OCTOBER 2025
This fact sheet offers a quick look into what we know about teachers’ professional wellbeing. It is informed by real teacher experiences shared in the Australian Teacher Workforce Survey. It also explores areas we can target to better support the professional wellbeing of Australia’s teachers. The data is presented with an objective to improve the information available for teacher workforce planning by developing and publishing data about teacher wellbeing and career intentions, in response to Action 27 of the National Teacher Workforce Action Plan (NTWAP).
A wide range of policy initiatives and programs targeting teachers’ professional wellbeing have been implemented in all states, territories and school sectors in Australia, as it is a key priority for all jurisdictions (see Table 1 in the detailed report – In Focus: Teacher Wellbeing and Career Intentions). These include opportunities for teachers and leaders to have their say in reference groups or surveys, resources for teachers that can improve their wellbeing and broad wellbeing policies aimed at safeguarding teachers at work. Additionally, in recognition of the impact that high workloads can have on teacher wellbeing and retention, the National Teacher Workforce Action Plan, which was agreed to in December 2022, commits all jurisdictions to build on what’s already underway to reduce teacher workload. This includes piloting new approaches through a Workload Reduction Fund.1
Want to know more? Read the detailed report In Focus: Teacher Wellbeing and Career Intentions.
A high proportion of teachers reported feeling happy (89%) and feeling enthusiastic (81%) due to their work; either sometimes (37%, 38%), often (41%, 32%), or very often/ always (11%, 11%). Fewer respondents reported rarely feeling happy or feeling enthusiastic due to their work (9%, 15%), or never or very rarely feeling happy or feeling enthusiastic due to work (2%, 4%; Figure 1).
Figure 1. Proportion of teachers reporting how often their work made them feel positive (happy, enthusiastic)
In contrast, fewer teachers reported feeling worried or feeling miserable sometimes (33%, 31%), often (29%, 17%), or very often or always (15%, 10%; Figure 2). Comparatively more respondents reported rarely feeling worried or feeling miserable due to their work (13%, 22%) or never or very rarely feeling worried or feeling miserable due to their work (9%, 20%).
Figure 2. Proportion of teachers reporting how often their work made them feel negative (worried, miserable)*
*Note: Due to rounding, figures do not add to 100%.
High negative feelings due to work (feeling worried or miserable either ‘often’ or ‘very often or always’) were related to higher levels of work-related stress. When teachers simultaneously reported experiencing positive feelings due to work, this had a protective effect against work-related stress.
One-quarter (25%) of teachers reported experiencing lower levels of stress, including those who experienced no stress (7%) and low levels of stress (18%). The greatest proportion of teachers were experiencing moderate levels of stress (29%), while less than one-quarter reported experiencing high levels of stress (23%) and fewer experienced very high levels of stress (16%) or severe levels of stress (7%; Figure 3).
Figure 3. Proportion of teachers reporting different levels of stress
One-tenth (10%) of teachers reported that they experienced no symptoms of burnout, while one-third (34%) reported that they were occasionally under stress and have less energy than they once did. However, one-third of teachers (34%) reported a low level of burnout, characterised by experiencing one or more symptoms of burnout; 12% reported experiencing medium levels of burnout, characterised by symptoms that won’t go away; and 10% reported experiencing high levels of burnout, characterised by feeling completely burned out and wondering whether they could go on (Figure 4).
Figure 4. Proportion of teachers experiencing burnout
Teachers’ geolocation did not meaningfully affect many measures of their wellbeing, including stress, burnout, health-related quality of life and feelings due to work. However, teachers in remote and very remote areas were less likely to report the following issues as stressors than those living in metropolitan areas:
Teachers in remote and very remote areas were more likely to report the following as stressors than their metropolitan counterparts:
Job resources helped to protect from stress, burnout and negative feelings due to work. They tended to co-occur with happiness and enthusiasm for work. The job resources teachers reported experiencing most are outlined in Figure 5.
Figure 5. Proportion of teachers reporting job resources
Job demands were more likely to co-occur with stress, burnout, negative feelings and reduced health-related quality of life (encompassing mental health, vitality, emotional functioning and social functioning). The job demands teachers reported experiencing most are outlined in Figure 6.
Figure 6. Proportion of teachers reporting job demands
One in four respondents (26%) reported they intended to remain in the profession until retirement and just over a third (35%) reported they were unsure about their overall career intentions (Figure 7).
However, a relatively small proportion of teachers (14%) reported they intended to leave the profession within a near term timeframe (5% within 1 year; 9% within 2–4 years). A further 16% reported they intended to leave before retirement within a longer timeframe (10% within 5–9 years; 6% within 10+ years) and fewer than one in ten respondents intended to leave before retirement but were unsure about when (8%).*
Teachers who reported an intention to leave in the longer term may not have a firm plan to leave and may not end up leaving the teaching profession before retirement.
*Note: Teachers’ reported intentions to leave don’t necessarily translate to actual attrition from the workforce. Data from Finland suggests that rates of reported intention to leave the profession of 30-40% may result in actual turnover closer to 10-15% over 5 years.2 However, higher rates of intentions to leave can indicate that the teacher workforce is under strain. This trend might also be related to the increasing tendency for younger generations of workers to consider changing careers throughout their working lives.3
Figure 7. Teachers' reported career intentions
*Note: Due to rounding, figures do not add to 100%.
Teachers who reported greater access to job resources and reduced job demands were more likely to report feeling happy or enthusiastic and less likely to feel miserable or worried because of work. They were also less likely to experience work-related stress or poor health-related quality of life.
Increasing teachers’ access to job resources and helping them cope with the challenges posed by job demands could act as a buffer against poor professional wellbeing while improving the way work makes them feel.
The job demands and resources that were the strongest drivers of teachers’ positive feelings (happiness and enthusiasm) about work were:
On the other hand, when teachers reported finding work emotionally demanding, having unrealistic time pressures, difficulty with managing student behaviour, having a lack of autonomy and having conflicting work demands, they were more likely to feel miserable and worried because of work.
Stressors related to teachers’ jobs can increase their negative feelings about work, stress, poor health-related quality of life and burnout. Sources of work-related stress varied, as did the extent to which they had an impact on teachers’ overall levels of stress.
For example, the most commonly reported stressors were high workload, the emotional load of work, dealing with students / parents / community and time pressure. A less commonly reported work-related stressor was incivility, bullying and harassment. However, for those who reported experiencing this stressor (8%), the impact on reported stress levels was high.
The work-related stressors with the greatest level of impact on teachers’ stress levels were:
Addressing the most commonly reported stressors as well as those with the greatest levels of impact on stress levels is likely to have a positive impact on teachers’ professional wellbeing.
The experience of work-related stressors varied by age, position and contract type.
This suggests the need for tailored responses that aim to reduce particular work-related stressors for specific groups.
Burnout is a reaction to prolonged exposure to workplace stressors. Job demands and a lack of job resources can act as stressors, which in turn lead to burnout. For teachers, burnout is linked to poor physical and mental health; reduced student achievement and adjustment; and poor job performance.
More than half of respondents (56%) reported experiencing some level of burnout and nearly one-quarter (22%) reported experiencing medium to high levels of burnout (Figure 4). The greater the level of burnout, the more likely teachers were to intend to leave the profession before retirement – particularly in the short term. For example, teachers who were experiencing higher than usual levels of burnout were 2.90 times more likely to intend to leave in 1 year than in 10+ years and they were 1.96 times more likely to intend to leave in 2-4 years than in 10+ years.
Given this, consideration could be given to measures that:
The Australian Teacher Workforce Data (ATWD) is a joint initiative between, and is funded by, all state, territory and Commonwealth governments. It is being implemented by AITSL in partnership with the Australian Government Department of Education, state and territory governments, teacher regulatory authorities and the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW); under the auspice of the ATWD Oversight Board.
The Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the lands, sea countries, and waterways from across Australia. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and living cultures; and to Elders past and present.
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