Three emerging pressure points for school leaders: wages, safety and flexible work

School leaders are currently navigating a convergence of regulatory and industrial developments that, taken together, are likely to reshape workforce management and community expectations over the next 12–18 months. 

Recently, Cecelia Irvine-So, Practice Leader, Education Law and Privacy, and Skye Rose, Practice Leader, Safeguarding and Discrimination, sat down to discuss what these changes mean in practice for schools. Three key themes emerged.

1. The state teachers’ wages outcome – flow‑on pressure without new funding 

The Victorian Government has not reached agreement with the AEU that would have delivered pay increases of roughly 28–32% over four years for government school staff.

Apart from ongoing uncertainty, for independent schools, the key issue is not the detail of the proposed agreement but its market effect. 

As Skye put it: 

Whether a school is operating under an enterprise agreement or is governed by the modern award, a materially higher government-sector benchmark changes the conversation. For schools with an EA, it creates pressure well before the next bargaining round, particularly around attraction, retention and staff expectations. For award-reliant schools, it sharpens the gap between the legal minimum and what the market may now expect above award rates. Either way, schools will need to manage that tension against funding settings that have not shifted in the same way.

There are two structural realities to keep in mind: 

• Funding has not increased: it’s calibrated to a sector‑wide formula rather than wage movements.
• Therefore, there is no corresponding increase in funding tied to this pending wage outcome. 

The practical result is a growing gap between labour market expectations (lifted by the government settlement) and the funding envelope within which independent schools must operate.

2. Expanding the safety order scheme – the school gate is no longer the boundary (and has not been for some time) 

School Community Safety Orders have been in place since 2022, allowing principals to restrict parents or other adults who engage in harmful or abusive behaviour. In my experience working with clients, there are some inherent limitations in the scheme, notably the requirement to apply to enforce the order, compared with the ability to enforce trespass notices via a call to Police. 

Safety orders have been of most help to schools in two main circumstances, specifically: 

1. For use with parties who are harassing or pestering without being a real risk or hazard; and 
2. When threatened as a possible outcome if unacceptable behaviour continues. 

The significant development now is the proposed strengthening of that scheme to more clearly capture online conduct, including social media, messaging platforms and broader digital communications. 

The policy intent is clear: abuse does not stop at the school gate. 

As Skye observed:

Some of the most damaging conduct schools are dealing with now is not happening at reception or in the car park. It is happening in semi-private digital spaces, including parent WhatsApp groups, year-level chats and after-hours message chains. The practical challenge for schools is not just whether the law captures that conduct, but how they identify it, evidence it and respond proportionately.

We will see how enforcement pans out, in view of the often hidden nature of online conduct.

3. A legislated right to work from home – and the challenge for schools 

This week, the Victorian Government introduced legislation to enshrine a legal right to work from home two days per week for employees whose roles can reasonably be performed remotely. 

This is a significant shift, and we note:

• It is framed as a legal entitlement, not simply a right to request. 
• It will sit within the Equal Opportunity Act framework, with disputes going to VEOHRC and potentially VCAT. 
• It is scheduled to commence from 1 September 2026 for most employers. 

As Skye emphasised:

Schools are built around in-person teaching, supervision, student support and community life. That makes physical presence essential for many roles, but not necessarily for every role or every duty. The task for schools will be to identify where on-site work is genuinely required, where flexibility is possible, and how those decisions can be justified if challenged.

For executive teams, the early issues are likely to include role segmentation, consistency and fairness across staff, interaction with existing agreements, and ensuring decisions are defensible where requests are refused. 

Drawing the threads together 

What links these developments is their cumulative effect. They point to a school environment where labour market expectations are rising faster than funding settings, workplace safety extends into digital spaces, and flexibility is becoming a legal entitlement rather than a managerial choice. 

As Skye summed it up: 

Each of these developments can be managed. The challenge is that they are converging at the same time, and each one goes to a core aspect of workforce governance: affordability, safety, flexibility, and defensible decision-making. Schools that prepare early will be better placed than those responding issue by issue.

For boards and executive teams, the practical response is to step back and consider workforce strategy, clarity on flexibility, boundaries on parent conduct, and how to have honest conversations about affordability. 

How we can help

Moores works closely with schools to navigate the intersection of workforce management, safeguarding obligations and community expectations. Our Education Sector Specialists can assist boards, principals and executive teams to prepare for these developments in a practical and defensible way.

Contact us

Please contact us for more detailed and tailored help.

Subscribe to our email updates and receive our articles directly in your inbox.

^{Disclaimer: This article provides general information only and is not intended to constitute legal advice. You should seek legal advice regarding the application of the law to you or your organisation.}