NEW PAY PERKS FOR REGIONAL New red meat industry educational resources out for the 2023 school year

Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional NSW Paul Toole said the NSW Liberal and Nationals Government is committed to removing barriers for teachers and helping them make the move to a country town.

“Regional, rural and remote communities are an incredible place to live, work, and raise a family,” Mr Toole said.

“That is why we are providing additional support to help cover the costs of teachers moving to our communities, and support to help them buy a home so they can put down roots.”

Treasurer Matt Kean said the stamp duty incentive was another way to attract teachers to the regions and help them buy their dream home.

“Teachers will be able to claim back up to $10,000 in stamp duty, helping them buy a home close to where they work,” Mr Kean said.

“This is another incentive for teachers to take up a position in the bush on top of other frst home buyer assistance.”

Minister for Education and Early Learning Sarah Mitchell said offering additional support for teachers after they’ve relocated was the logical next step.

“Once we’ve helped a teacher move to a regional, rural or remote school, we need to do everything we can to make sure they become part of the community,” Ms Mitchell said.

Ms Mitchell said a new Support for Rural Beginners program has also been introduced to provide hundreds of early career teachers with access to a range of supports to help them settle into their community and make local connections.

“We want to reduce the level of social isolation experienced by new teachers who have moved to the country and improve retention by encouraging them to build a sense of belonging in their communities,” Ms Mitchell said.

“The program includes a one-off fnancial incentive of $600 to be used towards building social connections such as registering with a local sporting team, signing up for art classes or even having coffee with new friends.”

To be eligible for the program, teachers must be within their frst fve years in the classroom and have recently moved to teach in a regional, rural or remote school in the principal networks of Barwon, Deniliquin, Far West, Griffth, Gundagai, Mitchell, Mooki, Narrandera, Temora, Wagga Wagga, West Wyalong, Western Plains, as well as selected Connected Communities schools.

Expressions of interest in the program are now open on the Support for Rural Beginners program page.

NSW has the most comprehensive rural and remote incentives scheme in Australia and, subject to eligibility, teachers can access up to $40,000 on top of their base salary annually, plus an additional $20,000 recruitment bonus.

The NSW Liberal and Nationals Government has also invested more than $20 million in teacher housing in priority areas. In 2022, the incentives program supported 1,700 teachers in regional, rural, and remote schools.

Teachers who are frst home buyers already receive stamp duty relief under the NSW Liberal and Nationals Government’s First Home Buyer Assistance scheme and the First Home Buyer Choice scheme, and may receive an additional $10,000 under the First HomeOwner Grant scheme.

Senior and primary school teachers across Australia have access to a range of new resources for their students, covering key aspects of the red meat and livestock industry.

The in-depth Australian Good Meat Education resources have been developed by Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) for the 2023 school year, covering all grades from Foundation/Prep to year 10.

MLA Group Stakeholder Collaboration Manager, Samantha Jamieson, said that the resources are linked to the current version 8.4 of the curriculum and the new version 9.0 of the curriculum. “These resources are free and easy to access on the Australian Good Meat website and are designed to be used in both print and digital format,” Ms Jamieson said.

The crosscurriculum resources are designed to meet curriculum outcomes for Design and Technologies, Science, Mathematics, English, and Humanities and Social Sciences. Sustainability is a large focus across the resources to support this as a focus area in the Australian curriculum. In all, there are 178 new resources available for teachers.

Ms Jamieson said the education resources were designed to be interactive and engaging for students, being created in consultation with teachers to ensure the materials were practical and resulted in the best possible outcomes for students.

“By accessing the teaching resources on the Good Meat website, teachers will fnd resources such as instructional videos for teaching support, lesson plans, student activity worksheets, and supplementary classroom materials such as posters and more,” Ms Jamieson said.

Primary Industries

Education Foundation Australia (PIEFA) CEO, Luciano Mesiti, said there was huge value in bringing agriculture into the classroom.

“Agriculture is innovative and evolving and full of exciting opportunities around maths, sciences, technology, and much more,” Mr Mesiti said.

“PIEFA is excited to have worked with MLA on these resources. It’s great to be able to help provide these resources for teachers, and we encourage teachers all around the country to visit the website and make these resources work for them and their students.”