22 August 2024 

Term 3 Women’s e-News

A Tale of Two Outcomes

This is a story of knowing your rights and the power of a union representative who kept asking questions in pursuit of those rights for the members in her school.

The focus of this tale is the 2024 Regional Attraction and Retention (RAR) payment.

Recently, a QTU representative and member of the State Council contacted the QTU Women’s Officer to share a tale of two members and their divergent outcomes. Our QTU representative was suitably perplexed as to why the outcomes were different, even though the circumstances appeared almost identical. Indeed, it was a strange situation.

Both members were on maternity leave on the first day of Term 2, 2024. However, their experiences with the RAR payment were markedly different:

• One member received the Regional Attraction and Retention payment.
• The other member did not.
   

What is the RAR Payment?

• A lump sum, one-off payment per annum of $900 for teachers working in Transfer Rating 2 and 3 locations in regional, rural, and remote Queensland.
• The payment is available to both full-time and part-time teachers, whether they are permanent or temporarily engaged.
• The RAR Payment was agreed upon and included in clause 4.15.9 of the Department of Education State School Teacher’s Certified Agreement 2022.
• The department made the initial RAR payment for the 2023 school year in June 2023.
   

Qualifications for Receiving the RAR Payment in 2024:

• Teachers must have been working at the identified school on the first day of Term 2, 2024.
• Teachers are ineligible to receive the payment under the following scenarios:
  • Leave without pay for a continuous period exceeding three months.
  • Short-term, temporary engagement or relieve-at-level arrangements that have not continued at the school.
  • Teachers participating in the Teacher Rapid Response Team initiative.
  • Teachers working from home and not residing in the regional location of the identified school.
     

Returning to our story: Both members were on maternity leave on the first day of Term 2, 2024. One member received the payment, while the other did not.

Our QTU representative found this discrepancy odd. She advised her member to query the non-payment with the employer. Promptly, she was informed that she was not eligible for the 2024 RAR payment due to her leave being “in excess of 6 months” and having commenced on the first day of Term 2, 2024.

However, the reasoning provided for non-payment was incorrect. Neither reason aligned with the criteria that would make an employee ineligible for the 2024 RAR payment.

Our representative contacted the union, and we pursued the matter until it was resolved. Eventually, the member received the RAR payment.

Important Note: Members should pay attention to some of the wording in the department’s FAQs. For instance, “Teachers must have been working at the identified school on the first day of Term 2, 2024” includes teachers who were on paid leave on that day (e.g., a teacher on half-pay parental leave).

If any members wish to query their eligibility for the RAR payment, they are welcome to contact the QTU. They can also email Recruiting.MyHR@qed.qld.gov.au, just like our representative and members in the NQ region did—armed with knowledge of their rights.

Power to you, QTU members!

​​​​Gillian Crotty
QTU Assistant Secretary - Women’s Coordinator, Social Welfare Issues

 Authorised by Kate Ruttiman, General Secretary, Queensland Teachers' Union
21 Graham Street, Milton, QLD, Australia, 4064