Schools across Australia are experiencing significant staffing pressures, with teacher shortages now widely recognised as a systemic and enduring issue. This report examines the lived experiences of teachers during unprecedented shortages, focusing on those who remain in hard-to-staff Australian schools and how systems can better support retention.

This report presents the findings of the 2025 State of our TAFE survey. It finds excessive workloads, insecure employment and uncompetitive pay are driving skilled teachers out of the sector. The report sets out an agenda for governments to secure TAFE’s future and match investment in TAFE students with investments in the TAFE workforce and...

This report – in response to the Australian Productivity Commission’s inquiry Building a skilled and adaptable workforce – finds that while time pressures on teachers need solutions, the Commission's recommendations risk narrowing teachers’ roles to delivering pre-packaged lessons. Teachers overwhelmingly identify administration, compliance and lack of support staff as the biggest barriers to effective teaching.

This report provides comparable national statistics measuring the state of education worldwide. It shows that, despite overall growth in tertiary attainment, family background continues to strongly influence who pursues higher education. It finds that teacher shortages need to be tackled to strengthen education systems. A country note on Australia accompanies the report.

Teacher attrition – the rate at which teachers leave the profession – is often seen as a key factor behind teacher shortages in Australia. Using linked administrative tax data, this analysis offers a detailed picture of who is leaving the teaching profession, when they leave and what they do next.