What is a tutor?

A tutor gives instruction to individuals or small groups to help them learn a skill or subject.

Tutors are experienced in the subject they are tutoring people about. They don’t have to have teaching degrees, but some tutors do.

Tutors can instruct people who have left school or school students.

Tutors of school students

Employees who tutor primary or high school students are covered by the Miscellaneous Award. This includes tutors instructing individual students or groups of students.

Example: Tutoring groups before or after school

Dave is employed by a business which offers tutoring to groups of school students. The tutoring is done in classes at the company’s own premises outside of school hours.

Dave is a tutor who helps small groups of students learn maths and science skills so they can improve their school results.

Dave is not required to have any teaching qualifications to perform his role.

Dave is covered by the Miscellaneous Award.

Example: Tutoring in a private home

Alex is employed by a business which offers tutoring to individual school students in their homes outside of school hours.

Alex is a music tutor who helps students to learn to play the guitar. He travels to different students’ homes to give them one-on-one instruction.

Alex is not required to have any teaching qualifications to perform his role.

Alex is covered by the Miscellaneous Award.

Tutors in the school education system

Award coverage for tutors in the school education system depends on whether what they’re teaching is part of the school’s curriculum.

A tutor instructing students as part of a school’s curriculum will be covered by the Teachers Award. The relevant classification will depend on their qualifications.

A tutor instructing students as part of an extra-curricular program will be covered by the Educational Services (Schools) General Staff Award.

Example: Music tutor at a school

Bethany is employed by a school as a piano tutor.

Bethany teaches piano to students as part of an extra-curricular music program.

Bethany is covered by the Educational Services (Schools) General Staff Award.

Tutors of people who have left school

Employees will be covered by the Educational Services (Post-Secondary) Award if they’re tutoring people who have left school and are over 16 years old.

These employees can have a teaching degree, but don’t have to have a degree to be covered by the award.

These employees also don’t have to be assisting people to attain a formal qualification recognised under the Australian Qualifications Framework to be covered by the award.

Example: Adult classes at a community centre

Paola is employed by a not-for-profit organisation which provides adult education classes at a community centre.

Paola is a tutor who runs weekly classes for adults who have left school and who want to learn to speak Spanish.

Paola doesn’t have a teaching degree, but she is fluent in Spanish.

Paola is covered by the Educational Services (Post-Secondary) Award.

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