The Federal Budget must address inequality
Australian Education Union Media Release 11th May 2026
The AEU has called on the Albanese Government to deliver an ambitious Federal Budget that addresses the growing housing affordability crisis facing education workers and protects vital funding for students with disability in public schools.
AEU Federal President Correna Haythorpe said teachers, principals and education support staff were increasingly being priced out of the suburbs they work in, with rising housing costs adding to workforce shortages and retention pressures across the country.
“People should be able to afford to live near their job, but for many teachers, principals and education support staff that is no longer possible,” Ms Haythorpe said.
“Median house prices in Sydney are now more than 13 times a teacher’s salary, and far exceed the accepted affordability benchmark of three times income.”
“In Victoria, 43 per cent of teaching positions are in a Local Government Area where it is unaffordable for a graduate teacher to rent a one-bedroom property.”
“Housing costs are increasingly pricing teachers and education support staff out of the communities where they work. In this budget we need to see reforms that make the system fairer and more sustainable.”
The union also raised serious concerns about the Government’s proposed $463 million in savings from school disability funding.
“Public schools educate the overwhelming majority of students with disability, yet too many schools are being forced to stretch already limited budgets to meet growing need,” Ms Haythorpe said.
“A recent AEU survey of public school principals found they were re-allocating $147,000 per school to support students with disability from other areas of the school budget because of unmet need.”
“There are more than 200,000 students in the public school system who have been assessed as having a disability, yet receive no funding. At the same time we have seen disability funding to private schools grow by $1.4 billion from 2020 to 2024.”
“This Budget must invest in the services and supports that students rely on, not deepen inequity.”
