Industrial hub · Catholic and independent school staff · Western Australia

Teachers and support staff at WA Catholic and independent schools. Know your rights at work.

Your agreements and pay, discipline, child safety and registration, workload and safety, and how bargaining works in the Fair Work system. Every point cites the Act, the clause or the decision it comes from.

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Three teachers talk at a long staffroom table with closed laptops and mugs, pigeonholes behind them

Who do you work for?

Your employer decides your system, your agreement, your union and your time limits.

System: Fair Work
Agreement or award: AE523557, the teachers’ agreement
Union: IEU WA
If you are dismissed: Unfair dismissal or general protections application to the Fair Work Commission within 21 days

Your employer is CEWA Ltd or one of the nine other Catholic employers named in the agreement, not your school. Includes middle leaders and early childhood teachers. Read about your group

Guides

Each one cites the Act, the clause or the decision for every point.

Your agreements and payThe CEWA teachers’ and support staff agreements, the Anglican Schools Commission agreements and the two education awards: pay scales and the tie to public school pay, hours, leave, termination and disputes.AE523557 cl 7.1 · cl 16–18 · AE533958 cl 34 · MA000077 cl 17.1Read the guide

Discipline, dismissal and registrationWhat the Catholic agreements say and do not say, stand-downs, the reportable conduct scheme, mandatory reporting, the Teacher Registration Board, working with children checks, the 21 days, and religious exemptions.FW Act s 387 · s 394(2)(a) · s 725 · PC Act s 19X · TR Act s 42 · EO Act s 73Read the guide

Workload, safety and injuryHours, attendance days, face-to-face teaching and release time, relief, the right to disconnect, workload complaints, psychosocial hazards, safety rights and workers’ compensation.AE523557 cl 16–18 · cl 24 · cl 26 · WHS Regs r 55D · WCIM Act s 7Read the guide

Bargaining, and what is happening nowSingle interest employer authorisations, voting on multi-enterprise agreements, protected action, how the Catholic agreements were made, independent school agreements and the public record.FW Act s 248 · s 249 · s 180A · s 409 · AE523557 cl 4.2Read the guide

Time limits that cannot be missed

21 daysto apply to the Fair Work Commission about a dismissal (unfair dismissal or general protections) · FW Act s 394(2)(a), s 366(1)(a)

7 working daysfor the head of the school to notify the Ombudsman of a reportable allegation · PC Act s 19U(2)

7 daysfor the employer’s notice to the Teacher Registration Board where it suspects serious misconduct or serious incompetence · TR Act s 42

12 monthsto make a workers’ compensation claim · WCIM Act s 25

Your group at a glance

Find your employer, not your school, in the first column. In Catholic system schools the principal has "delegated authority to act on behalf of the Employer" (teachers' agreement cl 2.4); the employer is CEWA Ltd or the body named in the agreement's Schedule 1.

Your employer and role	System	Main instrument	Union	If you are dismissed
CEWA Ltd, or one of the nine other Catholic employers (Mazenod College Limited, Servite College Council Inc, Loreto Nedlands Limited, Mercy Education Limited, John XXIII College Inc, Norbertine Canons Inc, the two Edmund Rice Education Australia companies, Marist Schools Australia Limited): registered teacher, including middle leaders and early childhood teachers	Fair Work	AE523557, the teachers' agreement (cl 2.1–2.3)	IEU WA	Unfair dismissal or general protections dismissal application to the Fair Work Commission (FWC) within 21 days (FW Act s 394(2)(a), s 366(1)(a))
The same Catholic employers, except Loreto Nedlands: support, operations and general staff, including early learning centres and outside school hours care	Fair Work	AE533958, the support staff agreement (cl 2.2)	IEU WA, ANMF or UWU	As above: FWC, 21 days
Anglican Schools Commission Inc: teacher	Fair Work	The Anglican Schools Commission Incorporated Western Australian Agreement 2019 (AE503221), past its nominal expiry of 8 May 2022; no replacement agreement was found	IEU WA	FWC, 21 days
Anglican Schools Commission Inc (AngliSchools): support staff	Fair Work	AngliSchools WA Support Staff Enterprise Agreement (AE532564), nominal expiry 31 December 2028	IEU WA	FWC, 21 days
Another independent school with its own enterprise agreement (for example Swan Christian Education Association, Lake Joondalup Baptist College, Kingsway Christian College, Christ Church Grammar, Hale, St Mary's Anglican Girls' School)	Fair Work	That school's agreement, approved by the FWC	Usually IEU WA; the approval decision says which unions are covered	FWC, 21 days
An independent school with no enterprise agreement	Fair Work, if the employer is a trading corporation, as fee-charging schools have been held to be	The Teachers Award or the General Staff Award	IEU WA	FWC, 21 days
A stand-alone kindergarten or child-care centre (not part of a school): teacher, administrator, house parent or residents' aide	Not covered by this guide	Not covered by this guide	Outside the IEU's rules: both rulebooks exclude a "teacher, administrator, house parent and/or resident's aide, at a pre-school kindergarten or child-care centre" in WA, but "this exclusion shall not apply to any teacher or other salaried officer employed at any non-government school" (federal rules r 2, proviso (viii); state rules r 3(3))	Not covered by this guide
A school employer whose system is uncertain (an unincorporated body, or a body that does not trade)	Possibly the WA state system, if the employer is not a trading or financial corporation (FW Act s 30B). This guide found no WA school employer confirmed to be outside the federal system today	A WAIRC agreement, or a state award such as the Independent Schools' Teachers' Award 1976 (IND002)	IEU WA	In the WA system, an unfair dismissal claim to the WAIRC within 28 days of termination (Industrial Relations Act 1979 (WA) s 29(1)(c), (2)(a)). Read the wrong-forum warning below
A WA public school (Department of Education): teacher or school leader	WA state system	Public school teachers' agreement	SSTUWA, not the IEU	See the WA public school teachers guide

Key time limits

These are short. Missing one can end a claim.

What	Time limit	Source
Unfair dismissal application to the FWC	21 days after the dismissal took effect. More time only in "exceptional circumstances"	FW Act s 394(2)(a), (3)
General protections application about a dismissal (for example, dismissal for union activity, a complaint, illness or a protected attribute)	21 days after the dismissal took effect. More time only in exceptional circumstances	FW Act s 365, s 366(1)(a), (2)
Unfair dismissal claim to the WAIRC, only where the employer is outside the federal system	28 days after the day employment ends. A late claim is accepted only if it would be unfair not to	IR Act s 29(1)(c), (2)(a), (3)
A staff member's report of suspected reportable conduct by another employee	"As soon as practicable", to the head of the school (or to the Ombudsman if it is about the head)	Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1971 (WA) s 19T(2)
The head of the school notifies the Ombudsman of a reportable allegation	Within 7 working days after becoming aware of it	PC Act s 19U(2)
Review in the State Administrative Tribunal of a finding the Ombudsman makes on the Ombudsman's own investigation	28 days after being notified of the finding	PC Act s 19ZF(1)–(2)
Mandatory report of a belief of child sexual abuse (teachers, school counsellors, boarding supervisors)	"As soon as practicable" after forming the belief	Children and Community Services Act 2004 (WA) s 124B
Employer's notice to the Teacher Registration Board after a dismissal, suspension or resignation where it suspects serious misconduct or serious incompetence	Within 7 days	Teacher Registration Act 2012 (WA) s 42(1)–(2)
The Board refers the matter behind an interim order (such as a suspension) to the State Administrative Tribunal, unless it revokes the order	Within 14 days of making the order	TR Act s 61(1)
Review of a working with children negative notice in the State Administrative Tribunal	28 days after the date of the notice	Working with Children (Screening) Act 2004 (WA) s 26(1)(a), (2)
Discrimination complaint under the Equal Opportunity Act 1984 (WA)	12 months, or later on good cause	EO Act s 83(4)–(5)
Workers' compensation claim	Within 12 months; a late claim can still be valid in some circumstances (s 25(5))	Workers Compensation and Injury Management Act 2023 (WA) s 25

Unfair dismissal application to the FWCTime limit: 21 days after the dismissal took effect. More time only in "exceptional circumstances"

Source: FW Act s 394(2)(a), (3)

General protections application about a dismissal (for example, dismissal for union activity, a complaint, illness or a protected attribute)Time limit: 21 days after the dismissal took effect. More time only in exceptional circumstances

Source: FW Act s 365, s 366(1)(a), (2)

Unfair dismissal claim to the WAIRC, only where the employer is outside the federal systemTime limit: 28 days after the day employment ends. A late claim is accepted only if it would be unfair not to

Source: IR Act s 29(1)(c), (2)(a), (3)

A staff member's report of suspected reportable conduct by another employeeTime limit: "As soon as practicable", to the head of the school (or to the Ombudsman if it is about the head)

Source: Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1971 (WA) s 19T(2)

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The head of the school notifies the Ombudsman of a reportable allegationTime limit: Within 7 working days after becoming aware of it

Source: PC Act s 19U(2)

Review in the State Administrative Tribunal of a finding the Ombudsman makes on the Ombudsman's own investigationTime limit: 28 days after being notified of the finding

Source: PC Act s 19ZF(1)–(2)

Mandatory report of a belief of child sexual abuse (teachers, school counsellors, boarding supervisors)Time limit: "As soon as practicable" after forming the belief

Source: Children and Community Services Act 2004 (WA) s 124B

Employer's notice to the Teacher Registration Board after a dismissal, suspension or resignation where it suspects serious misconduct or serious incompetenceTime limit: Within 7 days

Source: Teacher Registration Act 2012 (WA) s 42(1)–(2)

The Board refers the matter behind an interim order (such as a suspension) to the State Administrative Tribunal, unless it revokes the orderTime limit: Within 14 days of making the order

Source: TR Act s 61(1)

Review of a working with children negative notice in the State Administrative TribunalTime limit: 28 days after the date of the notice

Source: Working with Children (Screening) Act 2004 (WA) s 26(1)(a), (2)

Discrimination complaint under the Equal Opportunity Act 1984 (WA)Time limit: 12 months, or later on good cause

Source: EO Act s 83(4)–(5)

Workers' compensation claimTime limit: Within 12 months; a late claim can still be valid in some circumstances (s 25(5))

Source: Workers Compensation and Injury Management Act 2023 (WA) s 25

The wrong-forum trap: filing in the WAIRC does not stop the 21 days

Staff of Catholic and independent schools sometimes file a dismissal claim in the WAIRC, where the limit is 28 days, and arrive at the FWC late. The published decisions show three things.

The short version

Your agreement and your pay

CEWA teachers.
1. The teachers' agreement prints a ten-step scale to 6 December 2023: Step 2, where registered teachers start, $83,744, and Step 10 $119,246 (cl 7.1(a), 7.2).
2. After that the scale is tied to the WA public school teachers' agreement:
  1. if public school teachers received "a percentage salary increase higher than 3% from 6 December 2023", CEWA teachers "will be paid the difference in percentage salary increase from the time the increase is paid to Department of Education teachers" (cl 7.1(b));
  2. during the agreement's term, salaries and allowances rise "at the same time and by the same quantum" as public school teachers' increases (cl 7.1(c)).
3. The public agreement gave 5%, 4% and 3% from 6 December 2023, 2024 and 2025 (SCH013 Sch A).
4. Reading cl 7.1(b) literally, that gives a CEWA Step 10 of $130,216 from 6 December 2025. That figure is our arithmetic, not a printed rate.
5. The printed CEWA Step 10 from 6 December 2023 already matched the public top step after the public 5%, so the literal reading puts CEWA about 1.9% above the public scale; a reading that keeps the two level gives $127,737.
6. The public agreement schedules no rise after 6 December 2025.
CEWA support staff.
1. The support staff agreement pays, for example, administrative Level 1.1 $62,102 "on commencement" and $64,275 in its 13 June 2026 column.
2. Several tables, including education assistants, facilities, psychologists, early learning centres and OSHC, print no 13 June 2026 rate.
3. Later rises follow the Department of Education's equivalent agreement "as determined by CEWA" (cl 34).
Anglican Schools Commission teachers.
1. The ASC agreement reached its nominal expiry on 8 May 2022; no replacement agreement was found.
2. It commits to "a margin of 2.5% above the comparable Department of Education of Western Australia rates" (cl 21.1), but prints tables only from 1 December 2018.
Awards.
1. From 1 July 2026 the Teachers Award pays $75,941 (Level 1) to $105,076 (Level 5) a year in schools, and the General Staff Award starts at $52,436 (Level 1.1) (cl 17.1 of each).
2. Each Catholic agreement operates to the exclusion of the award (teachers' agreement cl 5.1).
Hours.
1. CEWA teachers (teachers' agreement cl 16–18):
  1. work 38 hours a week averaged over term weeks;
  2. attend at most 198 days a school year (the Teachers Award allows 205);
  3. teach at most 1,280 minutes a week face to face; and
  4. get at least 270 minutes (primary) or 320 minutes (secondary) of release time, with more for graduates.
2. The agreement has no class size clause.

Deep guide: Your agreements and pay

Discipline, child safety and registration

Discipline is contractual. These staff are not public sector employees, so Part 5 of the Public Sector Management Act 1994 (WA) does not apply to them.
Neither Catholic agreement has a discipline or misconduct procedure, a clause on child safety allegations, or a stand-down clause. What the teachers' agreement has:
1. a fitness for work process, under which a teacher whose presence "may be harmful or detrimental to themselves or others" can be "immediately directed to vacate the school premises" and "shall continue to be paid their regular salary and allowances" while fitness is assessed (cl 6.13). It is a health process, not a misconduct power;
2. dismissal without notice for serious misconduct (cl 11.9);
3. a statement that employer policy and procedure "are not incorporated into the Agreement" (cl 5.1).
The test of a dismissal in the FWC is the FW Act's: whether there was a valid reason, whether the person was told of it and given a chance to respond, and the other matters in FW Act s 387. A valid reason did not save the summary dismissal of an independent school head who, after being stood down, was not interviewed and was presented with a decision already made; the dismissal was unfair (Michael Friday v Leaning Tree Steiner School Incorporated [2025] FWC 537 at [60], [62], [76], [80]–[81]).
Child safety law is WA law and applies in every school, whichever industrial system the employer is in:
1. the Ombudsman's reportable conduct scheme covers every employee aged 18 or over in a school (PC Act s 19D(1), Sch 2). Before any adverse finding the head must tell the employee of the investigation and the allegation and give a chance to respond, then tell the employee the proposed adverse finding and give a further chance to respond; before any disciplinary action, the head must say what is proposed and allow a response (s 19X);
2. teachers, school counsellors and boarding supervisors must report a reasonable belief of child sexual abuse "as soon as practicable" to the CEO of the Department of Communities, with a penalty of $6,000 (CCS Act ss 124A, 124B);
3. the employer must notify the Teacher Registration Board within 7 days where it has "reasonable grounds to suspect" serious misconduct or serious incompetence and the teacher is dismissed or suspended, or has resigned or ceased teaching (TR Act s 42). A resignation during an investigation can therefore still reach the Board.

Deep guide: Discipline, dismissal and registration

Religious schools and discrimination law

The law in force.
1. The Equal Opportunity Act 1984 (WA) does not make it unlawful to discriminate on any ground in the Act "in connection with employment as a member of the staff of an educational institution that is conducted in accordance with the doctrines, tenets, beliefs or teachings of a particular religion or creed", if the discrimination is "in good faith in order to avoid injury to the religious susceptibilities of adherents of that religion or creed" (EO Act s 73(1)).
2. The Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth) has a similar exception for hiring and dismissal on five grounds (SDA s 38(1)).
3. The FW Act's general protections and unlawful termination provisions have their own good-faith exception for staff of religious institutions (FW Act s 351(2)(c), s 772(2)(b)).
A Bill, not law.
1. The Equal Opportunity Bill 2026 (WA), Bill No. 90, was introduced in the Legislative Assembly on 21 October 2026 and on 4 November 2026 stood at second reading in the Legislative Assembly (Parliament of WA).
2. As introduced, it would let a religious school discriminate against an existing employee because of religious conviction only where conformity with the religion is an inherent requirement of the job, the employee cannot meet it, and the discrimination is "reasonable and proportionate in the circumstances" (cl 52(5)).
3. A State Bill cannot change the SDA or the FW Act exceptions.

Deep guide: Discipline, dismissal and registration

Workload, safety and injury

The CEWA teachers' agreement records that "excessive workloads are a psychosocial hazard and that teacher workloads are risk factors that the Employer has a duty to address under the Work Health and Safety Act 2020" (cl 16.1). A workload concern goes to the line manager, then the Principal, then the dispute procedure (cl 26).
Every school must ensure health and safety so far as is reasonably practicable (Work Health and Safety Act 2020 (WA) s 19) and manage psychosocial risks (Work Health and Safety (General) Regulations 2022 (WA) rr 55A–55D). A worker may cease unsafe work (WHS Act s 84).
Workers' compensation applies in every school. A psychological injury caused "wholly or predominantly" by administrative action such as appraisal, discipline or dismissal is not compensable unless that action was "unreasonable and harsh" (WCIM Act s 7). A claim is made within 12 months (s 25).
Superannuation. Non-government school staff are not in the State's GESB schemes. Their employers pay the superannuation guarantee at 12% (Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992 (Cth) s 17A).

Deep guide: Workload, safety and injury

Bargaining and what happens next

The CEWA teachers' agreement reaches its nominal expiry on 16 February 2027 and continues until it is replaced or terminated (cl 4.2). It says "Negotiations for a replacement agreement will commence six (6) months before the nominal expiry date" (cl 4.3). Because of the pay tie in cl 7.1(c), the replacement of the public school teachers' agreement, whose term expires on 5 December 2026 (SCH013 cl 5.1), bears on CEWA teachers' next rise.
The CEWA support staff agreement began operating on 8 September 2026, after a round that ran from 28 September 2023 to 13 May 2026 (Application by Catholic Education Western Australia Limited [2026] FWCA 2400 at [2], [9]). It was bargained under a single interest employer authorisation the union applied for (Independent Education Union of Australia v Catholic Education Western Australia Limited and others [2023] FWCFB 177 at [5], [36]).
In the federal system, a union can apply for a single interest employer authorisation covering several employers with "clearly identifiable common interests" (FW Act ss 248, 249(3)). Protected industrial action needs a protected action ballot and notice (ss 409, 413–414).

Deep guide: How bargaining works, and what is happening now

How Catholic school staff moved to the federal system

Before 2020, Catholic school staff were employed by the Archbishop of Perth or a diocesan bishop. The Commission held the Archbishop was not a trading or financial corporation, so not a national system employer (Amy Bauer v Xavier Catholic Primary School [2015] FWC 4334 at [2]–[4]; on a bishop as a corporation sole, Kim Daphne Lise Weatherston v Catholic Education Commission of WA Trustees Association Inc (CECWA) [2007] AIRC 1038 at [58]–[61]). Their agreements were registered in the WAIRC.
In the Archdiocese of Perth, CEWA Ltd became the employer on 1 January 2020. In Theresa Edmonds v Catholic Education Western Australia Limited [2021] FWC 3369 the change itself was common ground ([17]–[19]), and the Commission did not accept that identifying the correct jurisdiction "where the employer has changed its status is a simple task, particularly in the State of Western Australia" ([25]).
A WAIRC agreement still listed "In Force" does not show that a school is in the WA system. A WAIRC agreement reaches staff only where the employer is outside the national system.

What is happening now

From the public record only, as at 4 November 2026. No view on any outcome.

Catholic teachersThe CEWA teachers’ agreement (AE523557)The teachers’ agreement reaches its nominal expiry on 16 February 2027 and continues to operate until it is replaced or terminated. Its pay rises follow the public school teachers’ agreement, whose term expires on 5 December 2026.

16 February 2024 The teachers’ agreement is approved; it operates from 23 February 2024. Application by CEWA [2024] FWCA 622 at [19]
6 December 2025 The last rise scheduled in the public school teachers’ agreement (3%), which the teachers’ agreement follows. SCH013 Sch A; AE523557 cl 7.1(c)
5 December 2026 The term of the public school teachers’ agreement expires; it continues in force until replaced. SCH013 cl 5.1
16 February 2027 The teachers’ agreement reaches its nominal expiry date; it continues to operate until replaced or terminated. AE523557 cl 4.2

Catholic support staffThe CEWA support staff agreement (AE533958)Bargained under a single interest employer authorisation made in 2023, the support staff agreement was approved on 1 September 2026 and operates from 8 September 2026 to a nominal expiry date of 1 September 2030.

28 September 2023 The single interest employer authorisation for support staff is made, on the union’s application. IEU v CEWA [2023] FWCFB 177 at [1], [36]
13 May 2026 The support staff agreement is made. Application by CEWA [2026] FWCA 2400 at [2]
8 September 2026 The support staff agreement, approved on 1 September 2026, begins to operate. Application by CEWA [2026] FWCA 2400 at [9]
1 September 2030 The support staff agreement reaches its nominal expiry date. Application by CEWA [2026] FWCA 2400 at [9]

How bargaining works in the Fair Work system, and the full public record: Bargaining, and what is happening now

CEWA teachers’ salary scale, as printed

The teachers’ agreement prints these minimum annual rates from 6 December 2023 (AE523557 cl 7.1(a)). Teachers start at Step 2, and a teacher with Limited Registration is placed on Step 1 (cl 7.2). After 6 December 2023 the scale moves with the public school teachers’ agreement (cl 7.1(b), (c)), and the agreement prints no later rate.

Your agreements and pay →

Step 1 (Limited Registration only)$76,655

Step 2 (the start for registered teachers)$83,744

Step 3$86,747

Step 4$92,170

Step 5$97,548

Step 6$104,137

Step 7$110,387

Step 8$112,663

Step 9$114,945

Step 10$119,246

Decided cases

What the Commission and the courts decided.

Published decisions, retold in plain English from the decision itself. Each links to the full text. Lawcaptain did not act in these cases.

No WA jurisdictionWestern Australian Industrial Relations Commission · 7 March 2025

Fee-charging schools are trading corporations: the WA Commission sent an Islamic school in 2009, and an independent school in 2025, to the federal system

Is a school a business? For the purposes of which industrial system applies, the WA Commission said yes, if it charges fees. In 2009 an Islamic school that drew under a fifth of its income from fees was held to be a trading corporation. In 2025 another independent school was too, even though both parties to the application said it was not.

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The question in each case was whether the employer was a trading corporation. If it is, it is a national system employer under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (in 2009, the Workplace Relations Act 1996 (Cth)), and the federal Act applies to the exclusion of WA industrial law (IEU v Moerlina School [2025] WAIRC 00150 at [1]-[3]).

In 2009 an Islamic school, an incorporated association with about 240 to 250 students and 30 to 31 staff, objected to an unfair dismissal claim on the ground that it was a trading corporation (Michelle Hughes v Al-Hidayah Islamic Education Administration Incorporated trading as Al-Hidayah Islamic School [2009] WAIRC 00967 at [1], [5]). The evidence was that the school was founded on the premise that fees would be compulsory, and that it survived on government grants and parents' fees, not on donations from a religious community ([3], [11]). In 2008 fees were $325,156, or 18.97% of income of $1,713,815 ([6]). The Commissioner held:

(a) the fees were charged directly by the school, had no statutory basis and had "a commercial character", so providing education for fees can be trading, and profit is irrelevant ([14]);

(b) fee revenue was growing, was on par with the proportion held substantial in an earlier case, and was central to the school's viability, so it was "sufficiently significant" ([16]);

(c) the school was a trading corporation, the employment "belongs in the federal jurisdiction", and the claim was dismissed for want of jurisdiction ([17]).

In 2025 the union applied to register an agreement for an independent school run by an incorporated association ([1]); its fee income was $773,356 in 2023 ([39]). Both parties said the school was not a trading corporation ([8]). The Commissioner decided otherwise:

(a) the test is whether trading activities are substantial in amount or a sufficiently significant proportion of the corporation's overall activities ([24]), and the commercial nature of an activity decides whether it is trade ([27]);

(b) the school's constitution did not forbid trading and expressly let it "set tuition and other fees" ([30]-[31], [36]), and charging fees for education is like a hospital charging an admission fee ([32]-[34]);

(d) in 2023 its income was 43% grants, 46% fees and 11% other income, almost identical to a Queensland school company already held to be a trading corporation ([39]);

(e) its fee and other income was trading revenue, and trading was "a substantial and not a merely peripheral activity" ([40]-[41]).

The school was a trading corporation, the Commission lacked jurisdiction, and the application was dismissed ([42]-[44]).

In the decision's words: "It is clear from numerous decisions of this Commission that where an employment is found to be a trading corporation the employment relationship belongs in the federal jurisdiction." (Hughes v Al-Hidayah [2009] WAIRC 00967 at [17]).

What it means for you

A school's employer and a union cannot agree their way into the WA system. On these two decisions, a fee-charging independent school run by a company or an incorporated association is very likely to be a national system employer, so its staff's agreements, pay claims and unfair dismissal claims go through the Fair Work system. A staff member who is unsure may be able to check who the employer is (the legal entity, not the school's name) and whether it is a corporation, before a time limit runs out. File B, entries 3 to 5, show what happens when a claim is filed in the wrong system.

Outcome: In both, the school was found to be a trading corporation and the WA Commission had no jurisdiction: in 2009 an unfair dismissal claim was dismissed; in 2025 an application to register a school agreement was dismissed. Also: the order, The Independent Education Union of Western Australia, Union of Employees v The Moerlina School Inc. [2025] WAIRC 00151; the 2009 decision, Hughes v Al-Hidayah [2009] WAIRC 00967 (6 October 2009).

The Independent Education Union of Western Australia, Union of Employees v The Moerlina School Inc. [2025] WAIRC 00150

No jurisdictionFair Work Commission · 26 June 2015

Before 2020, a Catholic school employee of the Archbishop could not bring a Fair Work claim

A non-teaching staff member at a Perth Catholic primary school was dismissed while she was in hospital. The employer did not oppose giving her more time to file, but said the Fair Work Commission could not hear her at all. The Commission agreed: her employer was the Archbishop of Perth, who was not the kind of corporation the Fair Work Act covers.

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The staff member was dismissed on 16 June 2014 while she was in hospital, and applied for an unfair dismissal remedy on 30 April 2015 ([1]). The employer accepted that there were exceptional circumstances for an extension of time, but argued that neither the Archbishop of Perth nor the school was a national system employer ([1]).

The Commissioner found that:

(a) the school's staff were employed by the Archbishop of Perth ([2]);

(b) her employment was covered by the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Perth Non-Teaching Staff Enterprise Bargaining Agreement 2012, which was registered in the Western Australian Industrial Relations Commission under State law ([2]);

(c) the Archbishop is incorporated only by legislation about church property, is not a corporation within the meaning of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), and is not a trading or financial corporation ([2]-[4]);

(d) Western Australia has not referred its industrial relations powers to the Commonwealth, so she was not a national system employee ([3]-[4]).

She therefore could not get an unfair dismissal remedy under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) ([6]), and the application was dismissed ([7]).

The Australian Industrial Relations Commission had reached the same result in 2007 for a counsellor at a Catholic college in Geraldton. Her true employer was the Roman Catholic Bishop of Geraldton, a statutory corporation sole, and a corporation sole is excluded from the Corporations Act definition of a corporation, so the bishop was not an employer under the federal Act (Kim Daphne Lise Weatherston v Catholic Education Commission of WA Trustees Association Inc (CECWA) [2007] AIRC 1038 at [7], [11], [58]-[60]). The Commission accepted that it was unclear to the employee who her employer legally was, and said: "This is not unusual" (Weatherston v CECWA [2007] AIRC 1038 at [54]).

In the decision's words: "As [the applicant] is not a national system employee she cannot achieve an unfair dismissal remedy under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth)." ([6]).

What it means for you

This is history for most members, but it explains the system change. Before 1 January 2020, Catholic school staff employed by the Archbishop or a bishop were in the WA system. From that date most Catholic system school staff of the Archdiocese of Perth have been employed by CEWA, a company, so their claims go to the Fair Work Commission (Theresa Edmonds v Catholic Education Western Australia Limited [2021] FWC 3369 at [17], [19]; entry 2). Some Catholic schools have their own employer, such as a religious order's company or a college council (Independent Education Union of Australia v Catholic Education Western Australia Limited and others [2023] FWCFB 177 at [1]). A member who is unsure who employs them may be able to check their letter of offer, payslip and contract before the time limit runs, because the right employer decides the right forum.

Outcome: Lost by the employee: the application was dismissed because the employer was not a national system employer. Also: earlier to the same effect, Weatherston v CECWA [2007] AIRC 1038 (Australian Industrial Relations Commission, 14 December 2007).

Amy Bauer v Xavier Catholic Primary School [2015] FWC 4334

Extension of time grantedFair Work Commission · 17 June 2021

One day late after filing in the wrong system: extension granted to a CEWA employee

A CEWA employee had worked for the Archbishop of Perth until the end of 2019. When she was dismissed in 2021, her representative read old letters and told her the Archbishop was still her employer, so she instructed a filing in the WA system. When CEWA confirmed it was the employer, she filed in the Fair Work Commission the same day, one day late. The Commission gave her the extra day.

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Her case was that she was employed by the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Perth until 31 December 2019 and by CEWA from 1 January 2020 until her dismissal on 1 April 2021 ([3], [17]). She sought advice after the dismissal and was told of the 21-day limit ([17]). Her first representative, relying on letters from 2014 and 2015, advised that the Archbishop was her employer and that she should file in the State jurisdiction, and on 17 April 2021 she instructed a State filing ([17]). On 23 April 2021 CEWA told her that it had been her employer since January 2020, and her Fair Work application was filed that day, one day out of time ([17]).

CEWA said every employee of the Archbishop had been told on 6 December 2019 that CEWA would employ them from 1 January 2020, that a notice on its online messaging system on 29 May 2020 said the jurisdiction had changed from State to Federal, and that its ABN was on her payslips ([18]-[19]). She did not recall receiving the December 2019 letter ([16]), and the Commissioner noted there was no evidence that the online notice ever reached her ([19]).

The Commissioner found that:

(a) the one-day delay was explained by representative error, on which she was entitled to rely ([25]);

(b) identifying the right jurisdiction where an employer has changed its status is not a simple task, "particularly in the State of Western Australia where the State jurisdiction has a wider scope" ([25]);

(c) she had been active in finding her true employer, and an ABN on a payslip does not show that the employer is a corporation covered by the Act ([27]);

(d) she acted promptly once the error was found ([28]), and her contact with the union, CEWA and her representative was action to dispute the dismissal ([34]).

There were exceptional circumstances, and the extension was granted ([40]-[41]).

In the decision's words: "I do not accept that the identification of the correct jurisdiction in cases where the employer has changed its status is a simple task, particularly in the State of Western Australia where the State jurisdiction has a wider scope." ([25]).

What it means for you

An unfair dismissal application to the Fair Work Commission must be made within 21 days after the dismissal takes effect (FW Act s 394(2)), and more time is given only in exceptional circumstances (s 394(3)). Here the delay was one day, caused by a representative's error, and the employee moved the same day she learned the truth. Those facts were unusual. Entries 4 and 5 show what happens when the employee waits.

Outcome: Won by the employee on the preliminary point: time extended under s 394(3) so that her unfair dismissal application could go ahead.

Theresa Edmonds v Catholic Education Western Australia Limited [2021] FWC 3369

Extension of time grantedFair Work Commission · 18 December 2017

A school's own contract pointed to the WA system: a café manager got more time

A school café manager took a redundancy after a restructure. Her letter of offer referred to State awards, and the WA Commission and a WA government department told her to file in the WA system, which she did. The school raised jurisdiction there but agreed to conciliate first. By the time she reached the Fair Work Commission she was 54 days late. The Commission gave her the time.

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The school restructured its café to bring a hospitality apprenticeship program into it, creating a new coordinator role that combined café manager and hospitality teacher ([2]). The school said she did not hold the teaching qualifications for the new role, which she disputed ([2]-[3]). She chose voluntary redundancy, and her employment ended on 30 June 2017 ([2], [4]). Her general protections application under s 365 was lodged on 13 September 2017, 54 days outside the 21-day limit ([5]).

The facts behind the delay were these:

(a) her letter of offer said it should be read with the Independent Schools' Employee Award and put her salary at a level of the Independent Schools' Administrative and Technical Officers' Award (1993), both WA State awards ([9]);

(b) the Independent Education Union of WA, United Voice and the Anglican Schools Commission had registered a State agreement in the WA Industrial Relations Commission on 21 March 2017 ([10]);

(c) on advice from the WA Industrial Relations Commission and a WA government department she filed there within its 28-day limit ([11]);

(d) the school raised a jurisdictional argument, but told the WA Commission it would take part in conciliation before the jurisdiction point was decided ([12]).

The Commissioner found that she was unaware of which system covered her because of the school's own advice when she started; she followed her contract and official advice; the school had agreed to delay its objection; and she filed in the Fair Work Commission promptly once the WA conciliation failed ([28]-[30]). Those reasons were "out of the ordinary, unusual, special and uncommon" ([31]), and time was extended to 13 September 2017 ([32]).

In the decision's words: "The Applicant simply followed the wording of her contract as well as the advice from the WAIRC and a WA Government Department in lodging her application in the WAIRC." ([28]).

What it means for you

An extension is more likely where the employer's own documents caused the mistake and the employer itself chose to let the WA process run. Compare entry 4, where the employee waited after the objection. A dismissal-related general protections application also has a 21-day limit (FW Act s 366(1)).

Outcome: Won by the employee on the preliminary point: time extended to 13 September 2017 for a general protections application.

Yvonne Khan v Anglican Schools Commission T/A Swan Valley Anglican Community School [2017] FWC 6057

Extension of time refusedFair Work Commission · 27 July 2018

Letting the WA case run after the school objected: no extension for a teacher

A language teacher at an independent college was made redundant and filed in the WA system, because his letter of offer said a State agreement covered him. The college objected that it was a national system employer, but still took part in WA conciliation. He filed in the Fair Work Commission only when that failed. The Commission refused to give him more time.

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The teacher's employment ended with a redundancy on 25 January 2018 ([1], [24]). On 10 February 2018 he lodged an unfair dismissal application in the WA Industrial Relations Commission ([9]). He said he did so because the college had told him its registered State collective agreement applied to him, and that he had also been advised the State Commission was the right forum ([10]). On 9 March 2018 the college objected that it was a national system employer because it was engaged in trading activities forming a significant part of its income or activity ([9], [31]). It took part in a WA conciliation conference on 22 March, and when that failed he filed in the Fair Work Commission the same day ([11]).

The Commissioner relied on earlier decisions holding that lodging first in the WA Commission is not in itself exceptional, one of which called it "certainly not an uncommon occurrence" ([36]-[38]). The decisive points were:

(a) once he knew of the objection on 9 March he could have filed federally at once, but he "agreed to let that process play out" ([40]-[41]);

(b) nothing prevented him from filing in the Fair Work Commission at any time, including immediately after 10 March ([49]);

There were no exceptional circumstances, and the application was dismissed ([49], [51]). A Full Bench refused permission to appeal: there was no arguable error, and the case "turned entirely on its own facts" (Jeremy Snyder v Helena College Council, Inc. T/A Helena College [2018] FWCFB 4734 at [76], [79]).

In the decision's words: "it would have been prudent, and perhaps expected, that [the applicant] would have made application to the Federal Commission as soon as he became aware that the College was taking issue with his ability to pursue the application in the WAIRC." ([41]).

What it means for you

Being misled by the employer's paperwork was not enough here, because the teacher kept going in the WA system after the college objected. A member who receives a national system employer objection in the WA Commission may need to file in the Fair Work Commission straight away, and to withdraw the WA claim first (entry 5).

Outcome: Lost by the teacher: extension of time refused and the application dismissed. Also: permission to appeal refused, Snyder v Helena College [2018] FWCFB 4734 (20 December 2018); four further applications in the matter also failed in 2019.

Jeremy Snyder v Helena College Council, Inc. T/A Helena College [2018] FWC 4432

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Religious schools

The discrimination law in force, and a Bill that is not law.

A teacher carrying folders walks along a shaded veranda, a small sandstone chapel behind

Religious ethos and discrimination lawThe Equal Opportunity Act 1984 (WA) s 73(1), the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth) s 38(1) and the Fair Work Act’s good-faith exceptions for staff of religious institutions are the law in force. The Equal Opportunity Bill 2026 (WA) would narrow the State exception, but it is a Bill, not law.In the discipline guide

Worked examples

How it plays out, step by step.

Illustrative example, not a real case

A fixed-term teacher at an independent school files in the wrong place

A teacher at a fee-charging independent school in Perth is told in October that her one-year contract will not be renewed. Her contract mentions a WA award. On 20 December, after her employment ends, she lodges an unfair dismissal claim in the WA Industrial Relations Commission. In mid-January the school answers that it is a national system employer. What the published decisions say:

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The school is probably in the Fair Work system.
1. Fee-charging independent schools run by incorporated associations have been held to be trading corporations, even where fees were under a fifth of income (file A, entry 1).
2. A mention of a WA award in her contract does not decide it: in the published cases the employer's own letters pointed to the WA system, and the employer was still a national system employer (Yvonne Khan v Anglican Schools Commission T/A Swan Valley Anglican Community School [2017] FWC 6057 at [9], [28]; Jeremy Snyder v Helena College Council, Inc. T/A Helena College [2018] FWC 4432 at [10], [31]).
The federal clock has been running all along. A Fair Work unfair dismissal application must be made within 21 days after the dismissal takes effect (FW Act s 394(2)). Filing in the WA Commission does not stop it, and lodging there first is not in itself exceptional; one decision called it "certainly not an uncommon occurrence" (Snyder v Helena College [2018] FWC 4432 at [36]-[38]).
A live WA claim can block the federal one. If the WA claim has not been withdrawn, and has not failed for want of jurisdiction, when she files in the Fair Work Commission, the federal application is barred (s 725, s 732; Joanne Ferrell v St Joseph's College [2026] FWC 1373 at [16]-[19]; Joanne Ferrell v St Joseph's College [2026] FWCFB 147 at [3]).
What helps an extension.
1. Extensions were granted where the employer's documents and official advice caused the mistake, the employer agreed to let the WA process run, or a representative's error caused a one-day delay, and the employee acted promptly (Khan v Anglican Schools Commission [2017] FWC 6057 at [28]-[31]; Theresa Edmonds v Catholic Education Western Australia Limited [2021] FWC 3369 at [25]-[28]).
2. They were refused where the employee knew of the objection and waited (Snyder v Helena College [2018] FWC 4432 at [40]-[41]; Ferrell v St Joseph's College [2026] FWC 1373 at [37], [54]).

What it means for you

A member in this position may be able to protect her position by withdrawing the WA claim and filing in the Fair Work Commission straight away, with an application for an extension of time that explains each day of the delay. Whether the end of her fixed-term contract was a dismissal at all is a separate question: a person is not dismissed when a contract for a specified period ends at the end of that period, unless a substantial purpose of using that kind of contract was to avoid the unfair dismissal laws (FW Act s 386(2)(a), (3)). None of these decisions decided that point.

Your union

The Independent Education Union of Australia WA Branch (IEU WA) runs with the state-registered union, The Independent Education Union of Western Australia, Union of Employees. The Independent Education Union of Australia is covered by both Catholic agreements, and the support staff agreement also covers the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation and the United Workers Union.

If you are facing discipline or a claim, talk to your union first.

Need a lawyer?

We act for employees in the Fair Work Commission, the WA Commission and the Industrial Magistrates Court.

Questions

The things people ask.

Which industrial system am I in at a Catholic or independent school?

Almost always the federal Fair Work system. The system turns on the employer, not the school.

The Catholic employers were recorded by a Full Bench as "all corporations and are thus national system employers" (Independent Education Union of Australia v Catholic Education Western Australia Limited and others [2023] FWCFB 177 at [1], [24]).
The WAIRC has held fee-charging schools to be trading corporations whatever the school's motive for charging fees and whether or not it makes a profit (The Independent Education Union of Western Australia, Union of Employees v The Moerlina School Inc. [2025] WAIRC 00150 at [39]–[44]).
The WA state system reaches only an employer that is not a trading or financial corporation (FW Act s 30B).

I filed my unfair dismissal claim in the WAIRC. Is that enough?

Probably not, if your employer is a national system employer.

The FWC's 21-day limit keeps running (FW Act s 394(2)(a)), and an FWC application about the same dismissal is barred while the WAIRC claim has not been withdrawn or failed for want of jurisdiction (FW Act s 725, s 732; Joanne Ferrell v St Joseph's College [2026] FWC 1373 at [16]–[19]).
The WAIRC claim must already have been withdrawn, or have failed for want of jurisdiction, when the FWC application is lodged; a WAIRC claim that ends later does not cure the bar (Ferrell v St Joseph's College [2026] FWC 1373 at [8]–[12], [19]).
Extensions of time have been refused where an employee knew of the employer's objection and waited (Jeremy Snyder v Helena College Council, Inc. T/A Helena College [2018] FWC 4432 at [40]–[41]).
A member in this position may need to withdraw the WAIRC claim and lodge in the FWC straight away.

How long do I have to challenge a dismissal?

21 days after the dismissal took effect, for an unfair dismissal application or a general protections dismissal application to the FWC (FW Act s 394(2)(a), s 366(1)(a)). The FWC can allow more time only in exceptional circumstances (s 394(3), s 366(2)).

Who is my employer if I teach at a Catholic school?

CEWA Ltd, or for some colleges the religious-institute body named in Schedule 1 of the teachers' agreement, such as Mazenod College Limited or Marist Schools Australia Limited. The principal has "delegated authority to act on behalf of the Employer" (teachers' agreement cl 2.4). The school's name is not the employer's name.

When is the next pay rise for CEWA teachers?

None is scheduled. The CEWA scale moves "at the same time and by the same quantum" as the public school teachers' increases (cl 7.1(c)), and the public agreement has no rise after 6 December 2025 and its term expires on 5 December 2026 (SCH013 cl 5.1).

Can my school stand me down during an investigation?

Neither Catholic agreement has a stand-down or suspension clause.

The teachers' agreement lets a teacher be directed to leave the premises, on full pay, only inside its fitness for work process (cl 6.13), or told not to attend during a notice period (cl 11.4).
Where the reportable conduct scheme applies, the employee has statutory rights to be told of the allegation and to respond before any adverse finding (PC Act s 19X).

I work at a school-based early learning centre or a stand-alone child-care centre. Am I covered?

Teachers in early childhood services run by the Catholic employers are covered by the CEWA teachers' agreement, and early learning centre and OSHC staff by the support staff agreement (AE523557 cl 2.2; AE533958 cl 2.2).

A teacher, administrator, house parent or residents' aide at a stand-alone pre-school kindergarten or child-care centre in WA is outside the IEU's rules, although the exclusion "shall not apply to any teacher or other salaried officer employed at any non-government school" (federal rules r 2, proviso (viii); state rules r 3(3)).
This guide does not cover stand-alone centres.

Can a religious school dismiss me because of my beliefs or my private life?

The law in force allows a religious school to discriminate on any ground in the EO Act if it does so in good faith to avoid injury to the religious susceptibilities of adherents (EO Act s 73(1)), and there are similar exceptions in the SDA (s 38(1)) and the FW Act (s 351(2)(c), s 772(2)(b)). The Equal Opportunity Bill 2026 (WA) would narrow the WA exception if passed, but on 4 November 2026 it was a Bill at second reading in the Legislative Assembly, not law.

I teach at a WA public school. Does this guide apply to me?

No. Public school teachers are employed by the Department of Education in the WA state system and have their own guide: WA public school teachers.

For unions and industrial officers

The same research agent can work through your members' agreement, its history in the Commission, and the decisions on it.

We use our software to generate this content with AI assistance. General information about the law, not legal advice. It takes no side in any current proceeding. Last checked 4 November 2026.