Operational Teaching Assistants Pilot (Reference 156)
The Operational Teaching Assistants (OTA) pilot aims to ease the administrative load on teachers and enable them to focus on duties that require their professional skills and judgement.
Under the pilot up to 31 OTAs will be employed in Victorian government schools from Term 3 2025, until the end of Term 2, 2027.
OTA roles and responsibilities will align with those of an Education Support Level 1, Range 2 position in accordance with the Victorian Government Schools Agreement (VGSA) 2022. The OTA role will not involve working directly with students. The role will take on administrative and operational tasks performed by teachers to reduce teacher workload. Schools participating in the pilot must tailor the role within the parameters of the VGSA, the program guidelines and the unique context of their school.
Eligibility
OTA funding is provided to schools that are participating in the OTA pilot.
All Victorian government schools were eligible to apply for the pilot via an Expression of Interest process in May 2025.
Funding
Australian Government funding will cover 50% of the employment and oncosts of the OTA roles, with participating pilot schools required to cover the remaining 50% of the costs.
OTA funding allocations are calculated based on 50% of Full-time Equivalent (FTE) Education Support Level 1 Range 2-midpoint salary + school on‐costs. For example, this equates to $18,835 for the second half of 2025 for each 1 FTE Operational Teaching Assistant.
The government funding portion will be provided to schools through the SRP Indicative and Revised budget cycles via credit.
Further information
Reviewed 02 July 2025