Cassandra Fernando (Holt, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Australia faces a teacher shortage 10 years in the making. Teacher shortage is a complex issue, with a number of factors contributing to the problem. While school enrolments have grown considerably, the number of students who study teaching is on a constant decline. Over this period, enrolments in teaching degrees have fallen by 16 per cent, and only half of the students who enrol are actually completing their degree. As a result, the demand for secondary teachers is forecast to exceed the supply of graduates by around 4,100 between 2021 and 2025.

Demand surpassing supply means teachers currently engaged in the profession are overworked and underappreciated. Nearly one-third to one-half of teachers leave the profession within the first five years, often due to low pay and poor public image of the profession. A whopping 71 per cent of those employed consider leaving the profession due to the high workload, particularly being required to do far more hours than they are paid for. My sister-in-law, a primary school teacher in Melbourne's south-east suburbs, is one of them. The Productivity Commission found full-time teachers usually work 50 per cent more than their paid working hours and work more hours than their international counterparts do according to the OECD. As a result, 61 per cent of teachers find the profession too stressful, which in turn has an enormous impact on their mental health and wellbeing.

It is important to remember that the effect of this shortage is systematic, affecting everyone from newly employed graduates to even principals, two-thirds of whom identify heavy workload as a factor limiting their effectiveness. This not only leads to a significant burden on existing staff, who are often required to take on additional responsibilities, but is also detrimental to the quality of education that students are receiving. Furthermore, the shortage of teachers is having a particularly substantial impact on disadvantaged areas like my electorate of Holt. These areas are already facing a range of challenges, including a lack of infrastructure and services, and the shortage of teachers only serves to compound these issues.

Urgent action is required to address the teacher shortage in Australia, and I'm proud the Albanese Labor government is leading the way in doing so. The government is investing in Australia's teachers, with $328 million in targeted funding through the National Teacher Workforce Action Plan to turn the situation around. It sets out 27 actions that Commonwealth, state and territory governments will implement. This includes $159 million to train more teachers, with more additional Commonwealth supported places offered in 2023-24 for bachelor's degrees and other courses in early childhood, primary and secondary education. There's $56 million for scholarships worth $40,000 each to encourage the best and brightest to become teachers. There's $68 million to triple the number of mid-career professionals shifting into teaching, $10 million to boost professional development and $10 million for a campaign to raise the status of the teaching profession. It's instituting a $30 million teacher workload reduction fund to trial new ways to reduce the workload on teachers and maximise the time they must teach. This plan will boost the number of students choosing to study teaching. It will provide the support they need to finish their studies and will invest in programs that will reduce workload and increase the status of the profession in the community.

Our children's education is too important to ignore, and we cannot afford to let this problem continue to go unaddressed. I am confident we can build a nation where teachers are respected, supported and encouraged. I would like to thank all teachers across Australia. We in this House appreciate the hard work that you do to educate the leaders of tomorrow.

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