Some teachers are fearful about returning to work in Term 1 as Canberra educators remain in the dark about return to school plans.
Independent Education Union Canberra organiser Berna Simpson said some members were uncertain about what their rights were to ask for remote working, extended parental leave or unpaid leave to avoid potential COVID infections.
Details on the ACT government health guidelines for schools are not expected to be released until the end of this week.
"I'm sure there's a lot of teachers have been very excited about the thought of taking on a new class because that's... who teachers are, but there's also those people who have grounds to be unsure about returning," Ms Simpson said.
"We're still pretty much in the dark."
The union has not been part of consultation with the Education Directorate but will be meeting with a major employer on Friday to discuss how schools will be made safe, including policies around mask wearing, ventilation, student vaccinations and managing close contacts.
Ms Simpson said their members were concerned about the availability of rapid antigen test kits and how they would be used in a school context.
She said there was already a shortage of causal teachers in independent and Catholic schools that was causing classes to be merged together before COVID-19 transmission took hold in Canberra.
The shortage is likely to be compounded this term with absences due to illness, close contacts and caring duties.
The NSW government has proposed the shortage could be addressed by asking retired teachers and principals to fill in as well as fast-tracking the accreditation of final year teaching students.
Catholic Education director in the Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn Ross Fox said any qualified teachers would be welcome to help with replacing absent staff.
"We'll certainly welcome people back who might be retired but qualified teachers [who have] maintained their registration to be part of our schools as casuals and to assist," Mr Fox said.
"There are going to be cases at schools, probably across all sectors, and then we'll be working through who's available and how we best meet the needs of our staff and students in those instances as they arise."
Ms Simpson said coaxing teachers out of retirement was not a simple fix as many were in a vulnerable age group.
Mr Fox said he understood in NSW rapid antigen tests (RAT) would be used twice per week on all staff and students with deliveries of kits imminent.
When asked if RATs had been ordered for schools, an ACT government spokesperson said the territory had prioritised the use of rapid antigen tests for those with symptoms of COVID-19, household contacts and those with high and moderate-risk exposures.
More details on the use of RATs in ACT schools is expected to be revealed by the end of the week.
"We anticipate that whatever position the ACT government comes to on rapid antigen tests that we're very much a part of that," Mr Fox said.
School plans will be discussed by National Cabinet on Thursday.
