Changes to the Academic Workload Policy

The revised Academic Workload Policy will come into effect on 1 January 2021, following the mutual agreement by the university and the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) in July 2020.

The revised policy is the result of a comprehensive review and extensive stakeholder consultation with academic staff, academic supervisors, other stakeholders and the union. The experiences and views of all stakeholders have been fully considered to inform improvements to the policy as well as the supporting Academic Workload Planning System (AWPS). 
 
Read the revised Academic Workload Policy, now available in the university’s policy library.

 Key changes

Some of the key changes to the Academic Workload Policy include:

• Student consultation – clarification of the types of activities involved in student consultation; guidance on distribution of workload across multiple staff; change to workload allocation method and hours 
• Lecturer in charge activities – clarification of role responsibilities and change to workload allocation method and hours
• Teaching related workload – further clarification of related academic activities to support consistent application and allocation of workload hours; workload allocation to support scholarship of teaching and scholarly activity extended to staff in other academic career pathways based on face-to-face teaching hours
• Honours thesis/supervision – increase in workload allocation hours
• Early career researcher – extension of workload allocation up to five years and clarification on eligibility, process and interplay with individual staff research allocation 
• Academic leadership roles – revised to reflect current roles and clarify responsibilities
• Other university activities – clarification to ensure appropriate utilisation of workload hours and equity for staff
• Field experience – revised to reflect current field experience activities and associated work effort

Information sessions coming soon

Before planning the academic workload for 2021, it is recommended all academic staff and supervisors attend an information session to learn about the changes to the Academic Workload Policy and supporting Academic Workload Planning System. These sessions are scheduled for October 2020 and will be communicated once firm dates are established. 
 
The sessions will provide an overview of the key changes to the Academic Workload Policy and guidance on how to apply the policy for changed academic activities and workload allocations, as well as point out some of the useful features of the AWPS to assist you when planning your academic workload for next year.