Tasmanian school principals have delivered a scathing assessment of Education Minister Jo Palmer’s leadership, with a new survey revealing almost total lack of confidence in her handling of major school reforms.
The statewide Australian Education Union survey shows 90% of principals of the 90+ principals polled doubt Multi-School Organisations will improve student outcomes.
Nearly nine in 10 lack confidence schools will be funded fairly under the new model.
Every principal surveyed said they hadn’t been properly briefed about new Executive Lead roles, with 45% receiving no briefing at all.
“This is what happens when a minister bulldozes ahead with major structural change while ignoring the profession,” AEU State Manager Brian Wightman said.
“Jo Palmer has completely lost the confidence of school leaders.”
Multi-School Organisations unite families of schools under one executive leadership team, allowing schools to share resources, lesson plans, behaviour plans and other services.
The new AEU survey reveals 95% of principals feel “left in the dark” about their school’s 2026 funding and staffing
More than nine in 10 said Palmer’s decision-making lacks transparency.
“These reforms are being done to schools, not with schools,” Wightman said.
Principals expressed their frustration in anonymous responses.
One said consultation was “tokenistic” and commitments weren’t followed through.
“I’m very unsure of what is happening because I don’t believe the government know what they are doing,” another wrote.
Minister Palmer defended the reforms as evidence-based and backed by extensive research from the Grattan Institute.
“I think you perhaps need to speak to the principals of the three pilot schools that are involved who have grasped this opportunity with open hands,” she said.
Palmer claimed many principals were contacting her asking when their schools could join MSOs.
She pointed to successful UK models showing dramatic improvements over 20 years.
“They have schools that six years ago were some of the worst-performing schools in the UK who are now some of the top-performing schools,” she said.
The union is calling for “genuine collaboration, transparency, and evidence-based planning”.
