Draft National Teacher Workforce Action Plan released
Today I released the draft National Teacher Workforce Action Plan which includes $328 million of additional Australian Government investment to attract, train and retain teachers.
Teachers do a critical job and there is a shortage of them right across the country.
That is why Education Ministers, teachers, principals and other education experts came together for a roundtable in August 2022 to discuss ways to tackle the problem.
A working group led by the Australian Government, along with States and Territories, unions, principals’ representatives and university representatives was then established to develop the National Teacher Workforce Action Plan.
The draft Plan is a result of that work and contains 28 actions.
It focusses on ways to build the respect and reputation of the profession, encourage more young people to become a teacher, better prepare teachers for the classroom, tackle workload issues, and make sure governments have the right data.
Actions the Australian Government will fund include:
- $159 million to train more teachers,
- $56 million for scholarships worth up to $40,000 each to encourage the best and brightest to become teachers,
- $68 million to triple the number of mid-career professionals shifting into teaching,
- $10 million to boost professional development,
- $10 million on a campaign to raise the status of the teaching profession, and
- a $25 million Teacher Workload Reduction Fund – to trial new ways to reduce the workload on teachers and maximise the time they have to teach.
I want feedback on the draft plan from teachers, principals, parents and the broader community.
What do you think is right? What do you think is wrong? What should be in it and what should be taken out?
In December I will get together with State and Territory Education Ministers to go through all the feedback and sign off the plan.
This is a problem 10 years in the making and it will take time to fix.
That is why this will remain a permanent standing item on Education Ministers’ meetings – building and expanding on the Action Plan we agree to in December.
I want to thank the members of the working group who helped develop this draft plan.
The working group included:
- Secretaries from the Australian Government Education Department and all State and Territory Education Departments,
- the Australian Education Union,
- the Independent Education Union of Australia,
- the Australian Primary Principals Association,
- the Australian Secondary Principals Association,
- the Australian Special Education Principals Association,
- the National Catholic Education Commission,
- Independent Schools Australia,
- the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Principals Association,
- Universities Australia,
- the Australasian Teacher Regulatory Authorities, and
- the Australian Council of Deans of Education.
Public consultation on the plan is open until 1 December 2022. To view the full draft plan and provide feedback visit https://www.education.gov.au/ntwap