Newsletter, 2025 Term 4 Issue 8

The Legislative Assembly Economy and Infrastructure Committee has been conducting an inquiry into student pathways to in-demand industries. The Association was given an opportunity to engage with the committee Friday last week. Belinda Hudak, Robert Boucher, Matt Koutroubas and I were questioned by committee members on the challenges of careers education in schools, providing access to VET and the limitations on the ability of schools to encourage students to pursue careers in in-demand industries. Our regional and rural school representatives emphasised the importance of context and trust in providing the best opportunities and outcomes for their students. 

A couple of weeks ago I presided over my final AGM. My report focused on both the past five years and also the present and the future. The following is a very abridged version of my statement.

Across these five years, a single through-line has defined our work: advocacy, learning, and support. These have not been separate agendas but interdependent strands woven through everything we have done as an Association. Advocacy has ensured that the principal voice is not merely acknowledged but taken seriously; whether in pandemic response, structural reform, or the evolving expectations placed on schools and their leaders. Learning has remained at the centre of our identity, reflected in forums, conferences, and regional gatherings that challenge us intellectually while renewing us personally. And support, practical, compassionate, ever-present, has been the steady heartbeat of VASSP, reminding us that leadership is ultimately human work, carried by people who deserve care as much as accountability. These pillars are not slogans; they are the scaffolds of a profession sustained by purpose.

It is extraordinary to reflect on how much the profession has been tested and transformed during this period. In 2021, principals were navigating daily operational upheaval: testing, tracing, remote learning, staffing crises, and the relentless pressure of public scrutiny. By 2025, the nature of our challenges has shifted, but the intensity has not; teacher shortages, system trust, workload complexity, and a growing need to preserve the dignity of school leadership itself. The data is unambiguous, and the lived experience even more so: our colleagues continue to shoulder unsustainable burdens. Yet, amid these pressures, I have witnessed something profound; courage, compassion, creativity, and a steadfast optimism. In every region and every school, leaders continue to believe in the transformative power of public education, even when the path is steep and the reward uncertain. That optimism is not naïve; it is the disciplined hope that has carried our profession through uncertainty and into renewal.

As I step aside, I do so with deep gratitude for the people who make this Association what it is. Our Executive and staff have led with clarity, integrity, and a commitment to modernising VASSP while staying true to its heart. I also want to acknowledge our valued partners in fellow principal organisations; Tina King (Australian Principals Federation), Andrew Dalgleish (Victorian Principals Association), Cameron Peverett (Principals Association of Specialist Schools), and Mak Mclay (Country Education Partnerships). Our collective advocacy has been most powerful when we have spoken with one unified voice for school leaders. Together, we have navigated policy reform, industrial complexity, and systemic change, building a platform that positions principals not as passive recipients of policy, but as architects of the system we need.

The challenges ahead are real and immediate. We face a national teacher shortage that touches every school; we are navigating curriculum reform, digital transformation, and a landscape that too often misunderstands the depth and complexity of our work. But we also stand at the threshold of opportunity; an era in which professional voice, sector collaboration, and data-informed dialogue can reshape Victorian education for the better. Our task is not to return to what once was, but to lead towards what should be: a profession trusted for its expertise, a system that listens to those who know schools best, and communities strengthened by schools that remain their beating heart. In my first report as President, written amid lockdowns, I quoted Václav Havel: “Hope is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out.”

As the end of the school year rapidly approaches, I would like to thank the team at VASSP; Amy, Kim, David, Molly, Sue, Deb, JR and Garry. It has been my fortune to have two outstanding Executive Officer/Chief Operating Officers in Vicki and Amy throughout my term as president. For the past four years Amy has been my rock.  I would also like to thank those who have served on Executive and State Committee throughout my tenure; they are school leaders who have continued to serve our Association with dedication and courage.

For the past four years I have referred to this quotation from the Buddha: “Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.” The words and sentiment remain apposite as the festive season and a long break rapidly approaches after what has been another challenging year. When that break finally happens, make sure you stop and reflect on how respected you are by your school communities and your Association for surmounting the challenges of the last twelve months in your school.

Finally, the Roman philosopher Seneca opined “Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.” The Association’s new beginning under Belinda Hudak’s leadership starts with my beginning’s end; the Association is in very good hands.