SA teachers hit by flying objects in 26 million worth of compo claims
Teachers hit by classroom or sporting objects are among hundreds of compensation claims lodged against the state’s Education Department in the past year – but the education union fears many more incidents go unreported. See what incidents sparked the most claims.
Latest annual data released to InDaily showed there were 780 compensation claims totalling $26.45 million made against the state’s Education Department in the past year – with falls, trips and slips the highest at 217 alleged incidents.
However, Australian Education Union South Australian (AEU SA) branch president Jennie-Marie Gorman feared there were far more incidents involving teachers saying that under-reporting of hazards and injuries was an issue for public educators.
“Teachers and support staff are significantly overloaded, which means reporting their own injuries or hazards to staff often falls to the bottom of the list,” she said.
“Since 2020, we’ve seen an increase in reports to the union of violence against educators by students, families, and colleagues – an issue we’re hearing echoed by our colleagues in the private school sector.”
Among the claims in the annual data released to InDaily were 123 related to body stressing and 155 to mental stress, while 194 teachers claimed they were hit by moving objects.
You might like
Body stressing referred to muscular stress caused by lifting, carrying or putting down objects, as well as stress caused by repetitive movement and low muscle loading.
A government spokesperson would not provide specific examples of teachers being hit by moving objects but said they could include serious injury caused by classroom items and sports equipment.
The Education Department oversees SA’s 26,000 teachers and support staff in public schools.
According to the state government, the number of claims was significantly lower than in other parts of the public sector and was similar to the 2023 to 2024 data, despite an increase in staff and students at public education facilities.
Stay informed, daily
The government said the claims represented 2.39 per cent of the workforce compared to 2.62 per cent of the broader public sector workforce, and were below levels in other states.
Education, Training and Skills Minister Blair Boyer said that all South Australians deserved to feel safe at work and that there was still work to be done to address the issue.
“My expectation is that the Department for Education takes all action necessary to deliver safer workplaces for their staff,” he said.
Boyer said the state government would introduce a Work Health and Safety Strategy, to be finalised in the first quarter of next year, which aimed to improve safety in schools and preschools and reduce incidents and compensation claims.
“While we continue to have claim levels below the public sector and many other states and territory education systems, any incident is one too many and that’s why we are acting,” said Boyer.
Gorman said that AEU SA was campaigning for basic minimum standards across public education sites, which she said would address the many hazards caused by outdated, damaged and unsafe facilities.
She said AEU would participate in a round-table for the government’s Work Health and Safety Strategy next week.
“We intend to raise the issues of increased workplace violence and hazardous infrastructure in public education,” she said.
