This five-part paper examines the role of teacher unions in Australian education at the state level. An overview describes the organizational strength of Australia's teacher unions. Part 1, "Teacher Union Growth," presents a history, and part 2, "Teacher Unions and State Education," interprets issues involving unions and government. Part 3, "The Rise of Teacher Trade Unionism 1966-1978," analyzes the reform movement and the rise of teacher militancy. Part 4, "The 1980s: Responding to the Crisis in State Education," discusses government, public, and union conflicts. Part 5, which makes up over two-thirds of the report, is called "Teacher Unionism and Education: The Victorian example," and provides an analysis of Victoria's unique union organization. This part begins by describing fragmentation and reform among Victoria's three major unions and goes on to interpret policy relations between unions and the Labor government between 1982 and 1985; Victorian unions reflect both democratic and oligarchic organizational tendencies. Union activity in policy formation, school organization, and the workplace, as well as in democratization of administrative and curricular decisionmaking are also described in this section. The paper concludes with a discussion of issues that influence unions' localized decisionmaking in the face of educational change. It is concluded that practical questions should be asked about school-based management to attain effective schooling. Thirty-nine references are appended. (CJH)