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Strong and Steady Growth

Your IEU(SA) Branch continues to grow steadily. So far in 2025, 386 new fee-paying members have joined, demonstrating the strong appeal of our reinvigorated collective response to organising. This growth reinforces the relevance of belonging to a union that stands together in advocating for educators.

At the same time, our rate of resignations has remained stable. Importantly, most departures occur for reasons outside of the union’s control — such as moving interstate, retiring or leaving the education sector — rather than dissatisfaction.

Figure 1: New vs. Resigned Members (2021–2025 YTD)

Long-Term Trends

Looking across the past five years, IEU(SA) membership has been remarkably stable and resilient.

• New members: Rising steadily, from 345 in 2021 to a record 513 in 2024.
• Resignations: Fluctuating modestly but consistently dominated by eligibility changes (around 38–41% every year).
• Disgruntled resignations: Once as high as 7% in 2021, but now reduced to just 1% in both 2024 and 2025.

These figures show that the IEU(SA) is not only attracting new members but also retaining existing ones. Dissatisfaction is playing only a very minor role in resignations, underscoring the strength and relevance of our collective voice.

Why Members Leave

Transparency matters. That’s why we track and share the reasons members give when resigning. Year after year, the largest proportion of resignations comes from those who are no longer eligible to be members. This includes people moving overseas or interstate, leaving the industry, or stepping into retirement.

In 2025 so far, 55% of resignations fall into these categories. The remaining reasons are far smaller in scale:

• Financial reasons: Around 16% of resigning members.
• “No value” or “no need”: Just 3% in 2025, continuing a low and stable trend.
• Disgruntled members: Extremely rare, with only 4 people (1%) this year to date.

Figure 2: Reasons for Resignation (2025 YTD)

*Left sector: overseas, interstate, left industry/sector. Other: unfinancial, unknown or personal reasons.

This data makes it clear: the overwhelming majority of resignations are for reasons the IEU is unable to control.

What This Means for Members

Our union thrives because members see the value of standing together. While turnover is inevitable as careers and life circumstances change, very few leave because of discontent. This reflects both the strength of our union community, the ongoing commitment of members to support one another and the concerted focus by IEU staff to ensure we deliver value to members.

Our recent survey results echo this story, and in my conversations with members, the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. Part of my role as Branch Secretary is to ensure you are heard, and, that you have opportunities for ongoing feedback. I welcome your discussions and constructive input — because at its heart, this union is for and with its members.

Together, we will continue to build on this growth, strengthen our voice in education, and ensure that the IEU(SA) remains a trusted and effective union for educators across South Australia.