The change is being introduced mid-way through the current performance and development cycle, which runs from May one year to April the next. The presidents of the Primary Principals Association, Secondary Principals Association and the Victorian president of the Australian Education Union support annual performance reviews of staff (which has been operating in Victoria for more than a decade). However, they object to a new system that raises questions about the legality of the Department’s actions contrary to an industrial agreement between unions and the Education Ministry.
It is estimated appeals made by teachers and principals to the Merit Protection Board about the outcome of their evaluation could take months and even years. This is given the percentage of staff that will fail from the Department’s proposed system which could lead to hundreds if not thousands of appeals.