Scheduled review – Employment Policy

These updates were published to school sites by the end of 2024.

Independent schools, also see Release Notes - Independent Schools.

Performance Management

• Updated introductory information about legislative requirements as a good employer, good faith obligations, and collective and individual employment agreement conditions.
• Clarified that performance management differs according to different staff members, and described performance management processes for teaching staff, non-teaching staff, and the principal.
• Clarified that for teaching staff and the principal, performance management includes the professional growth cycle. Included information about professional standards of the principal in terms of performance management.

Principal Professional Growth Cycle

• Condensed information about the professional growth cycle for the principal and moved explanatory information into drop-down boxes where relevant.
• Linked to privacy and records retention requirements.

Teacher Professional Growth Cycle

• Clarified information about the professional growth cycle for teachers, and the principal's responsibilities within this process.
• Clarified the connection between the professional growth cycle and other performance management processes for teachers.
• Linked to privacy and records retention requirements.

Appraisal of Non-Teaching Staff

(retired)

• Moved relevant information from this topic to Performance Management. Removed topic from sites.

Professional Development

• Updated introductory information about legislative requirements as a good employer.
• Included more information about the aims of professional development, and how these should align with the strategic direction of the school.
• Clarified information about conditions for approving professional development, including considering financial, staffing, release time, and equal employment requirements.

Professional Development – Catholic

(state-integrated Catholic schools only)

• The changes to the version of this policy for Catholic schools are as above, with additional information about how professional development is considered as part of special character evaluation and development, requirements for special positions, and allocation of funding.

Staff Leave

• Reordered information to clarify the processes of applying for leave and managing leave.
• Removed the template leave application form and any other forms linked to this topic. Schools should keep any leave forms internally, and can instead add optional wording about how staff apply for leave.
• Added more wording about sick leave, including updated sample wording about medical certificates that schools may choose to add.
• Added who manages principal leave to the table, for clarity.
• Updated topic contains content from Criteria for Discretionary Leave.
• Reworded information about cashing up annual holidays so that schools can be clear about whether they will or will not consider requests.

Criteria for Discretionary Leave

(retired)

• Moved relevant information into Staff Leave. Removed topic from sites.

Media

• Updated the title to Media and Publicity.
• Clarified information about interacting with the media.
• Linked to relevant school policies where specific actions are required and added relevant legislation.

Staff Conduct

• Reorganised content to clarify conduct expectations that apply to all staff.
• Added a section to cover professional expectations for teachers, and simplified the concerns about staff conduct section.
• Added links to relevant topics, including a Related topics section.
• Removed all staff codes of conduct from school sites as this is an operational resource that can be maintained and shared internally.

School Social Media

• Added the following wording to School Social Media "If anyone in our school community receives a media enquiry about the school through any school social media accounts, pass the enquiry to the designated media contact(s). See Media and Publicity."