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Reward Payments for

Great Teachers

REWARD PAYMENTS FOR GREAT TEACHERS

A re-elected Gillard Labor Government will implement Australia’s first national system of
performance assessment and pay to reward the very best classroom teachers.
Federal Labor knows that great schools are created by great teachers and believes great
teachers deserve to be recognised.
The Gillard Labor Government will provide the first reward payment to top performing
teachers in 2014, based on teacher performance in 2013.
Around one in ten, or about 25,000 of the best classroom teachers would receive a
performance bonus each year. Based on current wages, this bonus would be around
$8,000 for our most experienced teachers.
The Gillard Labor Government will develop a nationally consistent, transparent and
equitable performance management system the ‘Australian Teacher Performance
Management Principles and Procedures’ so the best performing teachers can be
identified and rewarded.
These will be developed by Australian Institute of Teaching and School Leadership and
will set out the aspects of a teacher’s performance to be assessed and will cover
elements such as:
 Student achievement.
 Contribution to the school community including providing support to other
teachers.
 Contribution to extra-curricular activities and student support.

All teachers will be required to participate in the performance management framework

and for the first time, every teacher in the country will be potentially eligible for a bonus
payment if they are a top performer.

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Why do we need to reward the best teachers?

At the core of the Gillard Labor Government’s plan to deliver a world class education
system is the need for better outcomes at each and every school across the country.
For the first time, through initiatives such as NAPLAN and MySchool, parents and the
broader community have access to comparable information about learning outcomes at
their local school. This has started a national conversation about accountability and what
schools and teachers could do to improve student performance.
The current pay systems do not reward individual effort and performance and do not
encourage the best teachers to remain in the classroom. It means that our most
experienced teachers are tempted to move to the education bureaucracy or into school
principal positions to increase their earnings, or worse – to leave teaching all together –
rather than staying in the classroom where they make the biggest difference to
students.
A recent report from the Grattan Institute,1 based on OECD data, found that:
 91 per cent of teachers felt that the most effective teachers in their schools did
not receive the greatest recognition.
 92 per cent thought they would receive no recognition in their school if they
improved the quality of their teaching.
 81 per cent of teachers report that the evaluation of their work has no impact on
the likelihood of their career advancement.

Evidence also suggests that pay dispersal for teachers is deteriorating over time. Over
the last 10 years, teachers’ starting salaries in Australia have increased around 30 per
cent in real terms while salaries at the top of the scale have declined by three percent in
real terms2.
Performance based pay systems are now common in workplaces across the country.
Unlike many other professions, there are no financial returns to reflect ability or skill in
teaching, with a rigid pay scale structure that limits the ability to reward for greater
effort in the class room. The reality is that this means the most able teachers are paid
the same salary as the least able.3 By providing greater reward and recognition for
individual effort and ability, we will move to attract the best and brightest of our
graduates to the teaching profession. This will ensure Australian children benefit from
better teaching that will help them reach their full potential.
How will reward payments be made
A re-elected Gillard Government will fund a new National Partnership agreement to
provide bonuses to the very best classroom teachers, supported by a $1.25 billion
investment.
Using the new Australian Teacher Performance Management Principles and Procedures,
the top performing teachers eligible for a bonus will be identified by early 2014, based
on their performance in 2013.
1
Grattan Institute (2010) What teachers want: better teacher management
2
1996 and 2007 Teacher salaries drawn from OECD (2009) Education at a Glance, and interpolated by project team
3
Leigh, A. (2009) What do economists know about schools?

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The reward payment will be made in two instalments, at the start of each semester,
starting in semester 1, 2014.
As an estimate, the funding from the Federal Government would enable a one-off 10 per
cent salary bonus to the top 10 per cent of teachers in 2014 for their performance in
2013.
Based on current wages, this bonus would be up to $8,100, or two payments of $4,050
for our most experienced teachers. A teacher in the first few years of their career might
receive a bonus of around $5,400 dollars in total.
How the best teachers will be identified
The Gillard Labor Government will develop a nationally consistent, robust, equitable
performance management system, the ‘Australian Teacher Performance Management
Principles and Procedures’ (the Principles), so the best performing teachers can be
identified and rewarded.
The Principles will be based on the National Professional Standards for Teachers that will
be introduced in schools next year.
The Principles will set out the aspects of a teacher’s performance to be assessed and will
cover elements such as student achievement, contribution to the school community,
including providing support to other teachers, teamwork and participation in extra-
curricular activity.
It is anticipated that the assessment will also take into consideration a range of local
factors as well as nationally consistent standards and information.
Assessment of a teacher’s performance will be based on a range of methods including:
 Lesson observations.
 Analysis of student performance data (including NAPLAN and school based
information that can show the valued added by particular teachers).
 Parental feedback.
 Teacher qualifications and professional development undertaken.
The consultation process will also consider how student feedback could appropriately be
incorporated into the assessment.
Assessment will be conducted by a panel including the principal, a senior regional staff
representative and an independent third party. To ensure the integrity and fairness of
the process it will also include an independent review and appeals process.
The Australian Teacher Performance Management Principles & Procedures
Starting this year, the Australian Institute of Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) will
lead the development of the Australian Teacher Performance Management Principles
and Procedures. The development will include detailed consultation with teachers
unions, Government, Catholic and Independent education authorities, ACARA,
professional teaching bodies, parents and student representatives.
This will ensure that the assessment is robust, comprehensive and equitable.

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To support the implementation process of the Australian Teacher Performance

Management Principles and Procedures, supporting materials, professional
development and resources will be developed by AITSL for all schools.
A National Implementation Plan will be developed in consultation with stakeholders and
support will be provided to the States and Territories to implement the new Principles
and realign current performance management practices to the new nationally consistent
model.
The Principles and performance assessment procedures will be implemented in schools
from 2012.
The transition to a performance based system
The first step will be the development of the new Australian Teacher Performance
Management Principles and Procedures which will provide the mechanism to equitably
assess teacher performance in a nationally consistent way. This will be led by AITSL with
extensive stakeholder consultation in 2011, with implementation commencing from
2012.
The Gillard Labor Government will provide a total of $1.25 billion over five years to
deliver performance bonuses pay for the best performing teachers. This will be
distributed to State and Territory Governments and education authorities.
What does this mean for teachers?
These reforms will ensure the best teachers in our schools are recognised and rewarded
for their efforts. And all teachers will benefit from a nationally consistent performance
management framework that helps them improve their performance. This will support
teachers to develop through constructive feedback, advice, training and support
No teacher will have their current salary reduced as a result of these reforms.
How the reward payments will work
Every teacher will be eligible to receive a reward payment by participating in the new
Australian Teacher Performance Management Principles and Procedures.
The reward payments will be made in two instalments, at the start of each semester,
which will commence in 2014 based on teacher performance in the 2013 school year.
As an estimate, the funding from the Federal Government would enable a one-off 10 per
cent salary bonus to the top 10 per cent of teachers in 2014 for their performance in
2013.
This will mean that around one in ten, or around 25,000, teachers would receive a
performance bonus in each year. Based on current wages, this bonus would be up to
$8,100, or two payments of $4,050 for our most experienced teachers. A teacher in the
first few years of their career might receive a bonus of around $5,400 dollars in total.
The assessment criteria and benchmarks will be designed so that those teachers who are
in the top ten per cent of all teachers will be eligible. Teachers will be assessed on a
state wide basis, meaning that more or less than ten per cent of teachers in a particular
school may receive performance pay.

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The implementation of this initiative will build upon existing teacher quality reforms,
including reforms underway as part of the Teacher Quality National Partnership, with
the goal of delivering a nationally consistent performance management framework for
classroom teachers.
How will this reform be achieved?
The Government has already embarked on reforms to better reward quality classroom
teachers through the existing Teacher Quality National Partnership.
The first stage of reform will be driven by AITSL to develop the Australian Teacher
Performance Management Principles and Procedures, through broad consultation with
stakeholders including teacher employers and unions, teacher registration bodies and
professional associations, followed by a validation exercise run by AITSL to ensure
integrity.
This process will also include identifying a suite of options for implementing the
Principles in different school settings and developing online implementation support
tools, for example better practice guides, teacher assessment tools and professional
development plans. AITSL will also provide professional development for principals.
A facilitation payment of $50 million will be provided to States and Territories to make
the necessary changes to their existing performance management systems, so they align
with the new Australian Teacher Performance Management Principles and Procedures.
The Gillard Labor Government is determined to establish a robust, fair and equitable
assessment and review system to support these reforms and will provide $1.25 billion
over five years for performance bonuses for classroom teachers to drive these reforms.
Financial Implications ($m, underlying cash balance)
2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 Total
0.3 49.8 0 125.0 175.1
The cost of this new policy will be fully offset over the forward estimates, consistent
with the Gillard Labor Government’s commitment to return the Budget to surplus in
three years.
Labor’s record
The Gillard Labor Government has taken unparalleled action to build a world class
education system, so every Australian child can reach their full potential.
That is why the Government is committed to recruiting, training, retaining and
rewarding great teachers – including offering new reward payments.
We are fast-tracking the best and brightest graduates into teaching and into struggling
schools through the Teach for Australia program.
We are also increasing the funding available to universities for teacher education
courses allowing them to improve the quality of these courses and ensuring graduates
entering the teaching profession are better prepared.
Already our reforms are beginning to make a difference:

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 In New South Wales, a new category of Highly Accomplished teachers is now

working in schools in disadvantaged areas and being rewarded for their hard
work and high performance, with six figure salaries.

 Victoria is trialling models of school-based and teacher-based rewards in

government and independent schools including the provision of an annual bonus
to top performing teachers.

We have established the MySchool website which provides nationally comparable data
on school performance for the first time ever – providing transparent information on
each school’s literacy and numeracy results. The MySchool website has had over three
million visits, and has created a new national conversation about school performance
and student outcomes.
We have laid the foundations for a world class education system and the Gillard Labor
Government is determined to continue driving improved student outcomes, so all
Australian children are equipped with the skills they need for a successful future.

THE COALITION’S RECORD

As a former Cabinet Minister, Tony Abbott was part of the Coalition Government that:
 Neglected schools, investing only $33 billion over four years. The Gillard Labor
Government is providing $63.7 billion over four years – almost double this amount.
 Talked about a national curriculum but failed to deliver.
 Focused on putting flagpoles in schools, not on improving outcomes for students.
If he is elected Prime Minister, Mr Abbott has already made clear that he would cut
almost $3.2 billion from the education system. This includes cutting the $425 million
Teacher Quality National Partnership which is currently delivering:
 Increased local decision making in schools across the country including the popular
Independent Public Schools trial in Western Australia with 34 schools commencing this
year.
 High achieving non-education university graduates to the most disadvantaged secondary
schools under the Teach for Australia program.
 New Teaching Excellence scholarships for pre-service and existing teachers.
Mr Abbott’s cuts to education will also mean:
 120,000 students across the nation will miss out on a computer in 2300 schools and
670,000 computers that are already funded will become useless and out of date without
funding to upgrade and replace them.
 Over 1,800 secondary schools and 1.2 million students will miss out on a chance to
access a Trade Training Centre and start learning a trade at school.

AUTHORISED N.MARTIN for the ALP, 5/9 Sydney Ave. Barton ACT.

Julia Gillard and Labor Let’s move Australia Forward