Victorian Teachers Vote Yes to Landmark Pay Deal, Becoming Australia's Highest-Paid
Victorian public school teachers are set to become the highest-paid in Australia after members of the Australian Education Union (AEU) voted 79% in favour of the state government's pay and conditions offer on 17 August 2026. The deal delivers total pay rises of between 28.3% and 32.4% over four years, plus a $2,000 sign-on bonus at the start of the agreement. The AEU confirmed that a planned teachers' strike scheduled for the following Wednesday will not proceed The Guardian.
The agreement will cost more than $5.4 billion, with the latest offer adding an additional $700 million. Under its terms, early-career teachers will receive a $12,343 increase by October 2026, bringing their pay in line with New South Wales counterparts. An experienced teacher's salary will rise from $118,063 to $151,419 by 2029, including a $15,393 increase in 2026 that puts them ahead of NSW teachers The Guardian.
The Victorian government's 17 August press release confirms education workers will receive a minimum pay increase of 29.8 per cent Premier of Victoria. Earlier government releases had framed the offer as at least 28.3 per cent over four years, starting with an increase of 12 per cent by October Premier of Victoria. The finalised union vote supersedes those figures with the 28.3% to 32.4% range.
Beyond salaries, the deal includes structural conditions: fewer after-school meetings, four professional practice days each year, and eight student-free days each year from 2027. Existing face-to-face teaching hour maximums of 18.5 hours a week for secondary teachers and 21 hours for primary teachers are secured in the enterprise bargaining agreement — the formal negotiated contract that sets pay and working conditions for a workplace. The agreement still needs to go to a ballot of all covered employees before finalising The Guardian.
Premier Ben Carroll, who until three weeks before the vote was education minister overseeing the negotiations, said the pay rise recognised teachers, principals and education support staff. Carroll stated the deal makes Victorian teachers the best paid in Australia with the best conditions. He also indicated the government will increase school funding to meet federal Gonski standards — a national funding model that aims to reduce inequality between schools — before November 2026 The Guardian.
The path to approval was not linear. A previous pay and conditions offer was rejected by union members, with 51% voting against the proposal. 9 News Australia reported that Victorian teachers would strike again if the new offer, which included the one-off $2,000 bonus, was rejected. The Age reported the bonus was part of the government's effort to stop a third strike before the Victorian election 9 News Australia; The Age.
AEU Victorian branch president Justin Mullaly said the pay outcome was won through the direct efforts of AEU members. A rank-and-file rebellion inside the union, involving groups such as Socialists in Schools, the Committee for Public Education and Fight the Crisis, helped shape the outcome. The AEU's federal context notes Australian public school teachers spend more than $175 million of their own money annually to keep classrooms operating The Guardian; AEU Federal.
The broader context here is a confluence of fiscal, political, and industrial pressures converging on a single agreement. The $5.4 billion cost arrives as the Victorian government navigates pre-election dynamics. The deal removes the threat of further strikes before the Victorian election and allows Labor MPs to return to school events, a tangible political dividend alongside the policy outcome. Carroll's commitment to meet Gonski standards before November 2026 layers a longer-term funding reform onto the immediate enterprise bargaining agreement settlement.
The rank-and-file dynamics inside the AEU are worth noting. The involvement of organised factions such as Socialists in Schools and the Committee for Public Education suggests internal union pressure played a role in pushing the government's offer beyond its initial parameters. The rejection of the prior offer by a narrow 51% margin created a genuine credibility threshold the government had to clear, and the final 79% approval indicates a substantial consolidation of support.
Looking at what this means for inter-state comparisons, the deal effectively resets the national benchmark. By moving experienced teachers to $151,419 by 2029 and front-loading a $15,393 increase in 2026, Victoria overtakes NSW on top-tier salaries. For early-career teachers, the parity achieved with NSW by October 2026 addresses attrition concerns at the entry level. Other states will face pressure to respond, particularly as teacher shortages and out-of-pocket classroom expenditures remain live issues across the Australian public system. The agreement still requires ratification through a ballot of all covered employees, a procedural step that will determine whether the negotiated terms translate into a finalised instrument.
