Yanco Agricultural is one of many schools in the Riverina where demountables are used for either classrooms or on-site student accommodation. Photo: Helen Dalton MP.
Students from across the Riverina are returning to school this week, with many expected to have lessons in demountable classrooms.
By definition, demountables are supposed to be temporary — but schools such as Hanwood, Griffith East, Junee and Yanco have had them for decades, with students and teachers forced to wait for permanent structures to be built.
According to a report acquired by the NSW Teachers Federation, more than 5000 temporary demountable classrooms are being used in schools across NSW, a 30 percent increase in demountables from 2011 to 2021.
Many teachers and parents are voicing their frustrations.
NSW Teachers Federation organiser Kelly Bowman listed several issues surrounding portable classrooms, including how hot they become in summer and cold in winter, how hard they are to maintain, the space they occupy and the limitations of the temporary spaces.
“It’s the povo response to school infrastructure,” Ms Bowman said.
“The NSW Government has failed to build school infrastructure and instead of doing that, they have filled up playgrounds with these portable and supposedly temporary buildings that just aren’t adequate for students.
“They are structures that are used permanently in New South Wales, when they were never supposed to be. Some schools have been stuck with them for 30 to 40 years. That’s anything but temporary.”
Hanwood Public School still has six demountable classrooms. Photo: Oliver Jacques.
Alongside the duration for which the demountable classrooms are being used, Ms Bowman said the rooms had also posed health and safety risks.
“Before the Cooler Schools Program, which was introduced in 2025, one of the most frequent complaints we got at the federation was the condition of these demountables,” she said.
“While the Cooler Schools Program [a state initiative that looks to install air conditioning in all schools that average 30 degrees Celsius in January] has been pretty well received, it has been really difficult for rural schools in particular to have these air conditioners installed.
“The biggest issue with these aircons in the last 12 months is actually getting contractors out to install the aircons. Schools are being forced to wait for a tradesperson to be available to travel to these areas, and that can take weeks.
“Then there’s the opposite issue in winter with heating.”
Mother-of-two Ketura Weston expressed her concerns about demountable classrooms in extreme weather, even recalling her time using them when she was at school.
“I remember how cold those rooms would get in winter; it was horrible,” she said.
“The school that I went to is still using the same demountables almost 20 years later.
“I would hate to imagine if the recent heatwave came a week later than it did, and we would have to force kids into those rooms, even with aircons.
“Weather aside, they aren’t great either. They always look so out of place and can’t possibly be the best long-term solution for building or expanding schools.”
