Commonwealth government announces prac payments
Queensland Teachers' Journal, Vol 129 No 4, 7 June 2024, page 11.
University students who are required to undertake mandatory placements as part of their course requirements (teaching, nursing, and social work) will be able to access the newly announced “Commonwealth prac payment” (CPP) from July 2025.
This measure, clearly targeted to assist with attracting candidates to these professions, is welcomed by the QTU.
Although the $319.50 a week payment will be means tested, it does go some way to assist with the issue of “placement poverty” experienced by students who are unable to continue their part-time work arrangements when undertaking pre-service teaching placements. However, the QTU does agree with those pundits who have called for the amount to be increased.
Permission to Teach (PTT) teachers schools will receive this payment in addition to the prac/PEx payment the QTU negotiated with the Queensland Government.
This latest measure, in addition to the recent announcement of HELP debt reductions via changes to the indexing of HELP debts (see page 4), indicates that the federal government has listened to the concerns of teachers across the country, who feel that there is a need to develop meaningful strategies to attract and retain new entrants to the profession.