Media Release
15 October 2025
National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) members at Australian Catholic University will launch strike action on Thursday.
Union members will stop work for two hours in the morning after rejecting ACU management’s offer of a 2.5 per cent annual pay rise – well below the wage price index of 3.4 per cent.
Along with a fair pay rise, NTEU members are also fighting for strengthened job security, workload regulation and stronger rights to flexible work.
ACU has campuses in Ballarat, Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne.
NTEU General Secretary Dr Damien Cahill said:
“ACU management’s woefully inadequate offer has left NTEU members with little choice but to launch strike action.
“ACU’s vice-chancellor was handed a $60,000 pay rise last year, taking his salary to $1.1 million. So while he is happy to pocket a 5.8 per cent pay rise, staff are being offered 2.5 per cent.
“Yet when it comes time for staff to be fairly paid for their hard work, management puts forward this insulting offer.
“Fair pay and manageable workloads are essential for delivering the quality education ACU students deserve.
“We will fight hard for a fair pay deal and better working conditions that ease some of the enormous pressure staff have been under.”
ACU NTEU Branch President Yaegan Doran said: “In a context where universities rely on rampant casualisation and redundancies to solve upper management problems, a key thing we are pushing for is significantly stronger job security for all staff.”
ACU NTEU Vice-President (Academic) Leah Kaufmann said: “ACU is sector-leading as a provider of quality learning and teaching, community engagement, and impactful research. We proudly bargain for the safe, fair, and healthy working conditions our outstanding staff deserve.”
Media contacts:
Matt Coughlan 0400 561 480 / [email protected]