high schools and area schools received a minimum 5 hours and 20 minutes.

Graduate teachers will have an additional hour on non-contact time per week.

Wherever possible, school administrators will program up to 5 corresponding hours of non-contact time per semester for teachers assigned to a graduate teacher as a mentor.

Senior Teachers are allocated non-contact time on a pro-rata basis according to their teaching load.

Teaching Principals are entitled to 5 hours and 20 minutes non-contact time.

What if I am part time?

Classroom Teachers employed on a part-time basis will receive non-contact time pro-rata to their teaching load. If you are employed in a part time capacity to facilitate the provision of non-contact time for other classroom teachers then no entitlement applies.

How is NCT allocated?

This will be allocated to you on the school timetable and may be different between schools. When it is being allocated, it should be in useable blocks of time, for example not less than 30 mins.

What if I am a casual or relief teacher?

Casual teachers are not entitled to NCT.

What about supervised eating time?

Supervised eating time is considered instructional time and not part of NCT.

What if my NCT time is being overridden with other school demands?

Teachers have flexibility to use their non-contact time to achieve required outcomes and this time is generally for the administrative activities associated with teaching. If you are being allocated work to do in this time, have a discussion with your line manager. If people are setting meetings for you to attend in that time, respectfully ask them to consult with you first. Effective consultation involves more than a mere exchange of information. Employees must be contributors in the decision-making process. Visit Safe Work Australia for more about consultation and what it means in practice at https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/doc/model-code-practice-work-health-and-safety-consultation-cooperation-and-coordination

What about personal appointments?

When planning personal commitments teachers are expected to take account of their professional obligations. Similarly, principals are also expected to consider professional and personal obligations in scheduling meetings and other activities at which teacher attendance is required.

What if I am not getting my NCT?

Non-contact time can be averaged over a 2-week period. Keep a record of the amount of non-contact time that you receive each fortnight. If this continually shows that you are not being allocated your minimum amount of non-contact time and your principal has not planned with you to remedy the situation, then call the office and ask for advice.

Your NCT is important and an entitlement. It exists to help balance your workload and personal responsibility. You should not accept anything less than the minimum time as set out in the Teacher Responsibilities Guide. If you do, you are potentially masking an issue to do with understaffing and placing greater pressure on yourself and your colleagues.

Links

• 2021-2024 Teacher and Educator Enterprise Agreement
• Teacher Responsibilities Guide

Downloads

Guide-to-Non-Contact-Time.pdf

We are your first line of support if there’s an issue at work, whether it’s a dispute over your pay, a conflict with a supervisor or a workplace injury. As a collective body, we campaign for stronger laws, policies and agreements to support teachers and the public education system. To achieve this, we must have a constructive working relationship with the NT Department of Education and the Department of Corporate and Digital Development (DCDD).

Read the Guidelines at Commissioner’s Guidelines for Working with Unions.

Must I Meet with my Manager?

A fact of working life is that just about everyone at some stage is going to have to deal with a formally convened meeting with their (often) senior manager. Teachers and other educators are no different. Such meetings might be about already documented underperformance or inability but, more likely in our setting, they will be about a workplace incident or around allegations that have been received about you.

Longtime teaching career veterans of the AEU NT estimate that an individual teacher will hit a “patch of hot water” on average, about every 10 years. But you still have rights (from common law) and, more often than not, the opportunity to explain facts and provide evidence resolves the issue in a constructive way.

How to find out about those common law rights and what to expect in any investigation process will be one of the reasons many of you are union members, so read on.  And if you are a sub-branch rep read on and keep as you will often be the best placed person to support a summoned member.

Modernised guidance to all the NT public service (NTPS) on the role of a support person was finalised in 2021. The Guideline might be called “Guidance” but it’s from the big boss so it is to be followed and gives members and those seeking to assist them, much more clarity about how meetings should be conducted, allowing those members in the hot seat to better focus on the substance of why they are there.

Key elements of the current Guidelines include:

• Employees must be provided the opportunity to bring a support person.
• Recommended notice period for meetings is 48 hours.
• Employees to be advised of all those attending the meeting.
• Advance provision of either an agenda or the specific purpose for the meeting.
• Recognition that a support person need not be a silent witness.
• Information about what can and can’t be done in their role.
• Meeting notes to be provided after the meeting is concluded.

AEU NT is pleased to have found that these guidelines are largely being closely followed by all managers, principals, and directors of the Department of Education. It should only be in extremely rare cases involving the most unusual and heightened of circumstances that this role will vary.

You will note in the Guidelines that support persons are not to advocate or ‘story tell’ for the employee they are supporting. However, there is a straightforward work-around this office has been successfully using and that sub-branch reps might utilise where they need to. The ‘limited’ support person role only applies when managers call meetings, not when union officers or sub-branch reps request a meeting with managers.  Thus, if AEU believes there must be active advocacy in a particular matter, we will request co-extensive meetings, providing an agenda, with the same manager, who summons our member.  This means that, in practice, we will begin a meeting and cover the manager’s agenda, acting as a support person.  Once that is completed, we will move into our own agenda items and provide advocacy.

Finally, please note, the AEU office regularly briefs members and sub-branch reps who are about to become a support person in a particular member’s matter. Do feel free to seek our advice and some handy tips.

Links

Role of a Support Person: Commissioner’s Guideline

Downloads

Role-of-a-Support-Person.pdf

The myth of 4:21

How are teaching salaries and allowances set?

Salaries and allowances for teachers are covered by an enterprise agreement negotiated between the AEU and the employer (Office of the Commissioner for Public Employment, and the Department of Education).

How are teachers classified for salary purposes?

Classroom Teachers are classified in increment levels CT1—CT9.  Teachers progress annually to CT9.

Classification Level          Amount

CT1……………………………….84 191
CT2………………………………88 414
CT3………………………………92 638
CT4………………………………96 860
CT5………………………………101 083
CT6………………………………108 073
CT7………………………………112 297
CT8………………………………116 519
CT9………………………………120 742

What about casual Relief Teachers?

Relief teacher hourly rates are divided into three tiers based on years of teaching experience. One day of relief teaching = 6 hours.

Tier                                $ amount per hour

1  (less than 3 yrs)……..67.25
2  (3 to 6 yrs)…………….70.62
3  (6+ yrs)…………………73.99

What about Senior Teachers?

Senior teachers are promotional and managerial positions that are renumerated above the normal CT scale. In order to progress up this scale you need to seek and win a promotion.

Classification Level     Amount

ST1………………………………133 553
ST2………………………………138 843
ST3………………………………147 568
ST4………………………………151 745
ST5………………………………162 235
ST6………………………………167 361
ST7………………………………173 291
ST8………………………………181 006

Do Assistant Teachers have increment levels?

Yes, levels AT1—AT5. Assistant teachers are Indigenous staff employed to assist with teaching   programs in the classroom, who undertake further study as a condition of employment.

Classification Level     Amount

AT1………………………………56 455
AT2………………………………61 486
AT3………………………………65 860
AT4………………………………72 831
AT5………………………………78 511

Are there higher classroom teacher increment levels?

HALT is a nationally recognised certification of teachers wishing to demonstrate classroom practice beyond the proficient standard. In the NT, a Highly Accomplished or Lead Teacher Allowance is paid fortnightly in additional to a CT salary. The allowance for a HAT is $12 812 and for an LT it is $26 828.

What additional teaching allowances are there?

There are several kinds of allowances for teachers. An Application for Teaching Allowance Form must be completed before the allowance can be paid and must be renewed at the start of each year.

Allowance                                                               Amount

Teacher in a special school/class………………………..3340
Teacher in charge pre-school with 2 teachers…….7148
Teacher in charge pre-school with 1 teacher………3455
Assistant teacher in charge of homeland school…1626

What other types of allowances are payable under the EA?

In addition to salary, the following allowances may be applicable.

Remote incentive allowance:

This is a taxable allowance paid to remote-based CTs, STs, ATs and ongoing principals in recognition of isolation and freight costs.

Category Rating         Single               Dependent
Special………………….1391……………..1735
1…………………………..4627…………….5646
2…………………………..5400……………6586
3…………………………..8486……………10348

Remote retention payment:

This allowance is paid to employees in remote locations after each 12 months of continuous service.

Remote Category            Amount

1…………………………………..500
2………………………………….750
3………………………………….1000

Downloads

Guide-to-Classification-levels-Salaries-and-Allowances.pdf

What is Long Service Leave?

Long Service Leave (LSL) is a period of additional paid leave granted to employees who have completed an extended period of service with an employer. This entitlement is rather unique to Australia, with only a few other countries having a similar employee benefit. In the Northern Territory, LSL accrues after 10 years of continuous service.

Entitlement

Long Service Leave is set out in By-law 8 of the Public Sector Employment and Management Act (PSEMA) managed by the Office of the Commissioner of Public Employment (OCPE).

A full time employee’s entitlement is three (3) calendar months after completing 10 years of continuous ser-vice, where a month is counted as 30 days. This means an employee accrues 90 calendar days (65 working days) after 10 years of continuous service working full time.

The LSL entitlement in the NT is one of the longest in the country with only South Australia being equal. Other jurisdictions receive 8.67 weeks (meaning 60.69 calendar days; 43.35 working days) or less at 10 years of service.

Weekends

Long Service in the private sector is governed by the NT Long Service Leave Act 1981 and accrues at 1.3 weeks per year of service for a total of 13 weeks (65 working days) at 10 years.

The Northern Territory Public Service (NTPS) uses calendar days because the nature of so many of its employees work shifts, overnight, weekends and have rostered weeks off (e.g. nurses, fire fighters). That is why LSL is counted to include a weekend. Daytime weekday-only workers (e.g. teachers) are not losing any entitlement, it just makes it simpler to manage a public service wide system.

Using your LSL

Any employee is required to use LSL within three years of their 10 year entitlement and 20 year entitlement accruing. Your employer can direct you to take this entitlement. You can take your LSL at full pay or half pay, doubling the time you can take off. (Note: If you do take LSL at half pay it ‘slows’ your accrual of Recreation Leave and Personal Leave).

LSL is intended to provide lengthy breaks from work. Permission to undertake secondary employment whilst on LSL is limited. Seek further union advice.

Unlike other NTPS employees, teachers and other school-based employees have the option to take LSL for periods of 3 days. This fact, along with the higher level of NT LSL, means NT teachers and school-based AO’s have the best LSL arrangements in public education systems across Australia, and arguably many other industries/sectors.

Continuity of Service

Rules on continuity of service means you can have a break/period outside of teaching of no greater than 12 months before you break continuity. However, unpaid personal leave, full-time union duties with a union representing public service employees, and defence service leave will not break continuity of service if you are absent for longer than 12 months. Workers Compensation will also not break continuity of service but does not count as service.

Recognition of Prior Service

The Northern Territory Government counts work with “recognised employers” as counting towards service. A recognised employer for our context is, e.g. any work performed with a state education department in Australia. You can apply to have prior service recognised once you have completed 2 years of employment with NTPS.

A full list of recognised employers is contained in Determination 9 of 2025 Please note that Charles Darwin University and Batchelor Institute are also included.

Allowances

While on LSL, employees are entitled to their ordinary salary in relation to their designation. If the employee is on approved allowances (e.g. HDA) and those allowances span the course of the LSL, the employee will receive the allowances for the entire period of leave. However, if their allowance/s cease within the LSL period, they will only be paid up to the approved period. Other allowances that are altered whilst on LSL are teaching allowances, Northern Territory Allowance, Remote Incentive Allowance and Remote Retention Allowance.

December/January leave period: This period will be deemed as recreation leave as it is the only period in which teachers may utilise their recreation leave entitlement.

Payments before 10 years

Employees are eligible for payment in lieu on cessation of employment at one (1) year of service where they have retired, ceased on or after attaining 55 years of age, on redundancy, or on death.

Employees are also entitled to payment on resignation after completing seven (7) or more years of service. You receive 22.5 calendar days at seven years, 45 calendar days at eight years, and 67.5 calendar days at nine years.

Illness during LSL

If you fall ill during your LSL and have medical evidence the CEO may grant personal (sick) leave and re-credit your LSL to use another time.

References:
Office of the Commissioner of Public Employment By Law No. 8 : https://ocpe.nt.gov.au/

Downloads:
AEU NT Guide to Long Service Leave (PDF)

Who can access parental leave?

Full-time, part-time and eligible casual employees are entitled to parental leave if the leave is associated with:

• The birth of a child by you or your spouse,

How much parental leave can I access?

Primary carers can access paid parental leave after anywhere between 39 weeks and 12 months of continuous service.

Partners can access paid parental leave after at least 12 months of continuous service. See tables p.48 of NTPS Teachers’ 2021-2024 EA.

Can I take leave at half pay?

Yes, you can elect to take a longer period of time on half pay. A period of parental leave does not break an employee’s continuity of service.

My partner and I are both NYPS employees. Can we combine our leave?

Yes, provided you satisfy the service requirements and notice periods as well as evidence requirements. You must both apply for the respective parental leave periods and there is a maximum of two interchanges during the combined leave. The combined paid and unpaid leave must not extend beyond 3 years from its commencement.

How much notice do I have to give?

Written notice of at least 10 weeks is required relating to the intention to take parental leave and the

proposed start and end dates. This must be confirmed in writing 4 weeks prior to intended commencement date or advising of any changes to dates. You must also provide a statutory declaration stating you will be the primary caregiver (for parental leave). If there are unexpected circumstances relating to the birth, then providing this information at your earliest convenience is acceptable.

What if I don’t feel safe at work during my pregnancy?

If there are hazards connected to the work you are expected to perform, there is a provision to be transferred to a safe job during the risk period, if it is available and reasonably practical. This may include a medical issue arising from pregnancy and will need an accompanying medical certificate.

Can I access other leave while on parental leave?

Yes, you may access accrued recreation leave and long service leave entitlements during a period of unpaid parental leave. However, this will not extend the maximum period of parental leave.

Can I work while on paid parental leave?

Yes, but it will not extend the maximum period of parental leave and employment outside of the NTPS is subject to the requirements of the PSEM Act. You can work within the NTPS when on unpaid parental leave within your agency or another agency.

‘Keeping in Touch Days’ are a provision allowing you to attend your workplace for meetings and training during parental leave to help facilitate a return to work and to familiarise you with any changes in the workplace. These will be paid days or part days.

What about returning to work?

If you elect to return to work in the 6 weeks immediately following the birth, a medical certificate is required stating your fitness for work. If you are returning to work early from a period of parental leave, you must provide an application to return to work. If your leave has been less than 1 year, then you need to make the request at least 4 weeks prior to your preferred date. If your leave has been longer than 1 year, you need to make the request with at least 12 weeks’ notice.

Will I get my old job back?

Yes, you are entitled to the position that you held immediately prior to leave, however if that position no longer exists, then you will be placed in a position of similar pay and status.

What about superannuation contributions?

Employer superannuation contributions will be paid during the first 12 months of parental leave as if you had been at work. The superannuation contributions must be paid during periods of both paid and unpaid leave, not in a lump sum at the end.

Should you elect to take any paid leave at half pay, superannuation contributions will be made during the half pay period as if the leave was taken at full pay.

NOTE: the double superannuation contributions under clause 52.16 b) will only be paid for a period that is equivalent to utilising paid parental leave at full pay. For example, if 14 weeks paid parental leave is taken at half pay over a 28-week period, then the double superannuation will only be paid for the first 14 weeks.

What if I get pregnant again?

You can elect, subject to notice and evidence requirements to commence another period of parental leave relating to a subsequent child as soon as your pregnancy is confirmed.

See Table A & B on our downloadable fact sheet for more detail.

Reference: Northern Territory Public Sector Principals, Teachers and Assistant Teacher’ 2021-2024 Enterprise Agreement pg. 46-67

Downloads

Quick-Guide-to-Parental-Leave.pdf

Assistant Teachers play an essential role within our Northern Territory Education system.

ATs are Indigenous staff employed to assist with teaching programs in the classroom, who under-take further study as a condition of employment.

We protect each other!

Teachers and Assistant Teachers working in schools are supported by our Union whenever they need help or assistance. You can call our Union and speak to someone privately about work issues , workers compensation and legal issues.

We are stronger together!

The more we stand united the less we can be pushed around. Our Union is fighting for better wages and conditions for all teachers!

You are one of almost 2000 teachers when you join your Union and stand with us.

We have always worked together!

Australian Unions have been fighting alongside First Australians for over 100 years. In 1911 Un-ions and Aboriginal workers went on strike for equal pay. In 1965 the North Australian Workers Union supported Vincent Lingiari strike for Na-tive Title Rights.

Do Assistant Teachers have salary increment levels?

Yes, levels AT1—AT5.

The AEU NT is involved in all Department of Education reviews of working conditions and pay.

There is currently work underway to improve career pathway progressions for Assistant Teachers.

Download:
Assistant Teachers.pdf

Does the AEU NT cover school support staff?

The Australian Education Union might be commonly thought of as primarily a union for teachers, but teachers comprise only a part of our membership. As our name implies, our union is here for everyone delivering public education to students. That means that the AEU is able to cover anyone working as an educator. This includes all school support staff (except for those working exclusively in the front office or   other admin roles), Assistant Teachers, SESOs, preschool assistants and any other staff assisting with the education of children in public schools.

How are support staff employed?

The working conditions of support staff in schools   varies depending on how they are employed. Essentially, there are two categories of employment: workers employed by the school (usually on a casual basis) and those employed by the Department of Education as Administrative Officers (AOs).

School council employees

Workers employed by the school council have pay and conditions based on the Educational Services (Schools) General Staff Award. The NT Education Act allows School Representative Bodies to employ persons on any terms and conditions that are approved by the Department. In order to give advice, the AEU office will need to be supplied a copy of the contracts/letters of appointment.

School-based administrative officers (AOs)

AOs employed by the Department are covered by the NTPS General Enterprise Agreement. This EA covers administrative grades across the entire NTPS.

School-based AOs can be employed on a 92%, 96% or 100% arrangement.

What is the difference between a 92%, 96% and 100% arrangement?

Within schools there are unique employment arrangements for admin officers (AO levels 2 – 4). For each arrangement, during school terms (excluding public holidays) AOs would be expected to attend for duty during their normal working hours when the school is conducting a professional development or planning day in which permission has been granted for students not to attend.

Conversions between 92%, 96% and 100% are catered for in the EA and can be initiated by either the Department or the individual but can only be implemented with the employee’s consent.

92% arrangement

If employed as an AO at 92%, employees are required to work 6 hours and 15 minutes per school day between the hours of 7.30 am and 5.30 pm, Monday to Friday. With the exception of the two working days prior to the commencement of the new academic year, an employee will not normally be required to attend for duty on any other day on which the school is not open.

96% arrangement

If employed as an AO at 96%, staff are required to work 7 hours and 21 minutes per school day. These are to be worked between the hours of 7.30 am and 5.30 pm Monday to Friday. Start and finish times are directly linked with the school start time and the length of the employee’s meal break.

100% arrangement

If employed at 100%, AOs also work 7 hours and 21 minutes a day, worked between the hours of 7.30 am and 5.30 pm Monday to Friday. These employees don’t get the 12 weeks off per year during school holidays like their 92% and 96% colleagues. However, they can work during school holidays and access recreation leave during term time.

Breaks

For AOs in schools, start times are directly linked to the opening of the school and a meal break should occur within the five-hour period from                  commencement. Meal breaks are unpaid and must be at least 30 minutes long. The length of a meal break is also negotiable with the line manager.

Overtime for support staff

You may simply have seen an incident, you might have caused the incident yourself or be the focus of an allegation from a third party, but if managers decide an investigation into events is necessary, you need to know your rights. The most common sorts of disciplinary investigations in the school setting involve allegations of inappropriate conduct by staff towards students or colleagues.

Innocent or guilty, the same rights apply and all union members should make sure they apply them from the very start. It is in the interest of every member that we hold all managers at the school and departmental level to account to ensure they always conduct fair processes.

If you are asked to a workplace meeting

It is the recent experience of AEU NT that too often, workplace managers do not follow correct procedures, mostly because they are not well versed in workplace law and are unfamiliar with appropriate investigation techniques.

The most important overarching advice is: don’t handle the situation by yourself, no matter how trivial it may at first seem. Speak with your sub-branch rep, and/or call the AEU NT office, particularly if you receive a letter quoting the Public Sector Employment & Management Act (PSEMA).

Disciplinary meetings

In a disciplinary matter, in the first instance you may be asked to attend a meeting with your manager. We would usually advise that you do so, however not unaccompanied. At a minimum, have a support person with you to witness proceedings and take notes. If you feel uncomfortable with the process, you may ask for the meeting to be paused or ended. You may be asked to provide a written statement or to answer questions. We would generally advise that you not do this initially if you are the subject of an investigation, particularly if you do not yet know the nature or scope of the investigation.

Depending on how serious the alleged offence is, you may be asked to leave work and stay home until advised otherwise. You should comply with this directive; however this is not a formal suspension. In order to be formally stood down, a process must be followed, and a directive issued by a senior officer.

Your right to natural justice

In the NT Public Sector, only a senior officer (usually at least Executive Director level) has the right to administer formal disciplinary action against an employee, and only if due process, or natural justice, has occurred.

All NTPS staff, including teachers, have a right to natural justice as spelled out in PSEMA Employment Instruction Number 3. Managers must follow these principles as well as other guidelines developed by the Office of the Commissioner for Public Employment (OCPE). If the employer intends to take disciplinary action against you, Employment Instruction Number 3 ensures your right to:

Workplace-Investigations-allegations-and-discipline-Fact-Sheet.pdf