Red tape reduction
Queensland Teachers' Journal, Vol 130 No 6, 5 September 2025, page no 25.
In the wake of the Crisafulli government’s announcement that it intended to reduce the administrative burden on teachers and school leaders by 25 per cent between 2025 and 2028, the Red Tape Reduction Working Group (RTRWG) has met six times to consider the Department of Education’s (DoE) actions in developing and implementing an action plan.
Queensland Teachers’ Union (QTU) members should be congratulated for their overwhelming participation in the DoE consultation sessions during the initial phase. The consultation report, which draws on the insights of Queensland teachers and school leaders to establish a baseline understanding of the red tape affecting schools and its impact on teaching and learning, can be accessed here.
Based on these findings, an overarching action plan has been developed to address the identified pressures. This plan is expected to be finalised and launched in mid-2025, with implementation scheduled between 2025 and 2028. Once released, it will be accompanied by a communication package to guide teachers and school leaders.
Measuring progress
As the consultation report notes, measuring red tape reduction is not an exact science. Some impacts can be quantified in terms of time, such as minutes spent scanning and uploading documents, completing forms, entering data, or meeting compliance requirements. Others are less tangible, such as effects on teaching quality, professional respect, job satisfaction, or the level of support teachers receive. Progress will be tracked through monitoring the implementation of reduction actions, assessing their benefits, and regularly seeking feedback from teachers.
This year’s School Opinion Survey includes questions on red tape. Members are encouraged to participate, as the data collected will help identify trends over the next four years and guide DoE action at both local and system levels.
Government initiatives
During Semester 1, the Minister for Education, John-Paul Langbroek, announced six initiatives to reduce red tape:
- one-plan-per-student approach
- simple purchasing and procurement
- human resources (single point of contact)
- statewide expectations for parent communication
- small schools support plan
- senior leaders school immersion program.
As of 1 July, the parent communication initiative, the school immersion program, and the purchasing/procurement changes have been implemented or are underway.
One-plan-per-student
The DoE is working to ensure this initiative genuinely reduces the time spent entering and retrieving student information. Updates are being made to clarify when a plan is required, and a guide is being developed to outline expectations, including the type of evidence needed — and not needed — to support student learning, belonging, and engagement.
The QTU’s initial feedback emphasised the following:
- The plan must reduce workload and must not become a “mega-plan” combining all 23 existing plans.
- Teachers’ professional judgment should be respected; not everything requires documentation.
- All current plans should be independently reviewed for necessity, safety benefits, and whether they stem from departmental risk aversion.
- Many plans exist primarily for funding documentation; more efficient funding models are needed.
- SMART goals are not always appropriate, particularly for chronic health conditions.
Teachers and school leaders are encouraged to share their experiences with student plans, either during consultation sessions in early September or via email at OnePlanOneStudent@qed.qld.gov.au.
Have your say
QTU members’ voices are essential to the success of the Red Tape Reduction Action Plan. Your feedback will help shape practical, meaningful changes that ease administrative burdens and improve teaching and learning conditions.
Members can provide feedback directly to the QTU by:
- visiting www.qtu.asn.au/workload-reduction
- emailing redtape@qtu.asn.au
Leah Olsson
Vice-President
The first 100 days
2025 has seen some positive changes for state schools, with a new government and a fresh mandate to support schools, staff, and students.
Behaviour Boost funding to every state school was announced at the end of 2024 and delivered at the start of 2025. Funds were provided directly to schools for local level decision making. Schools have employed a range of professions from social workers to additional guidance officers, based on their needs, to provide reactive/proactive programming.
This initiative has been backed up by consistent government messaging to the community that schools are a partner with parents to improve student behaviour at school, not the sole responsible agent. The parent help line has expanded its operating hours to cater for those parents who want external help to improve their child’s engagement with school.
The Communication Protocols are designed to reduce staff workload, increase work life balance and maintain a productive and healthy relationship between the school and home. The boundaries give clear guidance to staff on response times and behavioural expectations, thereby enlivening the digital technologies clauses of the certified agreement, in which employees are encouraged to disconnect when accessing rest time, weekends and leave/vacation periods.
The red tape reduction work continues, with an action plan under construction now that the consultation and collaboration work has concluded. Some workload reduction strategies for principals and corporate service staff have already been implemented.
The department and government need to be commended for listening to secondary school leaders and delaying and undertaking further consultation on the proposed changes to vocational education, which would have had a negative impact on senior secondary students starting next year.
That’s four positive changes in the first 100 days of the new government. Let’s hope the pace remains the same in the next 100 days.