Report cautions against bonuses

Productivity Commission not in favour of government’s plan to reward teacher performance, however it does endorse school autonomy.  The Productivity Commission has said the federal government should defer its national performance bonus scheme for teachers until it is known how to design one effectively.   In a draft report on the school workforce, the commission said there has been mixed results from performance pay where it has been introduced in the US. 

It said deficiencies in systems for teacher appraisal and feedback across Australia would hinder the effectiveness of any bonuses.  The government plans to introduce a national performance bonus scheme in 2014 to reward the top 10 per cent of teachers in the government and non-government sectors.  However the commission has made a draft recommendation to defer full-scale introduction "given current uncertainty about how to design an effective bonus system".