Independent MLA for Kurrajong Thomas Emerson has questioned the ACT government’s education spending priorities after figures revealed the number of senior and executive officers in the Education Directorate grew more than 12 times faster than the public school teaching workforce over 15 years.

Responses to questions from Emerson show the number of senior and executive officers in the directorate’s Education Support Office rose from 113 in 2011 to 370 in 2026, an increase of nearly 228 per cent.

Over the same period, the number of public school teachers rose 26 per cent, from 3186 to 4016.

“How can the ACT Government justify ballooning expenditure on senior bureaucrats while school budgets are facing cuts and teachers are on strike?” Emerson says.

He says teachers are struggling with staffing shortages, classes being combined and uncertainty over school budgets for 2027.

The figures also show the number of school-based staff increased 45 per cent, from 5185 to 7506, while Education Support Office staffing rose 180 per cent, from 509 to 1426.

However, Education Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith’s response notes that centrally funded staff include psychologists, social workers, allied health professionals and school cleaners, some of whom work primarily in schools.

The minister also cautions that historical staffing figures may not be directly comparable because of organisational and classification changes.

Emerson acknowledges that education reforms have expanded the directorate’s responsibilities but says much of the growth in senior positions occurred before those changes.

“This workforce data raises serious questions about the prioritisation of funds in the education portfolio over the last 15 years,” he says.

He argues that more funding should be directed towards classrooms as teachers seek better pay, working conditions and minimum staffing standards.

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