jaxowen

does anyone know where i can find out about the teachers payscale for primary teachers in oz, does one exsist?

thanks jacqui

ahoy

i've definately seen that. it might be on the education queensland website, or the teacher registration site. it gave supply rates as well. sorry not to be more help but keep searching the sites and it will turn up!

vikk

I have a copy from QLD government I think I vaguely remember having to email them for it. Its in a word document & I'm not sure how to send it on here. Either tell me how to send a word document on here if you can or PM me with your email add & I'll send it as an attachment for you.

vikk

Hi
I found these for you, the first 1 is not easy reading, I still havent worked out what salary I will be on as it seems a little open to interpretation. e.g.

"A Teacher admitted to the service as a 4 Year trained Teacher who has an Approved bachelor's degree with first and second degree honours from a recognised University plus one Year of Teacher education or 2 Approved degrees from a recognised university plus one Year of Teacher education shall commence on the salary prescribed for Step 2."

I have a 4 yr BEd so dont need a year of teacher education. I think thats just for people who did something like a history degree, then moved across to teaching. Isn't it?

http://www.wageline.qld.gov.au/award...ies+-+teachers

http://www.wageline.qld.gov.au/award...IES+-+TEACHERS

If you are any wiser, & have any idea please let me know. Good look!

LindyLoo

I've just started working for Queensland Government as a secondary teacher. It seems to be a dark secret what the pay scale actually is! My colleagues gave me this link.

Queensland teacher's union.

If you are a supply/relief teacher you get around $50 per hour and work 5 hours a day.

I'm having hassle getting onto the pay scale. I nearly cried when I got my first pay slip for £200 per week after tax. Apparently when it's sorted I will get back dated.


Please note this is my first post (you are honoured).

JG04

:scared: That is rather frightening! Hope you get the salary sorted!! Why were you getting so much hassle getting on the payscale?

LindyLoo

The usual hassles from local government pen pushers. You will need a letter from your former employer stating your years of service, if you were full time or part time (include your pointage, 0.5 for example) and if you had any leave of absence (state none).

I was at the top of the pay scale back home, currently being paid at the lowest. It should get sorted out - hopefully in a few weeks, but they do promise that I'll get my rightful pay back dated.

Each state has its own teaching authority, so you will have to register with at least one state. I registered in Queensland as a mate had a bit of a nightmare time in Victoria. If you have all your NOOSR stuff its a piece of cake. They always want to see the actual content of your degree course, this seems to be the way they measure your academic qualifications. No shiny piece of paper and a classification for the Aussies.

I did register in South Australia once we got out here. A COMPLETE nightmare. Avoid if possible. It took me 5 months. I had to arrange to meet people, explain my situation and only because I had my valid Queensland teaching Authority certificate did they consider me eligible. I had to have 3 police checks, take a first aid course and spend a day learning how to notify social workers if I thought there was any suspicion of child abuse. I had left the state and still hadn't completed my registration to teach in state schools! However my phone rang off the hook in the new academic year ( pity I was thousands of miles away!

The average salary Australia wide is $50 000, to give you an idea of how the pay scale measures up.

Hope I have been useful.

JG04

Linda,
Thanks for that. Have had a look at the salary scale for Queensland on the website, interesting! I've also been on top of the scale for a while now and don't want to or think it is fair to start at the bottom again! Am used to the necessity for paperwork over there and have multiple copies of everything and employment records from 1993!
You mentioned about only registering with one state? I was going to register with NSW as well as Queensland but is that not necessary? Would save me using up more precious copies of certified documents!!
Another question if you don't mind, I have certified copies of everything to send to the Registration Board in Queensland and noticed you have to also apply to the Education Dept after receiving registration. That's fair enough but do I have to send more of the same certified documents to them as well? Can't the registration Board 'vouch' for these documents? Seems rather strange to me and means spending more on certifying documents!
Thanks again for your help! Still can't wait to get out there! 6 months to go!

LindyLoo

JoG

You are probably best to register with both states before you come out. It cost about $100 to register in Queensland, it took me about 10 weeks.

Once you have your teacher's registration you can then apply to teach in local government, state schools. You will have to pay for a police check around $50. I'd try to do this before you get out. This means that you would be available to work immediately. (Hey, you don't need to start right away, but you have the option if money is tight).

There are a lot more private schools here. Check out independent schools, as you get a slightly better pay, better resources but the schools think they own your soul.

On my application to teach in Queensland it asked you to identify where you wanted to work. I left it blank (I had no idea of the regions), but noted that I was arriving from overseas and was seeking work around Brisbane. I received phone calls from far and wide. It appears that once you have registered you are on their database and schools can then individually contact you.

There is no one site that comprehensively advertises teaching jobs. So it can be a bit of a nightmare looking for vacancies. careerone is a good place to start. Try and avoid teaching agencies as they take a cut of your wages and all the jobs are advertised on the internet anyway.

As for document certification. It was costing us a fortune in the UK. Eventually a friendly solicitor certified dozens of our documents for £10 -to go in her charity box. We had already shelled out around £200! In Oz you just go down to the local police station or library and someone signs your papers for free.

Hope I have been useful.

Linda

vikk

Hi Linda, Thanks for a really useful & positive post. I'm so glad to hear your pyhone didnt stop ringing (even though you were miles away) Did you have to do country service & just how demanding are private schools? more demanding than UK state schools? I don't mind hard work but I think it's time to start enjoying time off too! I am having problems getting a ref erence from a school abroad that I worked at fron 98-00, do you think this will be a problem? Thanks again for your advice. vikk

JG04

Linda,
This was really helpful, thanks. I will go ahead and register with both states. Another question - why do you have to get a police check if you have just moved to Oz? That doesn't make sense to me! As I will have been in the UK a year after activating my residency I intend to get another police check here to send with my application. Is that not enough? They do like their bits of paper!!! I was lucky too and got the solicitor my mum works for to certify my 'hundreds' of documents! Saves a fortune! I currently work in the private system, took a break from state teaching! Longer hols do make up for the occasional Saturday that we have to do and extra nights. Will look into them too. Must keep the options open! So are you enjoying it?

LindyLoo

Vikk

This is my experience over here so far...I've taught for one term in a private school (South Australia) and am in the middle of term in a state school (Queensland). This is how I've found it, I'm sure others will totally disagree with my perceptions.

I'm not getting too tied down with trying to find permanent work; I'm just trying to find my feet. You will get supply/relief work...if you are on their database. They expect you to travel for 50 minutes maximum to get to work in Queensland. I used the, “I need to use public transport� excuse.

It's a breeze teaching here - compared to the uk. The kids come to school with bags, notebooks and pencil cases! I have not had to hand out one pencil so far. The courses are not nearly as demanding as in the UK. In most states the kids only sit exams when they leave year 12 to go to university.

The independent schools think that because they pay your salary directly they can then lord it over you. You must commit to extra curricular activities. Give up at least one after school session a week on a sport and most Saturday mornings. Plus giving some cultural input to curriculum - they work you hard and expect a lot from you.

Personally I've found it easier here to get by and have a life out with school; without feeling completely washed out by the end of the day/week.

As for country service - don't fret. Everyone I know has managed to wangle out of it some way or other.

The reference could be a problem. Send them exactly what you need. Its not a reference about your capabilities, its just a statement of facts. How long you worked for them, what your job was, if you were full time and state that you had no leave of absences. I'd e-mail them with what you want it to say and ask them to print it off on headed not paper, sign it and send it back to you. That way you will have a complete record of your teaching experience, which will be used to assess where you will be on the pay scale.

Good luck. Your qualified and are probably very good at your job - what can go wrong?

ahoy

i have been reading this threead over everybody's shoulders with great interest and want to say thanks for the reassuring comments! i plan to come in the first week of the summer holidays, if we can sell the house in time. we will spend 30 days in sydney then go up to qld sunshine coast area. i am butting in because i was hoping for a reply to the earlier question about why you need a police checkif you've only just arrived. seems a bit mad. but then so does so much other stuff.

its very nice to be3 able to post to people in a similar position!

LindyLoo

The police check is just a tick box exercise. I'd been in South Australia for two days, and they still wanted me to have a police check done. They didn't want to see my clean police record from Scotland, where I had spent the past 35 years, with a clean criminal record. Its the usual story about appropriate checks carried out on those who work with children.

Its not a bad idea to get another police check done in the uk. It substantiates your lack of criminal record. Although the private school which hired me assumed that everything must be ok as I'd been allowed to emigrate and then get my South Australia teaching registration, so they didn't ask me to do a further police check (some people do have common sense).

The government agencies just tick all the appropriate boxes. I had to fill out one form again, because the one that I had downloaded and filled in was the wrong one. I was informed that the wrong document had been posted on their website and I had to fill out exactly the same info on a form that said "Teacher" at the top. This set me back around 4 weeks! Talk about bureaucracy.

Like I said in my previous post, I'm finding it a breeze compared to teaching in state schools in Scotland. I'm not taking it too seriously and getting by! Give it a go, you have nothing to lose.

LindyLoo

I was just checking my grammar, before posting.