Australian Teacher Workforce Data

This report highlights key national trends in the potential future supply of teachers through ITE, analysing commencements, completions and completion rates of ITE students from 2005 to 2019.

This report contains analyses of the characteristics of individuals who are registered with teacher regulatory authorities in participating states and territories. It focuses on their registration and employment experiences during 2018 and other key information gathered through the ATWD Teacher Survey. This information includes workforce experiences of early career teachers, professional learning and qualifications, working hours and tasks, and intentions to stay in the teaching profession.

• Teachers reported working an average of 140 to 150% of their paid hours. The largest proportion of non-face-to-face teaching time was spent on teaching preparation and assessment tasks, followed by administrative tasks.
• Of registered teachers, 83% worked in schools and 6% worked in early childhood services. Eleven per cent of registered teachers were not actively working in either schools or early childhood services; 18% are in their first 1-5 years of teaching and 16% are approaching retirement age.
• While the teaching workforce in 2018 was predominantly comprised of women (78%) and people born in Australia (83%), the teaching workforce is not homogenous and includes a broad array of teachers with various demographic and cultural characteristics.

See pages 12 to 32 of the report for further key findings.

In addition to the main ATWD Teacher Workforce Report, State Profiles have been produced in order to provide local analyses of teacher workforce characteristics for each participating state and territory.

This report analyses the characteristics of undergraduate and postgraduate students who are entering, are currently enrolled in, or have recently completed their initial teacher education (ITE).

• Despite an increase in the number of students commencing ITE courses, the overall numbers of ITE graduates available to teach in any year (number of completions) largely plateaued. This has implications for the supply of new teachers into the workforce.
• Undergraduate students who studied externally only, via online programs, had low completion rates (27%) compared to students who studied internally (43%). However, students who combined internal and external study methods had the highest completion rates (69%). An examination of the modes of delivery of ITE may be required to better understand the potential and the challenges, and the best means of assisting students to complete their study programs.

See pages 8 to 22 of the report for further key findings.