Principals say the new legislation allowing teachers to disconnect from work outside their usual work hours should apply to school principals and other school leaders.
The new workplace regulations, effective as of Monday 26 August, followed an extensive campaign by the Australian Services Union, whose survey revealed that 70% of workers reported regularly performing work outside their agreed working hours. What’s more, nearly two-thirds of the survey’s respondents said they had been contacted about a work-related matter despite being off sick, on holidays, or another form of leave.
While the new legislation has been strongly supported by teachers and leaders, one principals association head says the right to disconnect should apply to them, and other school leaders.
Pat Murphy is the president of the Australian Government Primary Principals Association (AGPPA), which represents more than 1.6 million public primary school students and over 5,300 primary school leaders.
He says the Association wants state and territory departments to ensure that the application of the legislation, applies not just to teachers and support staff, but also to school principals and other school leaders.
“There is twelve years of evidence that identifies that the working hours and volume of work school leaders are expected to perform continues to grow each year,” Murphy told The Educator.
“With almost half of school leaders indicating they will walk away from the job in the next five years, it’s critical that every leader feels they have the right to disconnect if we are to return being a school leader to an attractive, viable profession.”
‘A matter of urgency’
Murphy said while it is reassuring that a few state departments are taking positive steps to support teachers and leaders to disconnect, all state and territory departments should address this “as a matter of urgency.”
“We also require our teachers and support staff to respect a school leader’s right to disconnect, as it is apparent that a significant number of out-of-hours emails and phone calls originate from staff,” Murphy said.
“While school leaders in general, are happy to be informed of critical incidents out of hours, this should be in exceptional circumstances only.”
Murphy said schools and departments need to communicate with communities of the protocols and the boundaries that can ensure school leaders can disconnect and ensure these are adhered to by all.
“Our association encourages leaders to utilise ‘Out of Office’ replies for emails to be set up for school holidays, periods of leave and weekends.”
New law will help to alleviate teacher shortages
Australian Education Union Federal President Correna Haythorpe said the union supports the right to disconnect for all who work in education.
“Technology, while a useful tool for teaching and learning, has facilitated an extension of the working day for many,” Haythorpe told The Educator. “For teachers in particular, the capacity to manage their own working day is very important and to be able to disconnect at an appropriate time is important.”
Haythorpe said Australian teachers have experienced unsustainable workloads, in excess of 56 hours per week, which is leading to rising attrition rates and a school workforce crisis.
“The right to disconnect can alleviate this and ensure that teachers can focus on teaching and learning within their working day,” she said. “Most people would consider that people have a right to switch off at the end of the working day, weekends and during any vacation periods.”
‘Fundamental to the ongoing success of public education’
Since March 2024, NSW teachers have enjoyed enhanced rights that exceed the right to ignore digital communication after hours, said Amber Flohm, Deputy President of the NSW Teachers Federation.
Flohm said NSW Department of Education, principals and other executive leaders will not send emails, messages or contact staff outside regular school operating hours unless it’s an emergency.
“The power imbalance between worker and employer often means that even if a worker has a right to ignore out of hours communication, they still feel compelled or pressured to respond,” Flohm told The Educator.
“By putting a proactive responsibility on the employer to refrain from sending out of hours messages in the first place, we can shape a healthier culture that gives employees, in our case teachers, more opportunity to rest and recharge.”
Looking ahead, Flohm said combating burnout is one of the most important things that can be done to attract and retain teachers.
“This is fundamental to the ongoing success of public education.”
‘A well-rested educator is a better educator’
Earlier this week, teachers and school staff met with the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Murray Watt, at St Francis Xavier College in Florey, ACT, to mark the new right to disconnect coming into force.
“Clocking off used to mean something, but now technology means that many teachers are feeling pressured to respond to emails late into the night,” Minister Watt said.
“The Albanese Government’s new legislation means workers can’t be punished for not responding to unreasonable requests at work. A well-rested educator is a better educator.”
Teacher and Independent Education Union (IEU) NSW/ACT Branch member Jacob Betts, who is also the Science Coordinator at St Francis Xavier College, said professional obligations and expectations have been encroaching on teachers’ personal time for many years, and this ramped up during the pandemic period.
“Teachers are already carrying heavy workloads. We need the right to disconnect to protect our wellbeing so we can in turn look after our students,” Betts said. “It will help prevent burnout by enabling a better work-life balance so we can enjoy uninterrupted time with our own families and friends in the evenings and on weekends.”
IEUA NSW/ACT Branch Secretary Carol Matthews said unions have fought for the right to disconnect and congratulated the Labor Government as the new laws came into force on Monday.
“As of today, school staff will not have to be available to respond to calls or emails from parents or students in the evenings or during weekends, and they will not have to respond to non-urgent emails from their principal or employer.”