From the President - Australian Principals Federation

From the PresidentLuke Kowald2022-09-12T16:05:29+10:00

A welcome to the Australian Principals Federation from our President, Tina King.

As a person who has served as a member of the Principal Class since 2006, I can attest to the diverse nature of the role of the School Principal and the demands of the role. I am very proud to have been at the forefront of education for such a long period of time and am proud of the positive difference I have been able to make in the lives of so many students, the influence I have been able to have to improve the working life and physical environment of the staff I have worked with, and the schools I have worked in. Education is a very satisfying profession, which afford us great friendships, mutual support networks and the opportunity to continue to grow professionally.

In contrast, however, running a school will inevitably bring significant challenges as you grapple with issues for students, staff and the families of the school, and with the Department of Education and Training. As a member of the APF you will receive specialist advice, support and advocacy whenever you need it. Along with our highly experienced Industrial Officers we can help with:

Salaries and allowances
Conditions of employment
Organisational changes to work practices or processes
Your agreement
Workplace conflict, harassment and bullying
Policies
Workers compensation (WorkCover)
Leave and contract negotiations
Performance and career development
Health and safety issues
Negotiation of individual industrial cases
Better Wages and Conditions

Through comprehensive and professional industrial relations representation and collective representation and negotiation during enterprise bargaining periods, we aim to achieve the best possible salaries and conditions for Principal Class Employees and ensure that members are receiving their correct entitlements. When APF members join together they can negotiate a better deal. The APF also represent Principal Class Employees in consultation on a wide range of matters relating to the performance of our role and engage in regular discussion with the Minister for Education, The Secretary for the Department of Education, Deputy Secretaries, and Regional Directors. We are currently consulting, on a number of reviews being conducted by the DET as well as negotiating the all important EBA, as the current one expired in October 2016.

I am proud to serve you as your President.

Why Join APF?

As a member of Australian Principals Federation you will join hundreds of other Principal Class members in Victoria who have access to:

Legal advice and representation
Support, advocacy and industrial protection exclusively for your individual needs as a Principal Class Employee in critical times (resulting in better outcomes). This support is provided with utter discretion and confidentiality.
Expertise in pursuing the interest of the Principal Class collectively without fear or favour as a totally independent organisation, exclusively for the interest of the Principal Class.
A powerful influence and determination to change the direction of the government agenda on School Governance, Principal accountabilities, conditions of employment, contractual arrangements and protections.
Regular e-newsletters with relevant information for you as a Principal Class Employee.

Join Today

I cannot speak highly enough regarding the level of professional and personal support that was offered and provided by the APF (Julie and Mark) in “”

APF Member

Having been a member of the Australian Principal Federation for about 13 years, and since joining the principal class, I have had the peace of mind knowing that the APF Executives and Industrial Officers work tirelessly behind the scenes to gain fair employment conditions, including workloads and regional support, and relevant salaries for my peers and me. Although this has

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Assistant Principal

A Country Secondary School

Dear Julie Thank you for the recent newsletter and valuable information. I wanted to share my principal wellbeing story with you: I visited my GP of 6 years in the holidays experiencing an asthma spike, voice loss and pneumonia. I asked him about a ‘long appointment’ as a principal wellbeing check as I had decided to use my own GP rather

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APF Member

To the APF principal community, I have been an APF member for more than 25 years. I have had the good fortune to lead both a Primary school and a P to 9 College. At times the principal role can be rather isolated and this is where the strength of membership comes into play. Fortunately I have formed strong partnerships

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I could outline the advantages of being part of an organisation that looks after Principals and Assistant Principals, but thought instead I’d tell you a very personal story. I loved my work at a Victorian Primary School, and invested my heart and soul into both the teachers and students. I had been a member of the APF for 5 years,

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Assistant Principal

Urban Primary School