- The Guardian
- Issue #2178
Australian public school teachers are spending more than $175 million of their own money each year on basic classroom supplies, exposing the personal impact of chronic underfunding of public schools, according to new data from the Australian Education Union (AEU).
The AEU’s 2025 State of Our Schools survey of more than 10,000 public school teachers found that more than 86 per cent of teachers are using their own money to purchase supplies for their classrooms, spending an average of almost $1,000 each year. Nationally, this amounts to nearly $177 million, with teachers in primary, special and very remote schools spending even more.
AEU Federal President Correna Haythorpe said the findings revealed an “unacceptable reality” for the teaching profession. “Teachers are spending significant amounts of their own money on the basic necessities needed to run a classroom.
“We’re not talking about nice-to-haves or personal touches. Teachers are paying for basic items like stationery, books, classroom equipment, and materials to support individual students. These are critical items necessary for teachers to do their jobs properly, but they have been forced to pay for them out of their own pockets.”
Teachers in remote areas face the highest average out-of-pocket costs.
Haythorpe said teachers’ commitment to their students was being taken for granted by governments. “Teachers do this because they care deeply about their students, but their goodwill is being exploited. When more than 85 per cent of public school teachers are spending nearly $1,000 a year of their own money, that’s not generosity, that’s a system failure.”
PARASITE OF THE WEEK: is ANZ bank. The Finance Sector Union (FSU) has condemned ANZ’s decision to cut jobs across multiple Suncorp Bank divisions, including Business Banking and Home Lending, warning the move appears to directly contradict the commitments made to workers and communities when the sale was approved.
ANZ has confirmed that 197 Suncorp Bank roles are being impacted, with 66 staff expected to lose their jobs. The majority of the jobs impacted are in Brisbane.
At the time the takeover of Suncorp was approved, ANZ gave clear undertakings that for three years there would be no regional ANZ or Suncorp bank closures, no changes to the number of Suncorp branches in Queensland, and no net job losses across Australia as a result of the acquisition.
The FSU says these cuts are an insult to those conditions and are a disgrace for workers who rely on secure jobs in the finance sector. The union is concerned the cuts do not comply with ANZ’s obligations. Workers and communities were promised stability and security, and that hasn’t happened.
FSU National President Wendy Streets says ANZ’s actions represent a profound breach of trust. The union has called on the federal government to intervene and ensure ANZ is held accountable for the commitments it made as part of the acquisition, saying this is another example of CEO Nuno Matos being out of control.
“ANZ made big promises to secure approval for the Suncorp acquisition, including commitments to protect jobs and invest in Queensland.
“Now we are seeing workers pay the price. ANZ has said it is complying with its obligations; however, we have not seen the evidence to support that claim. These are empty promises. ANZ told staff and communities they would be looked after. Instead, jobs are being cut.
“The government cannot allow a major bank to make binding promises to secure approval and then walk away from them. This situation is completely unacceptable. The government must step in and take control.”
