18 OctVECTEA 2024: your essential guide

Posted on 18 Oct 2023

What is the VECTEA 2024?

The Victorian Early Childhood Teachers and Educators Agreement (VECTEA) is a sector-wide enterprise agreement that sets a standard with its superior salary and working conditions, supporting teachers and educators in kindergarten education programs.

The current agreement, the VECTEA 2020, and the agreements that mirror its terms and conditions have an expiry date of 30 September 2024. ELAA will shortly begin negotiations with the relevant sector unions for a replacement agreement, the VECTEA 2024.

VECTEA 2024 sign-up process for current ELAA members

From 16 October 2023, approved providers who are ELAA members received an email containing a link to complete an Employer Bargaining Representative Authorisation (EBRA) for VECTEA 2024 sign-up.

Additionally, ELAA members who join the VECTEA 2024 and pay the annual VECTEA signatories fee will gain access to our new four-year membership subscription, known as the VECTEA Signatory Benefits Package.

I am a signatory to the VECTEA 2020; do I need to re-sign to the VECTEA 2024?

Yes. All VECTEA 2020 employer respondents must recommit to the forthcoming VECTEA 2024 Agreement. The VECTEA 2020 and 2024 Agreements are distinct and separate from each other.

If your approved provider does not re-sign for the 2024 Agreement, you will not remain a VECTEA respondent once the new agreement is approved. Your approved provider cannot stay on the 2020 Agreement after this date, as ELAA will take steps to terminate the existing agreement at the Fair Work Commission.

What are the advantages to service providers by becoming a VECTEA 2024 respondent?

By joining the VECTEA 2024, service providers can benefits from:

• substantial savings in time, administration, and legal expenses, as there’s no need to negotiate an employer agreement individually
• having a clear and consistent arrangement for your staff, ensuring uniformity across most Victorian community/not-for-profit sessional kindergarten services
• supporting a contemporary award that underscores the commitment of both employers and employees to delivering high-quality early education programs
• access to higher EA (Enterprise Agreement) kindergarten funding rates (per capita and teacher supplement rates) from the Department of Education (Vic). Refer to the current kindergarten funding rates here: Kindergarten funding rates | vic.gov.au (www.vic.gov.au).

How can becoming an employer respondent to the VECTEA enhance the retention of teaching staff?

The VECTEA and its predecessor agreements have substantially enhanced pay and working conditions for teachers compared to those covered by the industry (modern) awards. These superior pay and conditions for teaching staff ensure that providers maintain their high-quality ratings.

Some of the beneficial provisions of the VECTEA 2020 for teachers and educators include:

• increased planning time, enabling the creation of high-quality programs (30 minutes per teaching hour for early childhood teachers and 15 minutes per teaching hour for educators)
• 10 weeks of annual leave (all paid term break leave)
• 16 weeks of parental leave with full employer support for primary caregivers
• 20 days of paid family and domestic violence leave
• 15 days (pro-rata) of paid personal/carers leave each year
• graduate teacher mentoring leave for provisionally registered teachers
• access to a government-funded Wellbeing Support Program (EAP).

Who is eligible to become a part of the VECTEA 2024?

To participate in the VECTEA 2024, your early childhood education and care provider must meet the following criteria:

1. be a financial ELAA member (with an active membership)
2. be located in Victoria or have early childhood services in Victoria
3. belong to one or more of the following categories:

• • a standalone community kindergarten managed by a Committee of Management or a School Council
  • an integrated community long day care with a kindergarten education program
  • any provider in Victoria with a funded kindergarten education program
  • an Early Years Management organisation (Victorian-located services only with kindergarten education programs)
  • a multi-site organisation (Victorian-located services only with kindergarten education programs).

What comes next?

As it has done for over two decades, Early Learning Association Australia (ELAA), your peak body and employer representative, will begin negotiations with the relevant sector unions for a new agreement. During these negotiations, the VECTEA 2020 will remain operational until the new agreement is approved.

At the conclusion of these negotiations, your teachers and educators covered by the proposed agreement will be given an opportunity to cast a ballot to approve the new agreement and its terms. ELAA will then seek approval, on your behalf, for this new agreement at the Fair Work Commission to become operational.

For more details regarding the VECTEA 2024 and regular updates, please consult our Frequently Asked Questions section by CLICKING HERE .

ELAA members can also email us at vectea@elaa.org.au with any questions about the sign-up process.