Australia’s pipeline of future teachers has improved with an increase in applications to study education this year, reversing the downward trend of recent years.
New data from the Federal Department of Education shows both applications and offers were up for people wanting to study an undergraduate course in education.
Federal Education Minister Jason Clare said preliminary results from tertiary admission centres showed a seven percent increase in applications and a 14 percent increase in offers compared to 2024.
Minister Clare said the overall numbers were also higher than 2022 and 2023, which saw annual declines in applications.
He said the Federal, state and territory governments had been working together to tackle the teacher workforce shortage.
“Many states and territories have delivered significant pay increases for the teaching profession over the past two years (and) have also taken important steps to help reduce teacher workload.”
Minister Clare said those efforts were supported by teaching scholarships, worth up to $40,000 each, to encourage more people to study teaching and the new Prac Payment for teaching students, which provided financial support while they undertook the practical part of their course.
“Being a teacher is the most important job in the world, and we don’t have enough of them.
“I want more young people to leap out of high school and want to become a teacher.”
