The Australian Prime Minister has called for all Australian schools to reopen as soon as possible. The Australian Government has been suspended by the PM at the same time, until August 2020. Those politicians and their staff, all public servants, are by both Federal and State Legislation, required and eligible for redeployment.

According to Australian Public Service Policy and the Legislative and Industrial Framework for Redeployment of Public Servants, those public servants (politicians and staff) not serving Government are free to be redeployed in State and Territory run educational and ancillary facilities. This includes those facilities who are in need of support in remote areas such as NT, QLD, NSW, VIC, SA and WA. This support would be ‘essential’ under new Industrial Covid19 Legislation as social distancing, health checks, facility cleaning, personal hygiene, welfare and educational support will also be required as mandated in international jurisdictions (see Singapore).

School teachers in the classroom would direct redeployed politicians and staff on a day to day basis and would require extra educational planning time, on the job training for redeployed politicians and staff, and time in lieu of a pay increase, to utilise at cessation of the redeployment and Covid19 period. Teachers under these same legal frameworks, may also opt to renegotiate a salary increase through EBA.

Further, students and their families will have the option to participate in a hybrid delivery model or remain daily on campus depending on their own essential needs and personal risk factors which will be self assessed.

Thank you in advance to our redeployed politicians and staff to our schools, creating an invaluable lesson in governance, politics, ethics and labor (work) values.