Working as a Teacher in Australia

To work as a teacher in Australia there are certain requirements that you must meet. This article details the specific requirements that you need to work in Australia.

It has widely been reported that math and science secondary school teachers are the most in demand in Australia. There is also a lot more demand for qualified teachers to work in regional Australia.

Many young Australian recent teacher graduates actually have to go to regional Australia to find their first employer.

Probably the least in demand teachers are female primary school teachers in major cities.

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Early Childhood

(pre-primary school) Teacher (5 or younger)
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Primary School Teacher

(Year 1 – Year 6 or 6 to 12 years)
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Secondary School Teacher

(Year 7 – Year 12 or 13 – 18 years)

Study to become a teacher

International students can become a qualified teacher in as short a time as 1 – 2 years (if they have already completed a bachelor degree).

Education Requirements

You will need to have previous study assessed by AITSL as comparable to at least four years full-time higher education (university) level study, that results in a qualification.

For example, either a 4 year bachelor of education, or a 3 year Bachelor degree in any discipline and the the equivalent of a (Grad Dip or Master of Teaching) qualification relevant to the specific teacher occupation of at least one year full-time study at the university level.

The qualification must include a minimum of 45 days of supervised teaching practice with students.

Very high English requirements

English requirements to become a teacher in Australia are very high. You will need to show:

(i)    An Academic version of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS)  that shows a score of at least 7.0 for both Reading and Writing; and a score of at least 8.0 for both Speaking and Listening.

Or (ii)   An applicant has completed at least four full years of study in higher education (university) in Australia, Canada, the Republic of Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom or the United States of America. This study must have resulted in award of qualification(s) comparable to the educational level of an Australian bachelor degree or higher and must include a recognised initial teacher education qualification.

*Please note these are general in nature, for more information of the AITSL skills assessment, please contact the skills assessor.

Migrating to Australia

If you’re already a qualified teacher, you may be able to apply for independent general skilled migration (permanent work visa).

Getting a work visa in Australia

Please note that Secondary School Teacher and Early Childhood (Pre-primary school) Teacher are both on the Immigration and Border Protection Medium to Long Term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL). This means that if you are qualified in these teaching positions, you may then be able to apply for independent general skilled migration (Permanent work visas).

However Primary School Teacher is not on this MLTSSL. This means that even if you are a qualified primary school teacher you cannot obtain a permanent general skilled migration visa such as (Skilled Independent – Subclass 189 or State Sponsored Subclass 190).

Essentially the only type visa you can apply for are employer sponsored visas. Therefore if you are a primary school teacher you would need a school to sponsor your work visa.

General Skilled Migration for a teacher

General Skilled Migration

This is a permanent visa in Australia that does not require an employer to sponsor
Employer Sponsored Visa for a teacher

Employer Sponsored

This visa allows the visa holder to work for a school for the company in Australia. It may lead to PR after 3 years.

Working as a teacher in Australia

The minimum salary for a full time teacher in Australia is roughly $60,000. This is what most graduate teachers would earn.
More senior teachers can expect to receive close to $100,000 .

Working requirements depend on a state

Firstly you will need to ensure that you meet all of the requirements for the specific State in Australia that you would like to work.

As each State in Australian governs its own education system the requirements may change from state to state, however each state usually requires you to register as a teacher in the state.

Because of this, it is recommended that you check with the specific state that you would like to teach in.

Below is an example of the requirements for teaching in NSW:

To work in QLD public schools you must:

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Working as a Teacher in Australia was last modified: June 20th, 2021 by Nick Yock