Federation administrative officers must be members of the Federation and therefore must be qualified teachers. As members of the Federation, Federation officers participate in industrial action undertaken by their section of the union by donating an amount equivalent to that lost by other members to the Federation charity, Stewart House. Administrative officers are non-voting members of the Federation Council. Members of the Federation Council are elected by the teachers of the association or associations which they represent. Delegates to the Federation annual conference are elected by the teachers of their association.
Every association is entitled to at least one delegate to annual conference.
There is a local association in most country towns and city districts. DET officers and consultants, TAFE, AMES and Corrective Services teachers have their own state-wide associations. Associations can propose items for consideration at meetings of the Federation Council or annual conference. A feature of council meetings is a parliamentary style question time where questions without notice may be asked of the presidential officers. Questions with notice are also published in the council business paper.