The newspaper of the Independent Education Union of Australia NSW/ACT Branch (vol 45 #5) July 2025 PP 100000871 ISSN No: 0728-4845
w e i v e r g n i y l l u Anti-b eed
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Teachers need resources and training to help them respond to bullying incidents in schools. This is one of the key messages in the IEU’s submission to the federal government’s Anti-Bullying Rapid Review. The union’s submission said adequate school resourcing, specialist staffing and sustainable working conditions were crucial for a meaningful and lasting response to bullying. The submission also calls for: • genuine employee consultation and participatory planning processes • targeted strategies to address technology-facilitated harassment and deepfake abuse • a stronger legal obligation on all school employers to model the values of tolerance and inclusion. IEUA Federal Secretary Brad Hayes said bullying, violence, sexual harassment and emotional abuse are serious health and safety issues for school staff as well as students. Employers, policy makers and school communities must set the tone that such behaviour is not acceptable in any context. “As a deeply complex issue, bullying demands coordinated action across multiple levels, along with a clearer understanding of the most effective strategies for prevention, early intervention and wellbeing programs,” Hayes said. Deepfake and online harassment The union in its submission said it receives weekly reports of “disturbing cases” of GenAI deepfake and online harassment of female students and teachers. “School employers and policy makers must take urgent action to address the growing threat of GenAI deepfake material being
used as a form of gendered violence against female students and school staff,” the submission said. In addition, harassment, bullying and technology policies must explicitly cover verbally and physically abusive behaviour by all members of the school community, including students and parents, image-based abuse and online sexual harassment. “Anti-bullying school programs must include cyber-bullying and provide specific modules addressing respectful relationships education, domestic violence, sexual consent, misogyny and sexual harassment,” the submission said. IEUA NSW/ACT Branch Secretary Carol Matthews said schools were legally obligated to implement measures to ensure employees are safe and free from harassment. “This positive duty imposes a legal obligation on employers to take proactive and meaningful action to prevent unlawful conduct from occurring in the workplace including behaviour by students towards employees,” she said. National approach The review, led by Dr Charlotte Keating and Dr Jo Robinson, will examine current school procedures and best practice methods to address bullying behaviours. The review received submissions from parents, teachers, young people, state education departments and the non-government education sector. Federal Education Minister Jason Clare in June said the rapid review would assist in the development of a consistent national approach to bullying in schools. “Bullying is not just something that happens in schools, but schools are places where we can intervene and provide support for students,” he said.
“All students and staff should be safe at school, and free from bullying and violence.” Hayes said teachers, school leaders and support staff have a vital role to play in addressing bullying. “However, real progress also requires a shared commitment from the entire community to foster a culture of safety and respect, both within our schools and across broader society,” he said. Link with pay and conditions The union believes there is a strong link between school staff pay and conditions and addressing bullying. The submission said understaffing, lack of time and insecure work are major wellbeing hazards for the education workforce: “These conditions can undermine the ability of school staff to remain consistently alert to bullying and effectively prevent and address its impacts.” School staff are overburdened with administrative tasks and excessive compliance workloads, the submission said. “The provision of additional paid time for school leaders and staff to attend any required professional development will be essential to the success of any new anti-bullying programs or strategies.” Teachers and school leaders also need adequate release time to manage complex behavioural issues, including time to implement and enforce any new anti-bullying policies or approaches. “School staff need the time and opportunity to debrief incidents and undertake coordinated follow-up with students, parents, external support services and other staff,” the submission said.
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Catholic Schools Broken Bay: Union acts on coordinator restructure Carol Matthews Secretary Catholic Schools Broken Bay (CSBB, the employer) advised the union on Friday 6 June of its intention to restructure Coordinator positions in six secondary schools in the diocese. The schools are: St Joseph’s Catholic College, East Gosford; St Brigid’s Catholic College, Lake Munmorah; Mercy Catholic College, Chatswood; St Leo’s Catholic College, Wahroonga; Mater Maria Catholic College, Warriewood; St Paul’s Catholic College, Manly. We understand that a restructure of Coordinator positions in the two remaining
secondary schools, St Peter’s Catholic College, Tuggerah, and MacKillop Catholic College, Woongarrah, will take place in Term 3. What happened The Coordinators in the six schools were offered revised contracts and required to indicate within seven days whether they accepted the new contracts, which were to take effect from the start of Term 4. The union was advised that nearly 70 Coordinators would be affected. The key changes in the contracts are: 1. The positions are intended as a leader of a team of staff, which includes having professional one-on-one conversations with
the staff in the team and supporting the team’s professional growth. This recognises a role Coordinators already perform. 2. The positions are permanent leadership roles, rather than a permanent teaching position with a fixed-term appointment as Coordinator. 3. There will be a $1000 allowance on top of the enterprise agreement pay rates. Union takes action The union consulted with affected members on Thursday 26 June 2025 and met with CSBB representatives on three occasions to discuss the proposed contracts. The union successfully achieved an extension of time, until the end of Term 2, for
Coordinators to indicate if they agreed to the new contracts. Following union representations, CSBB agreed that if a Coordinator did not wish to take up the new appointment, they would remain as Coordinator until 26 January 2026, rather than the end of Term 3 as originally proposed. The new teacher appointed to the leadership position would commence in the role from 27 January 2026. The union also sought greater certainty for Coordinators who wished to stand down from their leadership role in future but remain employed as a teacher.
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