Key metrics dashboard

National ITE Commencements, annual

The number of students are a subset of enrolled ITE students. Commencements indicate the number of new people added to the ITE pipeline each year.

Overall, growth in ITE commencements has averaged at 1.3% per year from 2005 to 2019.

The number of students commencing ITE programs increased by 18% between 2005 (n=24,285) and 2019 (n=28,694).

The greatest annual increases in commencements occurred in 2007 (15%) and 2010 (10%).

The most significant decreases in commencements was in 2018, with a drop of 19%. As these years follow a recent mandate to discontinue one-year ITE postgraduate programs, some volatility should be expected in commencement rates until this change is well-established within ITE.

Year-on-year change, between 2005 and 2019, has fluctuated between -19% and 15%.

The smallest year-on-year increase occurred in 2009 (1%), and the smallest decrease in 2019 (-1%).

The Higher Education Student Data Collection (HESDC) records contain an indicator of commencement which indicates when a person has commenced a program of study for the first time in a year. There is no commencement flag for ITE studies if a person first commenced a non-ITE program. Commencement flags have been added when an individual has not been observed in the data for – which is a conservative cut-off given that deferrals are typically only allowed for one year. The commencement flag is added to the ITE students first year re-enrolled if there is no commencement flag. The previous ATWD ITE Pipeline Report did not add commencement flags in these cases, and as a result the number of commencements may be greater than previously reported.

National ITE Enrolments, annual

The enrolled student population encompasses all ITE students actively studying each year. The number of in each year is subject to variation due to students commencing, completing, continuing or discontinuing their ITE studies or returning from a period of deferment. The number of enrolments falls when commencements decrease and also when completions increase.

The enrolled student population is indicative of changes in the student population over time and is subject to variation due to students continuing or discontinuing their ITE studies or returning from a period of deferment.

Overall, there has been a 35% increase in the number of ITE enrolments between 2005 (n=62,830) and 2019 (n=85,016), at an average growth rate of 2.5% per year. In comparison, overall higher education enrolments grew by an average of 3.6% per year between 2005 and 2019.

The greatest annual increase in ITE enrolments occurred in 2017 (6%). The greatest decrease occurred in 2018 (-4%).

The decline in ITE enrolments observed in 2018 was most likely due to a fall in ITE commencements in the same year.

National ITE Completions, annual

The number of each year are of interest because trends in completions predict the number of new teachers available in future years.

The overall number of available ITE graduates who completed their degree, that is the number of completions per annum, has remained steady between 2005 (n=16,526) to 2019 (n=16,644).

The greatest annual increase in completions occurred in 2017 (7%). An 11% fall was observed in 2018.

When omitting the years 2018 and 2019, the number of students completing ITE increased by 13% from 2005 to 2017, at an average of 1% per year. In comparison, overall higher education completions grew by an average of 3.6% per year between 2005 and 2019.

The Higher Educations Student Data Collection (HESDC) records contain an indicator of when an individual has completed their studies, however, this flag is not present for all ITE students who have completed. As such, the completion flag is updated for all individuals who:

Appear in a QILT survey, which indicates they have graduated
Appear in a state or territory teacher regulatory authority database

As this data is only available for 2018 onwards, the year before an individual appears in these datasets is presumed to be their earliest possible year of completion, and their completion flag is updated for the most recent year prior to this for which they have a HESDC record. Despite the importance of this improvement for obtaining accurate completion counts, it may lead to relative underestimation in earlier years. This underestimation of completion occurs in one of three ways:

For those who registered – If this individual was no longer registered when the regulatory authority first began to supply , then it is not possible to detect that they completed their degree using this method. The likelihood of this increases, the further back in time the individual completed. A hypothetical case illustrates this: if all individuals who complete ITE register and work for exactly 10 years, then someone who had unrecorded completion in 2008 would be identified as a completion from the 2018 registration, but a person who had an unrecorded completion in 2007 would not be identified as a completion as the 2017 registration data is unavailable.
For those who did not register but completed the QILT survey – updates using the QILT survey have a smaller time-window than registration. The QILT survey is undertaken soon after degree completion. As such, it can only be used to update missing HESDC values for 2017 onwards. This means that individuals who complete their degree, do not have the completion recorded in the HESDC collection, and did not go on to register as a teacher in Australia can only be updated when they completed from 2017 onwards.

ITE Commencements by state

students are a subset of enrolled ITE students. Commencements indicate the number of new people added to the ITE pipeline each year. Examining commencements by reveals which states or territories may be struggling to attract people into the ITE pipeline.

NSW accounts for one third of all commencements, with its proportion reducing only slightly over the period (2005: 33%; 2019: 30%), next ranked were VIC (23%) and QLD (21%). These patterns are broadly consistent with the relative population sizes of the states and territories.

WA saw the largest relative increase in commencement numbers (38%) between 2005 (n=2,664) and 2019 (n=3,685), closely followed by VIC with a 35% increase between 2005 (n=4,890) and 2019 (n=6,623), peaking at 9,804 in 2015. NSW recorded a growth of 12% between 2005 (n=7,740) and 2019 (n=8,701). NSW commencements exceeded 10,000 from 2010 to 2017 (excluding 2011 and 2016).

One large policy change that affects the reporting period is the gradual discontinuation of one-year postgraduate ITE programs since 2013.

With the exception of the NT there was a decline in enrolments between 2017 and 2019. Although this coincides with the changing policy context, there were declines in both undergraduate and postgraduate enrolments suggesting that the total enrolment count decline is not due to the discontinuation of one-year postgraduate ITE programs.

ITE Enrolments by state

The enrolled student population encompasses all ITE students actively studying each year. The number of in each year is subject to variation due to students commencing, completing, continuing or discontinuing their ITE studies or returning from a period of deferment. Examining trends in enrolments for each reveals where there may be future shortages in supply.

In 2019, NSW comprised the largest proportion of ITE enrolments, by jurisdiction, with 30% of all ITE enrolments. The composition of ITE enrolments, by jurisdiction, stayed largely consistent between 2005 and 2019; however, there was significant growth in the proportion of ITE enrolments from VIC (2005: 18%; 2019: 24%), and a decrease in the proportion of ITE enrolments from QLD (2005: 27%; 2019: 20%) during this period.

ITE enrolment numbers increased in all state and territories between 2005 and 2019, but VIC was observed as having the strongest growth, with an increase of 91% during this period (2005: n=10,838; 2019: n=20,743) and an average growth rate of 7% per year. The second highest increase over this period was in SA, with growth of 72% between 2005 (n=4,126) and 2019 (n=7,102) and an average growth rate of 5% per year.

The smallest growth in enrolments occurred in QLD, with an increase of 2% between 2005 (n=16,440) and 2019 (n=16,730), and an average growth rate of 0.1% per year.

All other states and territories grew between 7%-55% from 2005 to 2019, with an average growth rate of 1%-4% per year.

One large policy change that affects the reporting period is the gradual discontinuation of one-year postgraduate ITE programs since 2013.

The declines in enrolments seen between 2017 and 2019 for many states and territories, however, is unlikely to be related to this policy change because the proportional and absolute decline in undergraduate enrolments was greater than for it was postgraduate enrolments.

ITE Completions by state

The number of each year are of interest because trends in completions are the best indicator of short-term future supply. Examining completions by reveals where the potential supply of new teachers are likely to be located.

In 2019, NSW comprised the largest proportion of ITE completions by jurisdiction, with 35% of all ITE completions. The states which increased their share of the proportion of ITE completions between 2005 and 2019 were VIC (+6 percentage points), NSW (+3 percentage points) and SA (+1 percentage point). TAS and the ACT recorded no change, whilst all other states and territories recorded a decrease in the proportion of ITE completions during this period. Notably, QLD recorded a substantial 7 percentage point fall in the share of completions.

Increases in the number of completions between 2005 and 2019 were recorded from VIC (32%), NSW (17%) and SA (14%). All other states and territories recorded declines in the number of completions between 2005 and 2019. These declines were largest in QLD with a decrease of 30% (2005: n=3,494; 2019: n=2,448), and the ACT with a decrease of 24% (2005: n=377; 2019: n=285).

The number of ITE completions for New South Wales peaked in 2014 at 6,564, representing a growth of 31% from 2005 (n=5,009). From 2014, NSW has recorded a decline of completions of 11% to 2019.

ITE commencement characteristics, by state

students are a subset of enrolled ITE students. Commencements indicate the number of new people added to the ITE pipeline each year. Examining the characteristics of commencing students in each provides an indicator of changes in the degree characteristics of new ITE degrees as well as their demographics.

The ITE student characteristics in this visualisation are: age, , , , , , citizenship and .

The ITE program and degrees characteristics in this visualisation are: , , undergraduate, postgraduate, early childhood, primary, secondary, and .

The proportion of ITE commencements by men have remained relatively constant between 2005 (28%) and 2019 (27%). The number of commencements by both women and men have increased between 2005 and 2019, but were proportionally greater in women. The number of women commencing ITE has increased 21%, from 17,370 in 2005 to 20,959 in in 2019; commencements by men rose 12% between 2005 (n=6,915) and 2019 (n=7,735).

Only in WA has a notably different long-term trend been observed. Since 2007 there have been 2,500 to 3,000 annual commencements by women, and no notable increase over time (with the exception of 2017: n=3,566). At the same time, since 2012 there has been a trend towards more men commencing ITE in WA, which has seen the share of men increase by 8 percentage points, to 30% in 2019.

The proportion of commencements nationally for all age groups has remained fairly consistent between 2005 and 2019. The most common age groups for ITE commencements are 20 or less (25% in 2019), and 31 or more (22% in 2019). Commencements for 23-25 and 26-30 year-olds remained consistent, while there was a 5 percentage points decrease in those aged 31 years or more (2005: 27%; 2019: 22%).

In the states and territories, the 20 year-old or less and 31 year-old or more age groups are consistently in the top two commencements by proportion, except in the NT, TAS and VIC where the 20 year-old or less cohort falls in 2019 to the lowest proportion (NT: 9%; TAS: 11%; VIC: 15%).

The national proportion of commencements by people reporting a disability has increased by 2 percentage points since 2005 (2005: 3%; 2019: 5%). The largest increase in the states and territories were 5 percentage points in the ACT (2005: 5%; 2019: 9%) and 4 percentage points in SA (2005: 3%; 2019: 7%), whilst there was a 2 percentage point decrease in TAS (2005: 6%; 2019: 5%).

Nationally, the number of commencements by people reporting a disability rose 104% between 2005 (n=741) and 2019 (n=1,512). The largest increases in the states and territories were 243% in SA (2005: n=51; 2019: n=175) and 219% in VIC (2005: n=113; 2019: n=360).

In 2019, more than half (51%) of commencements nationally are from medium SES, with the remainder split almost equally between low SES (20%) and high SES (21%). These national proportions are reproduced across all states and territories, except the ACT (low: 4%; medium: 34%; high: 56%). Among the states, VIC has the lowest proportion of ITE commencements from low SES in 2019 (12%), and TAS the highest (39%). VIC and WA have equal highest commencements from high SES (24%), and TAS the lowest (12%).

Nationally, low SES commencements experienced a growth of just 1 percentage point (2005: 19%; 2019: 20%) and high SES a decrease of 5 percentage points (2005: 26%; 2019: 21%). To varying degrees, these movements are repeated across most states and territories, with only QLD recording a small decrease in the proportion of low SES commencements (2005: 26%; 2019: 24%). In the states, the largest increase in the proportion of low SES commencements was 8 percentage points in WA (2005: 13%; 2019: 21%) and the largest decrease in the proportion of high SES commencements was 8 percentage points in VIC (2005: 32%; 2019: 24%).

Metro areas account for 70% of commencements, a situation repeated across the country, except in TAS (metro: 2%) and the NT (metro: 3%). WA has the highest proportion of metro commencements at 85% (2019).

The number of metro commencements has risen by 19% between 2005 (n=16,911) and 2019 (n= 20,080), whilst the number of regional and remote commencements has grown 5% between 2005 (n=6,015) and 2019 (n=6,294).

Domestic students account for 92% of ITE commencements in 2019, a drop of 3 percentage points from 2005. VIC recorded the highest proportion of international commencements in 2019 (12%), and WA the lowest (2%). VIC’s growth in the proportion of international students was also the greatest, increasing 6 percentage points between 2005 and 2019. Only WA recorded a decrease in the proportion of international student commencements between 2005 (5%) and 2019 (2%).

International student commencement numbers increased 100% over the period (2005: n=1,120; 2019: n=2,245), whilst domestic commencements increased by 14% (2005: n=23,165; 2019: n=26,449).

Full-time remains the status for the overwhelming majority of commencements, decreasing only slightly as a proportion over part-time commencements over the period (2005: 84%; 2019: 81%). In 2019, the NT recorded the highest proportion of part-time commencements (26%), and SA the lowest (16%).

The number of part-time commencements grew by 41% between 2005 (n=3,949) and 2019 (n=5,572).

Internal study remains the predominant mode in commencements nationally, but has dropped 20 percentage points (2005: 78%; 2019: 58%), whilst external mode increased 13 percentage points (2005: 12%; 2019: 25%) and mixed increased by 6 percentage points (2005: 10%; 2019: 16%). These trends are repeated across each states, but not in the NT or ACT.

Nationally, internal study commencement numbers rose from 2005 (n=18,999) to peak in 2007 (n=21,844), and have steadily declined since (2019: n=16,664).

In 2019, the highest proportion of commencements nationally in undergraduate programs is in primary (39%), although it reduced by 6 percentage points since 2005 (46%), whilst secondary increased 6 percentage points (2005: 28%; 2019: 34%), early childhood increased 5 percentage points (2005: 13%; 2019: 18%) and mixed/other decreased 4 percentage points (2005: 14%; 2019: 9%).

In the states and territories, the proportion of primary undergraduate ITE commencements decreased by 27 percentage points in VIC (2005: 70%; 2019: 43%), 21 percentage points in the ACT (2005: 61%; 2019: 40%), and 18 percentage points in WA (2005: 64%; 2019: 46%). The proportion of secondary undergraduate commencements in SA increased 20 percentage points (2005: 12%; 2019: 32%).

Secondary remains as the highest proportion of commencements for postgraduate programs in all states. Nationally it has declined by 18 percentage points since 2005 (2005: 65%; 2019: 47%), whilst primary has risen 9 percentage points (2005: 21%; 2019: 29%), and early childhood 8 percentage points (2005: 3%; 2019: 11%). Mixed/other rose 2 percentage points (2005: 11%; 2019: 13%).

In NSW, early childhood postgraduate commencements were stable at between 35-90 people until 2019 (n=487). The examination of the source data suggests that while there has been an increase, there may be issues with which means that this increase may in fact have been more evenly spread between 2018 and 2019.

Undergraduate degree level remains the majority for ITE commencements, though it has trended downwards as a proportion nationally (2005: 78%; 2019: 69%). In the states and territories, the highest proportion for undergraduate commencements in 2019 are the ACT (89%), followed by QLD (76%) and WA (75%). The lowest, at 49%, is TAS.

There are some for the NSW postgraduate data from 2018 and 2019.

ITE enrolment characteristics, by state

The enrolled student population encompasses all ITE students actively studying each year. The number of in each year is subject to variation due to students commencing, completing, continuing or discontinuing their ITE studies or returning from a period of deferment. Examining trends in who is enrolled in ITE in each reveals the potential characteristics of future teachers.

The ITE student characteristics in this visualisation are: age, , , , , , citizenship and .

The ITE program and degrees characteristics in this visualisation are: , , undergraduate, postgraduate, early childhood, primary, secondary, and .

In 2019, men comprised 26% of all ITE enrolments, which was the same as the proportion of men among ITE enrolments in 2005. SA and WA reported growth of two percentage points or more in the proportion of men among ITE enrolments between 2005 (SA: 25%; WA: 24%) and 2019 (SA: 28%; WA: 26%). Conversely, there were decreases in the proportion of men in the NT (2005: 26%; 2019: 22%) and TAS (2005: 28%; 2019: 25%) over the same period.

In 2019, the greatest proportion of ITE enrolments, by age group, were enrolments aged 23-25 (26%). By state or territory, three states deviated from this national finding, with enrolments of those aged 31 year or more comprising the greatest proportion of ITE enrolments for 2019 in the NT (43%), QLD (26%), and TAS (37%).

Nationally, the greatest growth in proportion, by age group, was observed among 26-30 year-olds between 2005 (15%) and 2019 (18%). The greatest decrease in proportion was among enrolments aged 31 years or more during the same period (2005: 27%; 2019: 24%). By state or territory, the largest growth in proportion of any age group was observed in the NT, among 26-30 year-olds between 2005 (18%) and 2019 (26%). The greatest decrease in proportion of any age group was observed in TAS, among 21-22 year-olds, over the same period (2005: 21%; 2019: 13%).

In 2019, 6% of ITE enrolments identified as having a disability. Nationally, the proportion of students enrolled with a disability grew from 4% in 2005 to 6% in 2019. By state or territory, the highest increase in the proportion of ITE enrolments who identified as having a disability were observed in SA (2005: 5%; 2019: 9%) and the ACT (2005: 5%; 2019: 9%), and the smallest growth was observed in TAS (2005: 6.2%; 2019: 6.5%).

Students from medium SES areas consistently made up more than half of all enrolments, increasing from 51% in 2005, to 52% in 2019. The proportion of high SES enrolments have decreased slightly (2005: 25%; 2019: 21%), whilst the proportion of low SES enrolments has increased slightly (2005: 20%; 2019: 21%). These proportions are inline with the distribution of the SES categories in the broader population.

The largest changes in proportions in the states and territories were in the Australian Capital Territory, where high SES enrolments decreased 10 percentage points between 2005 and 2019, whilst medium SES increased 8 percentage points. In Victoria, the proportion of high SES enrolments decreased 8 percentage points, and medium SES increased 3 percentage points during the same period. In Western Australia, the proportion of high SES decreased 6 percentage points, and low SES increased 8 percentage points.

The majority of enrolments nationally are located in metropolitan areas (71%), an increase of 1 percentage point since 2005. The proportion of metropolitan enrolments has increased most in WA (+8 percentage points) and NSW (+3 percentage points), whilst decreasing in SA (-5 percentage points).

In 2019, international students comprised 5% of all ITE enrolments, an increase in their proportion of 3 percentage points from 2005. The NT recorded the highest proportion of international enrolments in 2019 (22%). It remains to be seen if this increase is a one-off change, or a shift in long term trends. The second highest proportion of international students in 2019 was 10% in VIC. The lowest propotion of international student enrolments in 2019 were in WA, TAS and QLD at 2%.

In 2019, 25% of students enrolled in ITE nationally studied part-time, which was an increase from 19% of all ITE enrolments in 2005. By state and territory, the highest proportion of part-time enrolments in 2019 were in the NT (37%), TAS (32%) and the ACT (30%). The lowest proportion of part-time students were in SA (22%) in 2019. TAS saw the greatest growth in the proportion of part-time students between 2005 (6%) and 2019 (32%).

In 2019, students enrolled in ITE were studying internally 53% of the time. Between 2005 and 2019, the proportion of enrolments studying internally decreased 20 percentage points from 73%. The proportion of external enrolments, conversely, more than doubled (2005: 12%; 2019: 26%), whilst mixed mode enrolments increased from 15% (2005) to 22% (2019). By state or territory, TAS, QLD, and VIC saw the most significant decreases in the proportion of internal modes of attendance between 2005 (TAS: 90%; QLD: 74%; VIC: 84%) and 2019 (TAS: 12%; QLD: 42%; VIC: 57%). The ACT was the only jurisdiction to report growth in the proportion of students attending in an internal mode (2005: 18%; 2019: 78%).

In 2019, primary ITE enrolments (41%) comprised the largest proportion of all undergraduate enrolments, by program, which has been the case since 2005. However, the proportion of primary enrolments among undergraduate enrolments has decreased since 2005 (47%), while secondary (2005: 27%; 2019: 31%) and early childhood (2005: 14%; 2019: 18%) ITE enrolments have increased. By state and territory, the largest changes in the composition of undergraduate enrolments, by program, were observed in SA in secondary (2005: 14%; 2019: 31%); in VIC in primary (2005: 65%; 2019: 43%) and early childhood (2005: 7%; 2019: 18%); and in the ACT in primary (2005: 61%; 2019: 40%).

In 2019, secondary ITE enrolments (47%) comprised the largest proportion of all postgraduate ITE enrolments, by program. However, the proportion of secondary ITE enrolments among postgraduate ITE enrolments has decreased greatly since 2005 (65%), while primary (2005: 20%; 2019: 32%) and early childhood ITE enrolments (2005: 4%; 2019: 9%) have increased.

In NSW, early childhood postgraduate commencements were stable at between 49-93 people between 2011 and 2018. In 2019, the postgraduate early childhood enrolments in NSW increased to 516 students. The examination of the source data suggests that while there has been an increase, there may be some issues with which means that this increase may in fact have been more evenly spread between 2018 and 2019..

In 2019, undergraduate students comprised 78% of all ITE enrolments (postgraduate: 22%), which is lower than the 89% of ITE enrolments in 2005. By state or territory, a decrease was observed in NSW (2005: 90%; 2019: 78%), QLD (2005: 99%; 2019: 85%), SA (2005: 94%; 2019: 80%), VIC (2005: 81%; 2019: 71%), the NT (2005: 82%; 2019: 72%) and there was a particularly substantial decline in the relative proportion of undergraduate ITE enrolments in TAS (2010: 87%; 2019: 59%). In all other states or territories, the proportion of undergraduate and postgraduate ITE enrolments remained at similar levels between 2005 and 2019.

There are some for the NSW postgraduate data from 2018 and 2019.

ITE completion characteristics, by state

The number of each year are of interest because trends in completions are the best indicator of short-term future supply. Examining trends in who completes ITE in each reveals the characteristics of future teachers.

The ITE student characteristics in this visualisation are: age, , , , , , citizenship and .

The ITE program and degrees characteristics in this visualisation are: , , undergraduate, postgraduate, early childhood, primary, secondary, and .

The number of men completing ITE degrees has remained fairly stable, starting at 4,166 in 2005 and increasing by 4.8% to 4,364 in 2019.

The proportion of ITE completions by men and women was largely attributable to changes in the number of women completing ITE degrees. The proportion of women increased very slowly until 2014 (2005: 74.79%; 2014: 76.54%), however, due to 1,932 fewer completions by women in 2019 compared to 2014, the proportion of completions by women was as it's lowest level since 2005; 73.78%.

TAS is the only state or territory in Australia where there was both a smaller relative proporition of men completing ITE and a smaller absolute number of men completing ITE in 2019 than in 2005 (2005: n=97, 30%; 2019: n=60, 24%).

Nationally, the proportion of completions by those 22 years-old or younger decreased (2005: 11%; 2019: 7%). There were comparable increases in the 23-25 year-old (2005: 37%; 2019: 42%) and 26-30 year-old age groups (2005: 21%;2019: 26%). The proportion of individuals 31 years or older have also decreased (2005: 31%; 2019: 25%).

The largest changes in proportions of completions in the states and territories were in NSW among 26-30 year-olds (+7 percentage points) and those aged 31 years or over (-8 percentage points); and in TAS among 23-25 year-olds (-13 percentage points) and those aged 31 years or over (+13 percentage points).

In absolute terms, the number of completions over the period from 2005 to 2019 decreased for those 22 years-old or younger (-41%) and those aged 31 years or over (-18%), whilst increasing for 23-25 year-olds (+14%) and 26-30 year-olds (+28%).

The proportion of national completions by students who identified as having a disability has increased steadily, by a total of 2 percentage points, reaching 5% in 2019. During the period 2005 to 2019, the number of national completions by students who identified as having a disability increased by 49% (2005: n=598; 2019: n=893), by contrast there was a 1% decrease in completions for those without a disability.

The largest increases in the proportion of students with a disability occurred in SA (+4 percentage points).

Students from medium SES areas consistently make up half of all completions, increasing marginally from 49% in 2005, to 51% in 2019. This proportion is inline with 50% of the broader population being in the medium SES category. The proportion of High SES completions decreased slightly, by 3 percentage points.

The largest changes in proportions in the states and territories were in TAS and the ACT. In TAS, there has been a shift toward medium SES and away from low SES (+15 percentage points; -9 percentage points). In the ACT, there has been a shift toward medium SES and away from high SES (+10 percentage points; -9 percentage points).

The majority of completions in 2019 had their permanent home residence in a metropolitan area (73%), an increase of 2 percentage points since 2005. The share of metropolitan completions has increased most in WA (+8 percentage points)and NSW (+7 percentage points), while decreasing in SA (-3 percentage points). Other states and territories recorded minimal change in the proportion of metropolitan completions between 2005 and 2019.

Domestic students make up the vast majority of completions, and have remained steady at around 94-95% from 2005 to 2019. There were two key deviations from the national trend. In VIC, the share of international completions increased 5 percentage points over the same period but 8 percentage points since 2014 (2005: 7%; 2014: 4%; 2019: 12%), while in WA there was a 4 percentage point decrease from 2005 to 2019 (2005: 7%; 2019: 3%).

Full-time students remain the majority of completions, but have decreased by 6 percentage points over the period (2005: 82%; 2019: 75%). The largest changes in the relative proportion of full-time completions in the states and territories were decreases in TAS of 33 percentage points (2005: 95%; 2019: 62%), the NT of 16 percentage points (2005: 71%; 2019: 55%), NSW of 11.5 percentage points (2005: 82%; 2019: 70.5%), and WA of 9 percentage points (2005: 86%; 2019: 77%).

Completions by students who had an internal study mode comprised 68%-72% of completions from 2005 to 2011. Since 2011, internal mode completions have steadily decreased in relative proportion (2011-2019: -13 percentage points) and the total number of internal completions has fallen by 20% (2011: 11,695; 2019: 9,346). Conversely, mixed study mode has increased by 6 percentage points (2005: 18%; 2019: 24%), and external by 8 percentage points (2005: 12%; 2019: 20%).

Only the ACT has defied the national trend for decreasing completions among students studying internally, with large and very small increases respectively (+63 percentage points). In the ACT, this pattern represents a crossover from a very high proportion of mixed-mode completions (79%) in 2005 to a very high proportion of internal mode completions (82%) in 2019.

In 2019, there were only 14 completions (6%) by students studying internally and living in TAS, and just 8 among those living in the NT (11%).

In the other states and territories, the largest increase in the relative proportion of external mode completions was 15 percentage points in QLD (2005: 9%; 2019: 24%) and of mixed mode completions it was 16 percentage points in VIC (2005: 8%; 2019: 24%).

Within undergraduate level degrees, students undertaking a primary program made up 42% of all completions in 2019, followed by secondary program completions (32%) and early childhood program completions (16%). The remaining 10% of undergraduate completions were categorized as mixed/other, and may be able to teach at multiple levels. Despite primary completions being most common in 2019, the proportion of undergraduate completions at the primary level has fallen by 6 percentage points since 2005.

Large changes in the relative proportions of programs completed were observed in VIC, where primary decreased by 21 percentage points (2005: 60%; 2019: 39%), with corresponding increases of 8 percentage points in early childhood and 10 percentage points in secondary completions. A similar trend was observed in the ACT where the proportion of primary completions fell by 16 percentage points (2005: 64%; 2019: 48%).

Within postgraduates level degrees, students undertaking a secondary program made up slightly over half (52%) of all completions in 2019, followed by primary completions (30%) and early childhood program completions (7%). The remaining10 of postgraduate completions, were categorized as mixed/other, and may be able to teach at multiple levels. Despite secondary completions being most common in 2019, the proportion of postgraduate completions at the secondary level has fallen by 16 percentage points since 2005. Over the same period, primary completions have increased 11 percentage points, and early childhood completions 4 percentage points.

Undergraduate degree completions continue to be in the majority, but have decreased by 10 percentage points nationally since 2005 (2005: 74%; 2019: 64%). There are two distinct trends in this period, from 2005 to 2013 postgraduate completions increased by 44% and 15 percentage points (2005: 26%; 2013: 41%). By contrast, from 2013 to 2019 postgraduate completions fell by 22% while undergraduate completions remained steady, resulting in a 6 percentage point decrease in postgraduate completions since 2013 (2013: 41%; 2019: 36%).

Decreases in the proportion of completions at undergraduate level occurred in NSW (2005: 77%; 2019: 64%), QLD (2005: 99%; 2019: 75%), and SA (2005: 84%; 2019: 69%). Increases in the proportion of undergraduate completions were recorded in the ACT (2005: 65%; 2019: 71%), and WA (2005: 56%; 2019: 73%).

In QLD in 2017, there was a large one-year spike in postgraduate completions, with 69% more postgraduate completions than in 2016. This increase did not persist into 2018, and may be related to changes in postgraduate degree requirements.

In 2005, almost all completions in TAS were at the undergraduate level (97%), but since 2012 there has been an equal number of undergraduate and postgraduate completions. The reverse pattern has been seen in the NT, with undergraduates comprising 46% of completions in 2005.

Commencement characteristics, by program

students are a subset of enrolled ITE students. Commencements indicate the number of new people added to the ITE pipeline each year. When examined by program level this provides information about who the commencing ITE students are prepared to teach, as well as the differences in how students undertake their courses in their first year and demographics for each program level and degree type.

The ITE student characteristics in this visualisation are: age, , , , , , citizenship and .

The ITE program and degrees characteristics in this visualisation are: , , undergraduate, postgraduate, early childhood, primary, secondary and .

By program, there was no strong movement in the proportion of commencements among women. In secondary programs, it decreased from 60% in 2005 to 57% in 2019, whilst in primary programs, it increased only slightly between 2005 (77%) and 2019 (79%).

At the degree level, the proportion of men in undergraduate ITE commencements declined between 2005 (27%) and 2019 (25%) and in postgraduate ITE commencements over the same period (2005: 34%; 2019: 31%).

By degree level, the largest proportional changes in undergraduate commencements occurred in the 21-22 year-old age group, increasing from 18% (2005) to 24% (2019), and the 31 or more age group, dropping from 23% (2005) to 16% (2019). The proportion of postgraduate commencements changed little, apart from the 31 or more age group, which dropped 6 percentage points from 41% (2005) to 35% (2019).

By program type, the proportions of primary commencements in all age groups were largely unchanged. In early childhood, the 21-22, 23-25 and 26-30 year-old age groups all increased their proportion by 2 or 3 percentage points, whilst the age group 31 or more decreased its proportion by 8 percentage points (2005: 40%; 2019: 32%). The largest changes in proportions were in secondary programs, where 21-22 year-old commencements grew from 16% (2005) to 24% (2019), and commencements aged 31 or more decreased from 34% (2005) to 24% (2019).

The proportion of ITE commencements who identified as having a disability between 2005 and 2019 has risen between 1 and 3 percentage points across all ITE programs. By degree level, both undergraduate and postgraduate degree levels have had an increase in the proportion of people who identify as having a disability of 2 percentage points in this same period.

The number of ITE commencements who identified as having a disability increased in primary by 73% between 2005 (n=295) and 2019 (n=509), and in secondary by 136% (2005: n=251; 2019: n=593).

In 2019, students from medium SES areas comprised the greatest proportion of all ITE commencements across early childhood (41%), primary (54%) and secondary (51%) programs. Between 2005 and 2019, the highest growth in proportion was 4 percentage points in medium SES in secondary, whilst the highest decrease was 10 percentage points in early childhood. Low SES commencements in primary increased by 5 percentage points (2005: 18%; 2019: 23%), and 2 percentage points in secondary (2005: 16%; 2019: 19%). Conversely, high SES commencements in early childhood and primary decreased by 3 percentage points (early childhood 2005: 20%; 2019: 17%; primary 2005: 24%; 2019: 21%), and 7 percentage points in secondary (2005: 31%; 2019: 24%).

By degree level, the greatest decrease between 2005 and 2019 was 10 percentage points in high SES commencements in postgraduate (2005: 35%; 2019: 25%), with the largest increase of 4 percentage points in low SES commencements in postgraduate (2005: 11%; 2019: 15%). Commencements in undergraduate grew slightly for low and medium SES (+2 percentage points) and fell for high SES (-4 percentage points).

Metropolitan locations account for the greater proportion of ITE commencements by both program and degree. Primary ITE saw a slight increase in the proportion of metropolitan commencements from 2005 (68%) to 2019 (72%), whilst early childhood saw a slight decrease (2005: 64%; 2019: 58%). No changes in proportions were seen in undergraduate and postgraduate metropolitan commencements.

The number of postgraduate metropolitan commencements increased by 70% between 2005 (n=3,663) and 2019 (n=6,240).

ITE commencements are overwhelmingly domestic across all program and degree levels, accounting for 95% in undergraduate and 85% in postgraduate; 98% in primary and 93% in secondary. The lowest proportion, and the greatest change, is seen in domestic commencements in early childhood, where the proportion decreased 18 percentage points from 94% in 2011 to 76% in 2019.

The number of undergraduate domestic commencements remained static between 2005 (n=18,536) and 2019 (n=18,786), whilst postgraduate domestic commencements increased by 66% from 2005 (n=4,629) to 2019 (n=7,663), and postgraduate international commencements increased by 115% from 2005 (n=629) to 2019 (n=1,352).

Full-time enrolments form the majority of ITE commencements across all program and degree levels. Their proportion increased by 7 percentage points in early childhood (2005: 67%; 2019: 74%), whilst decreasing by 10 percentage points in primary (2005: 89%; 2019: 79%) and one percentage point in secondary (2005: 87%; 2019: 86%). Full-time commencements decreased by 4 percentage points in undergraduate degrees (2005: 86%; 2019: 82%) and increased by 2 percentage points in postgraduate (2005: 76%; 2019: 78%).

At the same time, the number of full-time postgraduate commencements increased by 76% between 2005 (n= 4,001) and 2019 (n=7,038).

By program type, the greatest movements by study mode were in primary programs, with a 29 percentage point decrease in internal mode commencements (2005: 85%; 2019: 55%), and a 24 percentage points increase in external mode commencements (2005: 8%; 2019: 32%). In secondary, internal mode commencements decreased by 15 percentage points (2005: 79%; 2019: 63%), whilst external mode increased 6 percentage points (2005: 10%; 2019: 16%) and mixed mode 9 percentage points (2005: 12%; 2019: 21%).

In undergraduate degrees, internal mode commencements saw a large decrease of 22 percentage points (2005: 81%; 2019: 59%) and 11 percentage points in postgraduate degrees (2005: 66%; 2019: 56%). External mode commencements in undergraduate degrees grew by 13 percentage points (2005: 10%; 2019: 23%).

Enrolment characteristics, by program

The enrolled student population encompasses all ITE students actively studying each year. The number of in each year is subject to variation due to students commencing, completing, continuing or discontinuing their ITE studies or returning from a period of deferment. When examined by program level this provides information about who the graduating ITE students are prepared to teach, as well as the differences in how students undertake their courses and demographics for each program level and degree type.

The ITE student characteristics in this visualisation are: age, , , , , , citizenship and .

The ITE program and degrees characteristics in this visualisation are: , , undergraduate, postgraduate, early childhood, primary, secondary and .

In 2019, men compromised 26% of all ITE enrolments (women: 74%). By program, the largest growth in proportion among men in ITE enrolments was observed in secondary programs, which grew from 39% in 2005 to 43% in 2019. In comparison, the proportion of men in early childhood and primary programs were similar between 2005 (men in early childhood: 5%; men in primary: 21%) and 2019 (men in early childhood: 4%; men in primary: 21%). The proportion of men among ITE enrolments, at the degree level, was consistent for undergraduate ITE enrolments between 2005 and 2019 at 25%, but declined among postgraduate ITE enrolments over the same period (2005: 34%; 2019: 30%).

In 2019, the greatest proportion of ITE enrolments, by age group, were enrolments aged 23-25 (26%). By program, ITE enrolments aged over 31 were the most frequently enrolled age-group in early childhood (36%) and primary ITE (29%) for 2019. The proportion of students aged over 31 in early childhood and primary ITE programs has largely remained the same between 2005 to 2019. Among secondary ITE enrolments, 23-25 year-olds comprised the greatest proportion of enrolments (33%), and the proportion of this age group has grown from 2005 (29%) to 2019 (33%).

By degree level, 23-25 year-olds superseded 21-22 year-olds as the most dominant age group in undergraduate ITE in 2016 and remained as such in 2019 (26%). In postgraduate ITE, the greatest proportion of ITE enrolments, by age group, were enrolments aged 31 and over, which has been the case since 2005. However, the proportion of postgraduate ITE enrolments made of up of those 31 years and older has declined between 2005 (47%) and 2019 (40%).

In 2019, 6% of ITE enrolments identified as having a disability, which is an increase of 2 percentage points from 2005. An increase of between 1 and 3 percentage points was observed in the proportion of ITE enrolments that identified as having a disability across all degree levels and all ITE programs from 2005 to 2019.

In 2019, students residing in medium SES areas (52%) comprised the greatest proportion of all ITE enrolments (low: 21%; high: 21%), and have consistently comprised more than half of ITE enrolments since 2005. These proportions are broadly inline with the distribution of the SES categories in the broader population.

Secondary programs were the only program type where there were notably more or less low SES enrolments compared to high SES enrolments. Such a difference is notable, as the broader population is as likely to be from a high SES area as a low SES area. For secondary programs in 2019, there were 5 percentage points more of high SES enrolments (24%) than low SES enrolments (19%).

The largest decline in enrolments by high SES students was in primary ITE programs (2005: 23%; 2019: 21%).

Across all program types, there was a decline in the proportion of regional and remote enrolments from 2005 to 2019. The growth in the proportion of metropolitan enrolments was most prominent in primary ITE (2005: 68%; 2019: 73%).

By degree level, both undergraduate and postgraduate metropolitan ITE enrolments increased very slightly in proportion between 2005 (undergraduate: 70%; postgraduate: 70%) and 2019 (undergraduate: 72%; postgraduate: 71%).

The strongest growth in the proportion of international students was observed in early childhood programs, which was stable at 3% from 2005 to 2010, but grew from 3% to 15% between 2010 and 2019. Over the same period, the proportion of international students declined in primary ITE (2005: 2%; 2019: 1%) and grew in secondary ITE (2005: 3%; 2019: 6%).

At the degree level, the proportion of undergraduate and postgraduate international enrolments increased slightly from 2005 (undergraduate: 2%; postgraduate: 10%) to 2019 (undergraduate: 3%; postgraduate: 13%).

In 2019, full-time study was undertaken by the majority of ITE enrolments (full-time: 75%, part-time: 25%), however, the proportion of ITE enrolments studying full-time has steadily declined since 2005 (81%). By program type, this change was most pronounced among primary ITE enrolments, with the proportion of part-time enrolments growing from 14% to 25% between 2005 and 2019.

The proportion of full-time undergraduate ITE enrolments decreased gradually over this period (2005: 83%; 2019: 77%), while the proportion of full-time postgraduate ITE enrolments increased (2005: 64%; 2019: 69%).

The proportion of ITE enrolments studying internally decreased across all program types between 2005 and 2019, but this decline was most pronounced in primary ITE (2005: 77%; 2019: 49%). This change largely represented a shift from an internal mode of study to an external mode of study (2005: 9%; 2019: 30%), rather than a mixed mode of study.

The proportion of ITE enrolment studying internally also decreased across both undergraduate and postgraduate degree levels between 2005 and 2019, with the most substantial decline occurring among undergraduate ITE enrolments (2005: 75%; 2019: 53%). This change represented a shift from an internal mode of study to both mixed (2005: 15%; 2019: 24%) and external modes of study (2005: 11%; 2019: 24%).

Completion characteristics, by program

The number of each year are of interest because trends in completions predict the number of new teachers available in future years. When examined by program level this provides information about who the graduating ITE students are prepared to teach, as well as the differences in how students undertake their courses and demographics for each program level and degree type.

The ITE student characteristics in this visualisation are: age, , , , , , citizenship and .

The ITE program and degrees characteristics in this visualisation are: , , undergraduate, postgraduate, early childhood, primary, secondary and .

The proportion of men who have completed ITE degrees has remained relatively unchanged across all degree levels and program types between 2005 and 2019. The noticeable exceptions to this are the proportion of men in postgraduate primary degrees, that had a decrease of 6 percentage points (2005: 28%; 2019: 21%). In addition, postgraduate secondary completions have increased by 4 percentage points (2005: 38%; 2019: 42%). This trend has been reflected in all secondary type degrees which has also increased its proportion of men who have completed by 4 percentage points (2005: 37%, 2019: 41%).

For undergraduate completions, the 23-25 year-old age group rose 11 percentage points from 41% in 2005 to over half (52%) in 2019. Completions by the 31 or more age group decreased 8 percentage points (2005: 27%; 2019: 19%), whilst undergraduate completions remained relatively steady for 21-22 year-olds (2005: 13%; 2019: 10%) and 26-30 year-olds (2005: 18%; 2019: 20%).

Postgraduate completions by 26-30 year-olds increased by 11 percentage points (2005: 28%; 2019: 39%). Postgraduate completions changed marginally for 21-22 year-olds (2005: 3%; 2019: 1%) and 23-25 year-olds (2005: 29%; 2019: 28%), but more strongly, at 6 percentage points, for 31 and over age group (2005: 39%; 2019: 33%).

By program type, early childhood completions amongst 26-30 year-olds saw an increase of 26 percentage points between 2013 (24%) and 2019 (43%), as did the 31 and over age group (2013: 31%; 2019: 57%). In primary completions, the largest change was an 18 percentage point decrease in the 31 and over age group (2005: 59%; 2019: 41%). In secondary completions, there was a large (+21 percentage points) increase in 23-25 year-olds (2005: 41%; 2019: 62%), and smaller increases in 26-30 year-olds (13 percentage points: 2005: 25%; 2019: 38%) and the 31 and over age group (12 percentage points: 2005: 34%; 2019: 46%).

The proportion of completions by students reporting a disability has grown 2 percentage points between 2005 and 2019 for both undergraduate (2005: 4%; 2019: 6%) and postgraduate (2005: 3%; 2019: 5%) levels. Similarly in secondary programs, the proportion of completions by students reporting a disability grew 2 percentage points (2005: 3%; 2019: 5%), and only one percentage point for primary programs (2005: 4%; 2019: 5%).

The number of completions by students reporting a disability in the undergraduate rose 32% between 2005 (n=471) and 2019 (n=621), and 114% in postgraduate between 2005 (n=127) and 2019 (n=272).

Students residing in medium SES areas in 2019 comprise 55% of completions in undergraduate and 43% in postgraduate levels, as well as 49% in secondary programs and 48% in mix/other programs.

High SES comprise the next largest group, comprising 30% of postgraduate completions, 23% of primary, 29% of secondary and 21% of undergraduate in 2019. Low SES completions make up the smallest proportion of completions, ranging from 21% for undergraduate level, down to 15% for postgraduate.

The greatest increase in the number of completions by degree level was seen by medium SES in postgraduate level qualifications with 44% (2005: n=1,753; 2019: n=2,527). High SES completions in undergraduate decreased 25% between 2005 (n=3,056) and 2019 (n=2,299).

Metropolitan students remain the highest proportion of completions – at three-quarters or more – across all program levels and degree types.

The proportion of regional and remote students decreased slightly (between 2 and 4 percentage points) across all reporting areas between 2005 and 2019.

Domestic students in 2019 comprise the overwhelming proportion of both undergraduate (98%) and postgraduate completions (88%), with little change in these proportions occurring in the years between 2005 and 2019.

Domestic students are the greater proportion in primary (99%) and secondary (95%) in 2019. The proportion of international students in early childhood increased by 12 percentage points between 2012 (5%) and 2019 (17%).

The number of international completions in early childhood grew 210% between 2012 (n=115) and 2019 (n=357). This is in stark contrast with the number of international students completing primary degrees which fell by 79% in this same time period (2012: n=335; 2019: n=72).

Although full-time students amount for the majority of completions, the proportion of part-time students is increasing across almost all levels and program types: by 7 percentage points in undergraduate (2005: 18%; 2019: 25%) and 6 percentage points in postgraduate (2005: 19%; 2019: 25%). The proportion of part-time completions has increased by 1 percentage point in early childhood (2005: 36%; 2019: 37%), 11 percentage points in primary (2005: 15%; 2019: 26%) and 5 percentage points in secondary (2005: 15%; 2019: 20%).

The largest change in the number of part-time completions was seen in primary, with an increase of 60% between 2005 (n=1,031) and 2019 (n=1,648), followed by a 42% increase in part-time secondary (2005: n=924; 2019: n=1,308).

The proportion of completions by undergraduate degrees in internal study mode decreased year-on-year and by 15 percentage points between 2005 (70%) and 2019 (55%), and conversely increased by 7 percentage points in mixed mode (2005: 19%; 2019: 26%) and 8 percentage points in external study mode (2005: 11%; 2019: 19%). Postgraduate degree completions saw similar patterns: a 12 percentage point decrease in internal mode (2005: 70%; 2019: 58%), a 6 percentage point increase in mixed mode (2005: 14%; 2019: 20%) and 6 percentage point increase in external mode (2005: 16%; 2019: 22%).

The largest proportional change was a 27 percentage point decrease in undergraduate internal mode completions for mix/other programs (2005: 71%; 2019: 44%).

The largest increase in the number of completions by degree level was 103% in postgraduate mixed mode (2005: n=596; 2019: n=1,208). Undergraduate completion numbers in internal mode decreased by 31% between 2005 (n=8,582) and 2019 (n=5,906).

National ITE Commencements, detailed attributes

This visualisation shows the intersections of student characteristics across national commencements in all ITE programs. The ITE student characteristics in this visualisation are: age, disability, study load, gender, mode of attendance, remoteness, citizenship and socio-economic status.

Commencing students are a subset of enrolled ITE students. Commencements indicate the number of new people added to the ITE pipeline each year.

In 2019, the proportion of men in ITE commencements increased as the age cohort increased (20 or less: 25%; 21-22 years-old: 28%; 23-25 years-old: 29%; 26-30 years-old: 30%), but dropped for the 31 or more age group (25%).

The proportion of men in ITE commencements also increased with SES level (2019: low SES: 24%; medium SES: 28%; high SES: 33%).

The largest change by gender was a 12 percentage points decrease in commencements by men 31 and over (2005: 32%; 2019: 20%).

Regional and remote commencements decreased most for those aged under 20 (2005: 31%; 2019: 24.5%), and increased most for the 21-22 year-old cohort (2005: 15%; 2019: 20%).

The greatest change in study load by age was a 9 percentage points decease in those aged 31 or more commencing as part-time students (2005: 59%; 2019: 50%).

Commencements opting for mixed mode of study, saw the greatest changes, particularly a 14 percentage point increase in the 20 or less age group (2005: 13%; 2019: 27%), and a 16-percentage point decrease in those aged 31 or more (2005: 32%; 2019: 16%).

ITE commencements from high SES students have decreased for both genders, but more steeply for women (2005: 25%; 2019: 19%).

By remoteness, a 7 percentage points decrease was seen in high SES commencements from metro areas (2005: 36%; 2019: 29%).

High SES commencements decreased across all modes of study from 2005 to 2019, especially for opting for mixed mode (16 percentage points).

ITE commencements saw a notable drop for those aged under 20 years old from regional and remote areas (2005: 31%; 2019: 22%).

ITE commencements by low SES regional & remote students decreased 9 percentage points (2005: 52%; 2019: 43%).

Regional and remote commencements opting to study internally decreased 8 percentage points (2005: 22%; 2019: 14%), while both metro internal and external increased by smaller amounts (internal 2005: 71%; 2019: 74%, external 2005: 63%; 2019: 66%). Regional & remote commencements experienced a spike in mixed study mode of 14 percentage points between 2005 and 2012, and then a drop of 15 percentage points between 2012 and 2019.

The proportion of international commencements studying full-time and internally has increased (full time, 2005: 5%; 2019: 9%; internal, 2005: 5%; 2019: 12%).

By gender, ITE commencements reporting a disability rose 3 percentage points for women and 1 percentage point for men.

Part-time study increased for women (2005: 17%; 2019: 21%).

Part-time study load increased across all age cohorts, most strongly at 8 percentage points in the 31 or more age group (2005: 36%; 2019: 44%), and all SES groups, particularly in low SES (2005: 16%; 2019: 22%).

Part-time study load commencements for those reporting a disability increased by 6 percentage points (2005: 17%; 2019: 23%), whilst decreased slightly for international commencements (2005: 5%; 2019: 4%).

A large increase in full-time study load of 21 percentage points was seen in student commencements that were external (2005: 30%; 2019: 50%).

International student commencements opting to study externally has dropped from a high of 20% in 2006 to almost zero in 2019.

Commencements for an internal mode of study has decreased significantly for both full-time (20 percentage points) and part-time (12 percentage points) students, while the proportion of students studying externally increased for both full-time (12 percentage points) and part-time (14 percentage points).

National ITE Enrolments, detailed attributes

This visualisation shows the intersections of student characteristics across national enrolments in all ITE programs. The ITE student characteristics in this visualisation are: age, disability, study load, gender, mode of attendance, remoteness, citizenship and socio-economic status.

Enrolments include every initial teacher education (ITE) student who has been admitted to a program at a higher-education provider at the census date, is still entitled to continue with their studies, and has not formally indicated before the census date that they have withdrawn from or deferred their studies (i.e. all students in the ITE pipeline across all stages of enrolment or years of study).

The percentage of male ITE enrolments has increased slightly over all age cohorts, except for 31 or more (2005: 29%; 2019: 22%).

ITE enrolments increased slightly for women reporting a disability (2005: 74%; 2019: 77%), and more significantly an 11 percentage point increase for women in international enrolments (2005: 77%; 2019: 86%).

The largest change in ITE enrolments by age and gender was in men aged 31 and over, with a 10 percentage points decrease (2005: 31%; 2019: 21%).

International enrolments increased by 9 percentage points for 21-22 year-olds (2005: 9%; 2019: 18%), whilst decreasing 13 percentage points for 31 and over (2005: 29%; 2019: 16%).

Enrolments reporting a disability increased for all age groups, but decreased 11 percentage points for 31 and over (2005: 36%; 2019: 25%).

By study mode, the largest change was observed in those opting for mixed mode of study decreasing by 14 percentage points (2005: 29.5%; 2019: 16%).

Enrolments by women from high SES decreased 4.5 percentage points (2005: 24.5%; 2019: 20%).

ITE commencements saw a notable drop for those aged under 20 years old from regional and remote areas (2005: 31%; 2019: 22%).

ITE commencements by low SES regional & remote students decreased 9 percentage points (2005: 52%; 2019: 43%).

Regional and remote commencements opting to study internally decreased 8 percentage points (2005: 22%; 2019: 14%), while both metro internal and external increased by smaller amounts (internal 2005: 71%; 2019: 74%, external 2005: 63%; 2019: 66%). Regional & remote commencements experienced a spike in mixed study mode of 14 percentage points between 2005 and 2012, and then a drop of 15 percentage points between 2012 and 2019.

Part-time enrolments increased for both men (2005: 16%; 2019: 21%) and women (2005: 20%; 2019: 26%), and across all age groups, most significantly by 11 percentage points in the 31 or more age group (2005: 40%; 2019: 51%).

The largest increase in part-time enrolments was in the low SES group (2005: 18%; 2019: 27%).

Part-time enrolments opting to study externally decreased 16 percentage points (2005: 72%; 2019: 56%).

Enrolments opting to study internally decreased for both genders, but more so in women (2005: 72%; 2019: 50%) compared to men (2005: 75%; 2019: 60%).

Internal study decreased and external increased across all age groups, most steeply in the 31 or more cohort where internal decreased 29 percentage points (2005: 54.5%; 2019: 25.5%) and external increased 31 percentage points (2005: 29.5%; 2019: 60.5%).

Internal study proportions decreased – and external increased – across all SES groups, most steeply by 28 percentage points in internal mode enrolments from low SES (2005: 70%; 2019: 42%) and 23 percentage points in medium SES (2005: 73%; 2019: 50%).

Regional and remote internal enrolments decreased 32 percentage points (2005: 63%; 2019: 31%), whilst external increased 23 percentage points (2005: 17%; 2019: 40%).

Enrolments reporting a disability increased in external (2005: 11%; 2019: 22%) and mixed modes (2005: 17%; 2019: 22%), whilst decreasing 16 percentage points in internal mode (2005: 72%; 2019: 56%).

By study load, full-time internal enrolments decreased by 20 percentage points (2005: 80%; 2019: 60%), and part-time external mode increased by 12 percentage points (2005: 46%; 2019: 58%).

National ITE Completions, detailed attributes

This visualisation shows the intersections of student characteristics across national completions in all ITE programs. The ITE student characteristics in this visualisation are: age, disability, study load, gender, mode of attendance, remoteness, citizenship and socio-economic status.

Completing students are a subset of enrolled ITE students. Completion trends indicate the number of potential new teachers available through ITE in the following year.

Although proportional completions across men and women in regional and remote areas appear static over the years, absolute number of completions decreased for women by 11% (2005: n=2988; 2019: n=2647) and men by 12% (2005: n=964; 2019: n=850).

In contrast, program completions for international male students nearly halved, with a proportional decrease of 12 percentage points (2005: 26%; 2019: 14%).

In 2019, a downward shift was seen for the proportion of men completing degrees, with study mode moving from internal to external (2019: internal = 28%; mixed = 26%; external = 20%).

The proportion of students completing ITE programs has declined for both genders in the 22 or less and 31 or more age groups, with men in the 31 or more-cohort dipping by 15 percentage points (2005: 38%; 2019: 24%).

Regional and remote completions in the 22 or less age group saw a sharp proportional decrease, with absolute numbers nearly halved (-46%) from 2005 (14%, n=535) to 2019 (7%, n=244).

The proportion of Medium SES completions in the 22 or less age group increased from 2007 (54%) to 2015 (60%), before decreasing 5 percentage points to 2019.

The proportion of regional and remote completions aged 22 or less saw a decrease from 2007 (33%) to 2012 (20%).

The greatest fluctuations by age were observed amongst those aged 26 to 30, with the absolute number of domestic completions increasing by 28 percentage points (2005: n=3078; 2019: n=3952).

Domestic completions by those reporting a disability grew by 3 percentage points (2005: 96%; 2019: 99%).

There was a slight increase in proportion of program completions by students studying externally with a reported disability, with absolute completions nearly tripled (2005: 2.87 %; 2019: 5.03%).

Part-time students across both genders have increased over the years, with a more notable increase in absolute completions amongst men (2005: 16%; 2019: 23%).

The proportion of part-time students aged 31 or more has increased steadily over the years (2005: 32%; 2019: 44%), with the highest proportion of 47% recorded in 2018.

The proportion of full-time students in internal study mode decreased 9 percentage points, whilst those in external study mode increased 12 percentage points.

A significant decrease has been observed in the proportion of program completions in regional and remote areas amongst those studying internally (2005: 59%; 2019: 30%).

The greatest increase in completions amongst international students were found in students opting for mixed mode study (2005: 10%; 2019: 29%).

A notable decline in full-time program completions was observed amongst students studying internally (2005: 76%; 2019: 59%).

Basis of admission, all ITE programs

This visualisation depicts the pathways and relative proportions of students that commence , segmented by their . Inside this visualisation are undergraduate as well as information about trends in scores.

The visualisation can be navigated through the legends on the right. By clicking the legends with arrows (⮑), it dives deeper into the data. The 'Up' arrows (⭡) with the legends will bring you back to the previous level.

The overall proportion of admissions into undergraduate programs, in comparison to postgraduate, has decreased by 9 percentage points (2005: 78%; 2019: 69%). Most of this change can be attributed to primary program admissions (undergraduate 2005: 89%; 2019: 75%), as there is no overall change between 2005 and 2019 for secondary program admissions.

Just over 7 in 10 admissions to undergraduate ITE programs in 2019 enter via one of the following three pathways: secondary school (37%), higher education (23%), and vocational education and training (VET) (16%). Fourteen percent of undergraduate admissions were on an other basis (14%).

Overall proportional increases were observed for entries in undergraduate programs via secondary school pathways (2005: 32%; 2019: 37%), and VET (2005: 12%; 2019: 16%). On the other hand, entries into undergraduate programs through two pathways decreased - higher education (-12 percentage points, 2005: 35%; 2019: 23%) and mature entry (-3.5 percentage points, 2005: 7%; 2019: 3.5%).

For those admitted to an undergraduate ITE program via a secondary pathway, the proportion with a known has decreased by 10 percentage points since 2005 (2005: 72%; 2019: 62%). Admissions with a non-ATAR score increased 7 percentage points (2005: 17%; 2019: 31%).

Overall, admissions into ITE programs via a secondary pathway with a known have decreased 2 percentage points as a percentage of all admissions (2005: 18%; 2019: 16%).

The proportion of students who were admitted to undergraduate ITE programs on the basis of , with ATARs 70 and above, has seen a steady increase from 2015 (60.5%) to 2019 (72%).

For those admitted on the basis of their , scores of over 90 decreased only 1 percentage point since 2005 (2005: 15%; 2019: 13%), and have been steadily rising since 2015. Admissions with ATAR scores of 80-89 decreased 7 percentage points (2005: 35%; 2019: 28%), but have increased 6 percentage points since 2015 (2015: 22%; 2019: 28%).

ATAR scores below 70 increased 9 percentage points overall (2005: 19%; 2019: 28%).

The proportion of postgraduate admissions that occurred via a higher education pathway has decreased 3 percentage points over the years (2005: 91%; 2019: 87%). However, there are now more individuals admitted to postgraduate degrees via higher education pathways (2005: 498, 2019: 1,156) because the total number of postgraduate admissions has increased by 3,099 over this period (2005: n=4,760; 2019: n=7,859).

Basis of admission, primary ITE

This visualisation depicts the pathways and relative proportions of students that commence primary ITE programs, segmented by their . Inside this visualisation are undergraduate as well as information about trends in scores.

The visualisation can be navigated through the legends on the right. By clicking the legends with arrows (⮑), it dives deeper into the data. The 'Up' arrows (⭡) with the legends will bring you back to the previous level.

The overall proportion of admission into undergraduate primary ITE degrees, in comparison to postgraduate primary ITE degrees, decreased by 14 percentage points between 2005 and 2011 (2005: 89%; 2011: 75%). Since 2011, the proportion of postgraduate primary ITE degrees has remained relatively stable, in the mid-70s (range: 70-78%).

Almost 7 in 10 admissions to undergraduate primary ITE programs in 2019 enter via one of the following three pathways: secondary school (36%), higher education (23%), and vocational education and training (VET) (16%). Fourteen percent of undergraduate admissions were on an other basis (14%).

Overall proportional increases to undergraduate primary ITE programs were observed via secondary school pathways (2005: 30%; 2019: 36%), and VET (2005: 9%; 2019: 16%). On the other hand, entries into primary undergraduate programs through two pathways decreased: higher education (-16 percentage points, 2005: 38%; 2019: 23%) and mature entry (-3 percentage points, 2005: 7%; 2019: 4%).

For those admitted to an undergraduate primary ITE program via a secondary pathway, the proportion with a known has decreased by 11 percentage points since 2005 (2005: 72%; 2019: 60%). Admissions with a non-ATAR score increased 17 percentage points (2005: 17%; 2019: 34%).

As a proportion of all primary ITE program admissions, the proportion admitted via a secondary pathway with a known ATAR has decreased 3 percentage points (2005: 19%; 2019: 16%).

The proportion of students who were admitted to primary undergraduate ITE programs on the basis of , with ATARs 70 and above, has seen a steady increase from 2015 (54%) to 2019 (68%).

For those admitted on the basis of their , admissions to primary ITE programs with scores of over 90 increased by 1 percentage point since 2005 (2005: 11%; 2019: 12%), and 4 percentage points since 2015 (2015: 9%). Admissions with scores of 80-89 decreased 10 percentage points (2005: 33%; 2019: 24%), but have increased 5 percentage points since 2015 (2015: 19%; 2019: 24%). scores below 70 increased 11 percentage points overall (2005: 21%; 2019: 32%).

The proportion of postgraduate admissions to primary programs that occurred via higher education pathways has decreased 5 percentage points over the years (2005: 96%; 2019: 91%). The period from 2005 to 2010 was typically around 96%, the period from 2011 to 2019 around 91%.

Basis of admission, secondary ITE

This visualisation depicts the pathways and relative proportions of students that commence secondary ITE programs, segmented by their . Inside this visualisation are undergraduate as well as information about trends in scores.

The visualisation can be navigated through the legends on the right. By clicking the legends with arrows (⮑), it dives deeper into the data. The 'Up' arrows (⭡) with the legends will bring you back to the previous level.

The overall proportion of admission into undergraduate secondary ITE degrees, in comparison to postgraduate secondary ITE degrees, is currently at 2005 levels (2005: 61%; 2019: 61%). However, since 2015 there has been an increase of 6 percentage points (2005: 55%).

Just over 4 in 5 admissions to secondary undergraduate ITE programs in 2019 enter via one of the following three pathways: secondary school (47%), higher education (23%), or via an other route (11%).

Proportional increases were observed for entries in secondary undergraduate programs via secondary school pathways (2005: 39%; 2019: 47%). On the other hand, entries into secondary undergraduate programs decreased in higher education (-15 percentage points, 2005: 38%; 2019: 23%).

For those admitted to an undergraduate secondary ITE program via a secondary pathway, the proportion with a known have decreased by 8 percentage points since 2005 (2005: 75%; 2019: 67%). Admissions with a non-ATAR score increased 16 percentage points (2005: 13%; 2019: 29%).

As a proportion of all primary ITE program admissions, the proportion admitted via a secondary pathway with a known ATAR has increased 1 percentage point as a percentage of all admissions (2005: 18%; 2019: 19%).

The proportion of students who were admitted to secondary undergraduate ITE programs on the basis of , with ATARs 70 or above, has decreased by 7 percentage points from 2015 (85%) to 2019 (78%).

For those admitted on the basis of their , admissions to secondary ITE programs with scores of over 90 decreased 4 percentage point since 2005 (2005: 20%; 2019: 16%). Admissions with ATAR scores of 80-89 decreased 4 percentage points (2005: 38%; 2019: 33%), but have increased 6 percentage points since 2015 (2015: 27%; 2019: 33%). ATAR scores below 70 increased 7 percentage points overall (2005: 15%; 2019: 22%).

Most admission into postgraduate secondary ITE programs have consistently been through higher education pathways.

The proportion of postgraduate admissions to secondary ITE programs that occurred via higher education pathways trended upwards from 2005 (39%) to 2015 (45%), before falling slightly from 2015 to 2019 (39%).

The proportion of postgraduate admission into secondary ITE programs via higher education pathways has remained static over the years (2005 and 2019: 88%).

Basis of admission, early childhood ITE

This visualisation depicts the pathways and relative proportions of students that commence early childhood ITE programs, segmented by their . Inside this visualisation are undergraduate as well as information about trends in scores.

The visualisation can be navigated through the legends on the right. By clicking the legends with arrows (⮑), it dives deeper into the data. The 'Up' arrows (⭡) with the legends will bring you back to the previous level.

The overall proportion of admissions into undergraduate early childhood ITE degrees, in comparison to postgraduate early childhood ITE degrees, has decreased by somewhere between 7 and 15 percentage points (2005: 7%; 2018: 13%; 2019: 22%). There was a very large change between 2018 and 2019, but this occurs in a year where there are concerns about , for this reason a range is reported rather than an exact number.

Approximately 7 in 10 admissions to undergraduate early childhood ITE programs in 2019 enter via one of the following three pathways: secondary pathway (25%), higher education (18%), and vocational education and training (VET) (27%). Twenty-one percent of undergraduate admissions were on an other basis (21%).

Overall proportional increases to undergraduate early childhood ITE programs were observed via secondary pathways (2005: 24%; 2019: 25%), and other basis (2005: 11%; 2019: 21%). On the other hand, entries into early childhood undergraduate programs through three pathways decreased: higher education (-7 percentage points, 2005: 25%; 2019: 18%), VET (-6 percentage points, 2005: 33%; 2019: 27%) and mature entry (-4 percentage points, 2005: 7%; 2019: 2%).

For those admitted to an undergraduate early childhood ITE program via a secondary pathway, the proportion with a known has decreased by 16 percentage points since 2005 (2005: 64%; 2019: 48%). Admissions with a non-ATAR score increased 7 percentage points (2005: 27%; 2019: 34%).

As a proportion of all early childhood ITE program admissions, the proportion admitted via a secondary pathway with a known ATAR has decreased 6 percentage points (2005: 15%; 2019: 9%).

The proportion of students who were admitted to early childhood undergraduate ITE programs on the basis of Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR), with ATARs 70 or above, has seen a steady increase from 2015 (53%) to 2019 (62%).

For those admitted on the basis of their , admissions to early childhood programs with ATAR entry scores of over 90 increased by less than 1 percentage point since 2005 (2005:7.7%; 2019: 8.3%). Admissions with ATAR scores of 80-89 decreased 4 percentage points (2005: 27.5%; 2019: 24%), but have increased 7 percentage points since 2016 (2016: 17%; 2019: 24%). ATAR scores below 70 increased 14 percentage points overall (2005: 24%; 2019: 38%).

After a long period of more than 10% of postgraduate admissions to early childhood programs having occurred via higher education pathways (2009 to 2018), there was a 31 percentage point decrease in 2019 relative to 2018 over the years (2008: 99%; 2019: 68%). At present it is unclear if this is a real trend or a flow on effect of the for postgraduate early childhood ITE programs in 2018 and 2019.

Completion rates, by program

This chart reports cumulative completion rates for early childhood, primary and secondary ITE programs at both undergraduate and postgraduate level, with these calculated separately for each commencement year cohort.

Trends in completion rates over time can be useful for forecasting future supply for commencement cohorts currently enrolled in an ITE program.

Completion rates each year are calculated as the number of completions in the cohort as a proportion of the number commencements in the cohort.

The data is presented as cumulative completion rates, such that it is the proportion of completions made in the reported number of years or fewer. This means that the cumulative completion rate for those who commenced in 2015 after two years elapsed indicates the percentage who have completed on or before the end of 2016.

One large policy change that affects the reporting period is the gradual discontinuation of one-year postgraduate ITE programs since 2013.

With postgraduate programs moving to two-year programs, this would lead to a decrease completion rates. This effect would be particularly pronounced when fewer years have elapsed, such as in two-year completion rates compared to four-year completion rates.

From the data collected (up to 2016), postgraduate 4-year completions rates for early childhood ITE programs decreased 11 percentage points between 2005 (81%) and 2016 (70%), while 3-year completion rates have also seen an upwards trend (2005: 62%; 2017: 69%). Two-year completion rates have decreased 27 percentage points (2005: 73%; 2018: 46%).

Completion rates for postgraduate primary ITE programs by the 4th year have decreased by 23 percentage points between 2005 (89%) and 2016 (66%). Much of the downwards trend has been experienced in the last 3 years of data available to the ATWD (2014: 78%; 2016: 66%). Three-year completion rates have also declined in recent years (2014: 76%; 2017: 60%), whilst 2-year completion rates have almost halved (2005: 85%; 2018: 44%).

Postgraduate 4-year completions rates for secondary ITE programs decreased 7 percentage points between 2005 (86%) and 2016 (79%). Three-year completion rates decreased 10 percentage points (2005: 85%; 2017: 75%) and 2-year completion rates 26 percentage points (2005: 82%; 2018: 56%).

Undergraduate 4-year completions rates for early childhood ITE programs decreased 12 percentage points between 2005 (46%) and 2016 (34%), but have seen an increase in the last two years for which we have data (2015: 29%; 2016: 34%). Two-year completion rates decreased 7 percentage points (2005: 8%; 2018: 1%).

Undergraduate 4-year completions rates for primary ITE programs decreased 21 percentage points between 2005 (58%) and 2016 (37%), but have seen an increase in the last two years for which we have data (2015: 33%; 2016: 37%). Two-year completion rates decreased 12 percentage points (2005: 15%; 2018: 3%).

Undergraduate 4-year completions rates in secondary ITE programs decreased 16 percentage points between 2005 (51%) and 2016 (35%), but have trended up in the last two years for which we have data (2015: 33%; 2016: 37%). Two-year completion rates decreased 19 percentage points (2005: 21%; 2018: 2%).

Undergraduate cohorts, ITE status over time

This chart reports cumulative completion and attrition rates for undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, with these calculated separately for each commencement year cohort.

This cohort analysis provides insight into the numbers of ITE students in a cohort who have completed their studies, are continuing their enrolment, and who have ceased studying after a nominated period of time.Trends in completion rates over time can be useful for forecasting future supply for commencement cohorts currently enrolled in an ITE program.

The length of full-time undergraduate ITE programs generally is four years. Overall, completion of postgraduate ITE programs is usually achieved within six years. Completions can occur prior to the length of the degree when students have credit for prior studies.

Six year completion rates can be reported for the commencement cohorts up to 2013. An average of more than half of every cohort (57%) had completed their undergraduate ITE study by the sixth year. Cumulative completion rates for ITE undergraduate cohorts increase from first-year (2013: 1%) to 4th year (2013: 39%) and then to 6th year (2013: 51%).

The proportion of undergraduate completions have decreased over time. Comparisons of the first and last cohorts indicate that this decrease is as large as a 20 percentage points for 4th year completion rates (2005: 52%; 2015: 32%).

There has been no change in the proportion of each cohort who is continuing enrolment at the end of the first year (2005: 76%; 2018: 74%).

Comparisons of the first and last cohorts indicate that more undergraduate students are likely to be in the ITE pipeline at the end of four years, with an 8 percentage point increase for 4th year enrolments (2005: 12%; 2015: 20%).

First year attrition rates for ITE undergraduate cohorts increased by 4 percentage points over time (2005: 21%; 2018: 25%).

There was an increasing proportion of students dropping out of ITE after the end of their first year (2005: 21%; 2014: 25%) and through to the end of their fourth year (2005: 36%, 2014: 45%). An additional 5 percentage points of ITE commencements ceased undertaking ITE study in years 2 to 4 of their degree in 2020 compared to 2005.

ITE cohort size was determined from the number of commencements in the year. At the end of each year, an individual who has completed their degree was marked as completed - a person may complete their degree in a shorter than usual amount of time due to the recognition of prior studies. ITE status is classified as attrition if they are enrolled the next year but have a new commencement flag, or are not enrolled for the following 2 years. The enrolment category in this chart includes the as the numbers are typically too small to present separately.

Postgraduate cohorts, ITE status over time

This chart reports cumulative completion and attrition rates for undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, with these calculated separately for each commencement year cohort.

This cohort analysis provides insight into the numbers of ITE students in a cohort who have completed their studies, are continuing their enrolment, and who have ceased studying after a nominated period of time.Trends in completion rates over time can be useful for forecasting future supply for commencement cohorts currently enrolled in an ITE program.

One large policy change that affects the reporting period is the gradual discontinuation of one-year postgraduate ITE programs since 2013.

Overall, completion of postgraduate ITE programs is usually achieved within four years.

With postgraduate programs moving to two-year programs, this would lead to a decrease completion rates. This effect would be particularly pronounced when fewer years have elapsed, such as in two-year completion rates compared to four-year completion rates.

Postgraduate completion rates are decreasing, but not as markedly as for undergraduate programs.

Two-year completion rates for postgraduate ITE programs saw the biggest proportional decline across cohorts from 2005 (81%) to 2017 (59%). Four-year completion rates decreased by 7 percentage points over the years (2005: 86%; 2015: 73%).

The very large increase in continuing enrolment in postgraduate ITE programs at the end of the first year (2005: 25%; 2018: 75%) is a reflection of the increased degree lengths.

Comparisons of the first and last cohorts indicate that more postgraduate students are likely to be in the ITE pipeline at the end of two years, with an 13 percentage point increase in the number of students still enrolled after two years (2005: 6%; 2017: 19%).

Historically, first- to second- year attrition rates have not been of high interest to postgraduate ITE programs due to their typical one-year durations. The shift to a longer Masters program means this metric is increasingly useful.

Considering first- to second- year attrition rates is also important given that a greater proportion of postgraduate compared to undergraduate ITE students are studying part-time. Postgraduate first- to second-year attrition rates rose between 2005 (10%) and 2018 (18%).

ITE cohort size was determined from the number of commencements in the year. At the end of each year, an individual who has completed their degree was marked as completed - a person may complete their degree in a shorter than usual amount of time due to the recognition of prior studies. ITE status is classified as attrition if they are enrolled the next year but have a new commencement flag, or are not enrolled for the following 2 years. The enrolment category in this chart includes the as the numbers are typically too small to present separately.

ITE enrolment and jurisdictional trends

This tile displays where the state or territory of a person’s residential address differs from the state or territory of their enrolment. The outer ring shows the proportion of people undertaking ITE across the country residing in each state or territory. Where those students are enrolled with a provider in a different state or territory there are pathways through the centre of the ring.

ITE students missing residential address state data are included in the 'other' category; analysis indicated that these individuals were not overwhelmingly international students.

For students enrolled at the Australian Catholic University (ACU), data on the state of enrolment is unavailable. State of enrolment was imputed probabilistically for these students in line with the relative proportions of postal address states of QLD, NSW, VIC, and the ACT of ACU students

Students enrolled with an ITE provider based in another state or territory to which they reside often occurs due to external .

Arcs: Residential address state is represented by the arcs. They are sized relative to their population.
Chords leaving an arc: Within each arc, the proportion of people studying interstate are represented by the size of the base of each chord relative to the arc.
The ‘other’ arc: Everyone who’s resident state is listed as ‘other’ is enrolled in an actual state/territory, as indicated by the whole arc being filled with chords. Some pathways are listed as going to ‘Other’ despite no one studying in ‘Other’. Here, other is used to mask small cells in a privacy compliant manner – the pathway to or from a state can still be seen, just the exact state this goes to cannot.
Chord colour: To first get an impression of whether a state is likely to be losing more students to universities in other states/territories, or attracting students from other states / territories to it’s institutions the colours of the chords are used. States with more chords in their colour tend to be attracting more students to study, than they lose to these states.
Net difference: The difference between any two state/territory pathways can be seen by hovering over the ends of the chords. The net difference for any state can be seen by hovering over the arc and comparing the number of residents (size of the arc) to the number of enrolments (the size of the chord length at the arcs of each other state).

From 2009 to 2019, out-of-state enrolments increased in ITE providers across all states and territories in Australia except those based in SA (-0.1 percentage point) and in the ACT (-0.1 percentage point). The largest growth in out-of-state enrolments over this period was seen in ITE providers based in the NT (+10.8 percentage points), WA (+16.9 percentage points), VIC (+11 percentage points) and TAS (+12 percentage points).

In 2019, the majority of enrolments with NT-based ITE providers were from out-of-state (62.1%). In contrast, both SA (0.3%) and QLD (8.9%) based ITE providers had fewer than 10% of their ITE enrolments from out-of-state. Out-of-state enrolments in ITE providers based in all other states and territories ranged from 14% to 19%.

Between 2009 and 2019, the proportion of students living in one state/territory but enrolled in an out-of-state ITE program increased across all states and territories. In 2009, only Victoria (10.6%) and the ACT (23%) had more than 10% of their ITE students enrolled in an ITE program of a provider in another state or territory. By 2019, between 10.4% and 32.4% of ITE students living in each state/territory were enrolled with an ITE provider based in a different state or territory, except for WA. In the case of WA, 3.1% of ITE students with WA as their home state, were enrolled out-of-state. In contrast, 32.4% of ITE students living in the ACT were enrolled out-of-state, about half (49%) of them with providers based in NSW.

Number of registered teachers, 2020

The data in this tile shows the total number of provided by and accounts for those registered in more than one state or territory to ensure that the reported supply of teachers does not double count people with teacher registration in more than one state or territory.

Observed data

There were a total of 463,117 unique, registered teachers across states and territories in 2020, most of whom were registered in a single state (97.3%).

There were 12,609 teachers with registration in multiple jurisdictions, with a total of 25,560 registrations amongst this group; an average of 2.04 registrations each. This means that, on average, a jurisdiction’s supply of teachers in 2020 was equal to the number of teachers with registration in a single jurisdiction plus 49.14% of those with registration in multiple jurisdictions.

Of those registered in a single state, NSW had the highest number of registered teachers (n=170,353), followed by VIC (n=119,606) and QLD (n=104,131).

The NT (29.5%) and ACT (15.1%) had the largest proportion of teachers with multiple registrations.

This data includes all registered teachers, except for those registered in WA, as registration data is not available for WA in 2020. As a result:

The number of registered teachers in ‘all participating’ states and territories is not yet a national number.
Individuals with limited registration/permission to teach are included.
Some teachers who are currently recorded as registered in just one state or territory may also be registered in WA, and registered in multiple states or territories.
A national estimate is derived in this reporting based on the known number of registered teachers in WA and the patterns of registration in multiple jurisdictions observed in other states and territories.

Under the label 'all registered teachers' the ATWD reports on everyone who is registered or authorised to teach in schools and early childhood settings. The pathways to this are described below.

All teachers must be registered to teach or hold alternative authorisation to teach if they are employed in schools. Traditionally, to register as a teacher, one must be qualified with an accredited initial teacher education (ITE) qualification and meet the relevant requirements in accordance with the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers. In all states and territories, alternative authorisation to teach under limited circumstances can be provided by regulatory authorities to individuals who do not meet the requirements for registration.

Graduates of accredited ITE programs in Australia are eligible to apply for provisional registration or accreditation. As these early career teachers gain experience and are able to demonstrate evidence of performance at the Proficient career stage of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers, they can apply for full registration (which includes Proficient accreditation in New South Wales).

The ATWD numbers capture a picture of supply rather than the number of teachers in schools on an ongoing or fixed term contract in the ABS Schools data.

The ATWD reports on all registered teachers deployed across and , including those who are working as (CRTs), and those who are not currently working as teachers. As a result, the number of registered teachers reported in the ATWD is higher than the head count of teachers in schools reported in the ABS Schools. ABS Schools data does not include casual/relief teachers and only includes teachers in primary and secondary schools.

Comparatively, the supply of registered teachers is 137% the size of the ABS Schools school teacher head count in VIC, 140% the size in ACT, 153% in NT, 153% in NT, 157% in SA, 160% in QLD, 178% in NSW.

National estimate

Future ATWD reporting will be able to provide observed numbers of registered teachers within Australia and in each state. At present, an estimate can be provided through modelling.

It is estimated that nationally there is a head count of 514,770 registered teachers.

It is not possible to calculate the exact number of unique registered teachers nationally, but a high-quality estimate can be made from the available data. This estimate assumes that patterns of registration in multiple jurisdictions are comparable in WA to other states and territories a best estimate national size of the registered teacher workforce can be produced. This assumption may not hold true due to the geographic separation of WA.

The national estimate is 514,770 registered teachers in Australia, with 498,895 registered in a single state, and 15,857 registered in multiple states, with 96.9% estimated to be registered in a single state.

The process of deriving this estimate is outlined below.

The number of registered teachers in WA who were invited to participate in the ATWD Teacher Survey was in 2020.

Across the other states and territories, a median of 93.87% of teachers were registered in just one state/territory. When applied to the number of registered teachers in WA, this would mean that the best available estimate of teachers registered in only WA in 2020 is 51,675; with 3,378 registered in multiple jurisdictions.

Those registered only in WA add to the known national supply of registered teachers, increasing the number registered in just one state from 450,058 to 502,273. However, the 3,378 registered in multiple jurisdictions will lead to a reduction in this number, as those currently classified as registered in just one jurisdiction are re-classified to registration in multiple jurisdictions.

Based on the data from other states and territories, these 3,378 teachers, almost all of these individuals would be registered in just one other state (mean of 1.04 other states). As a result:

130 of these teachers are likely already accounted for among the 12,609 individuals already identified as having registration in multiple states; they lead to no change in any estimates.
3,248 of these teachers are likely currently included in another states registration as registered only in one state, and increase the number with registration in multiple states from 12,609 to 15,857; while also reducing the number registered in just one jurisdiction from 502,273 to 499,025.

All registered teachers, characteristics by state

The data in this chart is based on records. Within each state and territory, these records provide a census of the within that state or territory.

The participating states and territories displayed through the menu option 'All participating' states and territories varies over time. In 2018, data on all registered teachers in the state or territory was provided by the NT, NSW, SA, and VIC. In 2019, QLD and the ACT began to contribute their data, followed by TAS from 2020.

Under the label 'all registered teachers' the ATWD reports on everyone who is registered or authorised to teach in schools and early childhood settings. The pathways to this are described below.

All teachers must be registered to teach or hold alternative authorisation to teach if they are employed in schools. Traditionally, to register as a teacher, one must be qualified with an accredited initial teacher education (ITE) qualification and meet the relevant requirements in accordance with the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers. In all states and territories, to teach under limited circumstances can be provided by regulatory authorities to individuals who do not meet the requirements for registration.

Graduates of accredited ITE programs in Australia are eligible to apply for or accreditation. As these early career teachers gain experience and are able to demonstrate evidence of performance at the Proficient career stage of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers, they can apply for full registration (which includes Proficient accreditation in New South Wales).

When examining the 'All participating' state and territory data, the count of registered teachers increases from year to year. This does not indicate growth in the number of , but reflects the number of states and territories supplying regulatory authority data to the ATWD. However, within any individual state or territory an increase in the count does indicate an increase in the number of .

Similarly, a change in the percentage of registered teachers with a characteristic across all participating states and territories could reflect a change in the composition of the national workforce. However, it might also reflect the fact that the composition of state and territory workforces vary, and the effect of a new state joining the ATWD on the picture of the teaching profession. A change in percentage is more likely to reflect a change in the composition of the national workforce when it is present in more jurisdictions, and when the newly joined jurisdictions have a similar percentage to the continuing jurisdictions.

In 2020, more than two-thirds of registered teachers (69%) were aged between 30 and 59 years. Among aged over 30, the proportion of teachers in each age bracket reduces with age (30 to 39 years: 26%; 40 to 49 years: 24%; 50 to 59 years: 20%; 60 to 68 years: 15%). A small number of teachers were at or over retirement age (69 or older: 3%).

From 2018 to 2020, the group aged 30 to 39 has consistently been the largest cohort (2018: 27%; 2019: 27%; 2020: 26%).

The NT recorded a smaller proportion of teachers younger than 30 years from 2018 to 2020, with an average of 9%, compared to the national average (13%).

In general, the majority of for whom [There is variation across jurisdictions in the proportion of people for whom country of birth is known] were born in Australia. The proportion of teachers born overseas remaining stable over the years (2018: 16%; 2020: 17%).

The NT recorded the highest proportion of teachers born overseas in 2020 (23%).

The proportion of who are men has remained consistent at 24% from 2018 to 2020. In each state and territory there are only small differences in the proportion of men and women, and there are no large trends in the proportion of men.

The proportion of maintaining their registration for more than 10 years has increased slightly from 2018 (53%) to 2020 (57%) while those maintaining their registration for less than 5 years has seen a comparable decrease (2018: 28%; 2020: 24%).

In the ACT, a large proportion of those registered between 5 to 9 years in 2019 have entered 10+ year category in 2020 which caused a drop in the proportion of the former category (65% to 22%).

Across all states and territories, 83% of registered teachers held full registration in 2020. More than three-quarters of in each state and territory, except TAS (65%), held full registration in 2020.

The proportion of teachers who are fully registered across all participating states has increased annually (2018: 80%; 2019: 82%; 2020: 83%) with the greatest increase observed in VIC from 2019 (84%) to 2020 (86%).

2019 ITE graduate registrations in 2020

Data on transitions from initial teacher education (ITE) to the workforce are critical to understanding supply. Where ITE completions indicate potential supply, not all ITE graduates will end up working as teachers. The first step toward working as a teacher is achieving provisional or full registration with a while future analyses will model gaining employment as a teacher in a school or early childhood setting.

This tile presents the number of students who were registered with a teacher regulatory authority in the year following their completion of an , with the focus on 2020 registration among 2019 ITE graduates.

The proportion of ITE graduates who completed an ITE program in 2019 and then went on to register with a teacher regulatory authority in 2020 was .

This means that ITE based supply is at least 5.3% lower than the domestic ITE completion count across the participating states and territories; then using ITE completion data to estimate ITE supply of the teacher workforce in 2020 would have over-estimated national supply by 824 teachers.

NSW and QLD were the states with the highest proportion of ITE graduates that went on to register with a teacher regulatory authority (NSW: 96.3%; TAS: ; QLD: 95.7%).

Under the label 'all registered teachers' the ATWD reports on everyone who is registered or authorised to teach in schools and early childhood settings. In this tile, ITE graduate registrations do not include those with only limited regististration/permission to teach.

All teachers must be registered to teach or hold alternative authorisation to teach if they are employed in schools. Traditionally, to register as a teacher, one must be qualified with an accredited initial teacher education (ITE) qualification and meet the relevant requirements in accordance with the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers. In all states and territories, alternative authorisation to teach under limited circumstances can be provided by regulatory authorities to individuals who do not meet the requirements for registration.

Graduates of accredited ITE programs in Australia are eligible to apply for provisional registration or accreditation. As these early career teachers gain experience and are able to demonstrate evidence of performance at the Proficient career stage of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers, they can apply for full registration (which includes Proficient accreditation in New South Wales).

The analysis is focused on 2019 ITE data and 2020 teacher regulatory authority data as 2020 was the first time that seven states and territories supplied regulatory authority data to the ATWD. Data is presented for Australian domestic student ITE completions as at present, it is only possible to accurately determine transitions from ITE graduation to registration for domestic students. In the future, analysis of transitions from ITE to the workforce will be possible.

As most students register in the state or territory in which they resided during ITE, data for WA ITE graduates is not presented as their 2020 teacher regulatory authority data was not included in the ATWD in 2020. For residents of WA during ITE, only registrations in another state could be known.

Those who register in WA after completing ITE as a resident of another state cannot be detected. It is possible that the proportion who do register is greater, but the magnitude of this may vary across states and territories. This can be examined when teacher regulatory authority data for WA becomes available.

Some students may not register with a teacher regulatory authority in the year immediately following their completion of an ITE qualification. As the ATWD continues to gather more years of longitudinal data it will be possible to extend the one-year window used here.

A detailed breakdown for postgraduate and undergraduate degree levels could be performed for all states and territories

Postgraduate ITE graduates were most likely to register in the year following their degree in NSW (96.8%) and QLD (96.1%).

Typically, undergraduate and postgraduate ITE students were as likely to become registered. However, those who completed an undergraduate degree were less likely to register than those who completed a postgraduate degree in the ACT (undergraduate: 82.9%; postgraduate: 93.5%) and to a lesser extent in SA (undergraduate: 92.6%; postgraduate: 94.7%).

All survey respondents, characteristics by state

Registered teachers and leaders who participated in the ATWD Teacher Survey provided information about where they are deployed. Those deployed in a school or early childhood setting (the ) were then asked about their roles and their contractual arrangements. This tile presents trend data on workforce characteristics for all participating states and territories (with national coverage achieved in 2020), and for each individual state and territory.

When examining the data, the counts increase from year to year due to changing numbers of survey participants. The percentage should be used to understand change over time, with counts only being compared within the same year.

When examining ‘all participating’ state and territory data, a change in the percentage of registered teachers with a characteristic across all participating states and territories could reflect a change in the composition of the national workforce. However, it might also reflect the fact that the composition of state and territory workforces vary, and the effect of a new state joining the ATWD on the picture of the teaching profession. A change in percentage is more likely to reflect a change in the composition of the national workforce when it is present in more jurisdictions, and when the newly joined jurisdictions have a similar percentage to the continuing jurisdictions.

The following outcomes are included in this tile:

In 2020, 53% of ATWD Teacher Survey respondents were aged between 40 and 59. Nearly one quarter were aged 60 or older (24%). The highest proportion of registered teachers aged over 60 were in VIC (31%), while NSW had the lowest proportion (20%).

In 2020, 20% of were born overseas, this had increased by 3 percentage points since 2018 (17%). At a state and territory level, WA had the highest proportion of teachers born overseas (29%), while TAS had the lowest proportion (14%).

In 2020, more than half (59%) of the teacher workforce were employed full-time (0.95-1.00 FTE), whereas over one-quarter (29%) worked part-time and less than 4 days a week (˂0.79 FTE) and 13% were employed to work part-time and at least 4 days a week (0.80-0.94 FTE).

The NT recorded a higher proportion of full-time teachers (0.95-1.00 FTE; 84%).

In 2020, most respondents who participated in the ATWD Teacher Survey (94%) had completed their ITE qualification in Australia rather than overseas.

The proportion of those who had received their qualification overseas increased by three percentage points from 2019 (3%) to 2020 (6%). A similar increase was seen across all states and territories that participated in the survey during this period, including in the three states and territories participating since 2018 (NSW, SA and NT).

In 2020, 77% of were women. At a state and territory level, the NT had the highest proportion (80%) of women, and TAS had the lowest proportion (72%).

In 2020, 45% of the taught exclusively at the secondary learner level, 29% exclusively at the primary learner level, 12% taught early childhood and primary learner levels, and 9% taught exclusively early childhood learners. A small group (6%) taught secondary and either primary and/or early childhood learner levels.

In 2020, SA had a lower proportion of teachers who taught at the secondary learner level (31%) when compared to the national average (45%).

In 2020, VIC had a lower (22%) proportion who taught at the primary learner level when compared to the national average (25%), while WA had a greater proportion (33%).

In 2020, were the most common type of position for those deployed in schools (59%). Compared to the national average, a greater proportion of the workforce were classroom teachers in QLD (65%), while a smaller proportion were in the NT (55%).

Nationally, were the second most common type of position for those deployed in schools (21%). There were six percentage points more middle leaders in VIC (2020: 27%) than there were nationally.

Nationally in 2020, there were similar proportions of (CRTs) (10%) and (10%). Some states had more CRTs than senior leaders (VIC: +7 percentage points, SA: + 4 percentage points, TAS: +2 percentage points), while others had fewer CRTs than senior leaders (NT: -9 percentage points, WA: -6 percentage points, ACT: -3 percentage points, NSW: -2 percentage points).

Compared to 2019, in 2020 a greater proportion of the teacher workforce in schools were working as teachers (+3 percentage points; 2019: 57%; 2020: 59%) with an equivalent reduction in the proportion of middle leaders (-3 percentage points; 2019: 23%; 2020: 21%). A similar trend was seen in some states and territories participating in both of these years (NSW - classroom teachers: +2 percentage points, middle leaders: -3 percentage points; QLD - classroom teachers: +5 percentage points, middle leaders: -4 percentage points; SA - classroom teachers: +8 percentage points, middle leaders: -4 percentage points) but not in VIC (classroom teachers: -2 percentage points, middle leaders: -1 percentage points) or the NT (classroom teachers: -3 percentage points, middle leaders: -1 percentage points).

In 2020, the majority of the had been registered with their current regulatory authority for 10 years or more (67%). At a state and territory level, QLD had the highest proportion of teachers registered for 10 years or more (73%), while ACT had the lowest proportion (58%).

In 2020, the proportion of teachers who had been registered with their current regulatory authority for less than 5 years was 17%. This varied across states and territories, which could indicate either differences in the number of teachers new to the profession or new to the state or territory. QLD had the lowest proportion of teachers registered for less than 5 years (13%), while NSW had the highest proportion (22%).

In 2020, 90% of the held full registration. At a state and territory level, ACT had the highest proportion of teachers with full registration (94%).

The highest proportion of provisionally registered teachers were found in TAS (27%); the proportion in other states varied between 8% and 11%.

Only a very small propotion of ATWD Survey Respondents held permission to teach / limited registration status (0.6%), this was comparable to the proportion of teachers with limited registration in TRA records (0.4%). Of the states and territories where permission to teach / limited registration could be reported at the jurisdictional level, WA had the highest proportion () among their survey respondents

In 2020, 25% of had commenced working in the teaching profession 10 to 19 years ago. One in five had been in the profession 20 to 29 years (21%), 19% for 30 to 39 years, 13% for 40 or more years. Less than one quarter had been in the profession for less than 10 years: 12% for 1 to 5 years (early career teachers), and 11% for 6 to 9 years.

From 2018 to 2020, the proportion of registered teachers that were dropped by five-percentage points (2018: 16%; 2020: 12%). Over the same period, the proportion of registered teachers that were in the profession for 40 years or more had increased by four-percentage points (2018: 9%; 2020: 13%).

At the state and territory level, ACT (34%) and NT (30%) had a larger proportion of teachers who had been in the profession between 10 and 19 years than the national average (25%). The ACT had fewer teachers with 30 years or more experience (21%) than the national average (32%), while the NT the proportion of those who joined the workforce less than 10 years ago (17%) was smaller than the national average (22%).

School characteristics, by state

This visualisation shows the characteristics of the schools where the ATWD teacher survey respondents worked. These school characteristics are drawn from those published by ACARA. School characteristics available are school , school sector, and .

The percentages reported in this tile are the proportion of the , excluding those were the school was not reported or could not be coded with confidence.

In 2020, two-thirds (66%) of respondents worked in major cities, with the smallest proportion of teachers working in remote and very remote schools. Respondents working in inner regional areas saw a slight increase of 3 percentage points (2018: 17%; 2020: 20%), while those in remote and very remote areas saw a small decrease (2018: 5%; 2020: 3%).

In 2020, almost seven-in-ten respondents (67%) were employed in government schools. A similar proportion of respondents were from the Catholic (17%) and independent (16%) sectors.

The jurisdiction with the highest proportion of government sector respondents was from the NT (77%), with the lowest from VIC (60%) and NSW (61%). The highest proportion of independent sector respondents was from NSW (21%), with Catholic sector recording its highest in VIC (22%).

School type refers to whether respondents work in primary schools, secondary schools, special schools or combined schools.

Nationally in 2020, the predominant group of respondents worked in primary schools (40%), with respondents from secondary schools not far behind (34%). This is broadly repeated across all states and territories, with the greatest differences between primary and secondary respondents recorded in SA (15 percentage points) and NT (16 percentage points).

Only in NSW in 2020 did respondents from secondary schools outnumber those from primary schools (secondary: 39%; primary: 38%).

Everyone in the teacher workforce and deployed in a school was asked about the school they work in or had worked in most recently. Responses were sought through a drill-down menu which first required the selection of the school’s state, the school’s suburb, and finally the name of the school. If a teacher could not find their school in the list an open text box was provided.

The drill-down menu was populated with schools from ACARA’s records. When a teacher responded using the open text box it was not always possible to identify a clear match.

The percentage of school characteristics are calculated using only data from those with a school which could be coded with confidence, it does not include the teacher workforce who are not in schools, the non-teacher workforce, or those in schools but where the specific school could not be coded.

Contracted and working hours, teacher workforce

The teacher workforce provided data on the time spent working in a While self-reported, the pattern of working more than one’s contracted hours was present across the states and territories. Previous analysis conducted as part of the first ATWD Teacher Workforce Characteristics Report indicated that this measure had validity.

Those working full-time (0.95-1.0 FTE) worked an average of 55 hours per week in 2020, and half undertook between 50 and 60 hours of work in a typical week. Median working hours were 55.6 per week, or 145% of contracted. This was consistent across all states and territories of registration included in this release (2020: ACT, NSW, NT, SA, VIC, QLD: 145%; WA: 142%) except TAS (2020: 132%). For NSW this was a decrease of 13 percentage points from 2018 (158%), but for SA an increase of 8 percentage points (2018: 137%).

Those working part-time but at least four days per week (0.80-0.94 FTE) worked an average of 51.5 hours per week in 2020, and half undertook between 45 and 60 hours of work in a typical week. Median working hours were 50 per week, or 140% of contracted. The highest median working hours were in NSW (50 hours, or 140% of contracted). The median work hours reported in VIC were the lowest (45 hours), which is still 126% of the contracted hours for those contracted to work at 0.8-0.94 FTE.

Additional data on actual working hours at each level of contracted working hours will be made available in subsequent releases.

The chart contains three individual diagrams. At the bottom of the chart there is a bar chart that shows different intervals of contracted full-time equivalent (FTE) on the horizontal axis. On the vertical axis of this bar chart, the percentage of the Teacher Survey respondents that belong in these FTE intervals are shown. Numbers on top of the bars or inside the bars refer to the absolute counts of respondents that had a contracted FTE within the given interval.

In the boxplot portion at the top of the chart, the box portion indicates the range in which the middle 50% of actual working hours are shown, from the 25th percentile to the 75th percentile. The median actual working hours is indicated by the solid line inside the box. The dashed line is the mean. To ensure privacy is protected, no outliers are shown, and the whiskers extend to the 5th and 95th percentiles, rather than the alternative method of the last score within the inter-quartile range.

The middle section of the chart labelled 'Actual Median FTE' shows the median self-reported working hours shown in the boxplot as an equivalent FTE number.’

In the first ATWD Teacher Workforce Characteristics Report, the ratio of working hours to contracted hours was calculated using the mean and based on full-time hours of 40 hours per week.

To ensure the robustness of the ratio calculations the [Working hours were skewed, and so the median was selected instead of the mean as this prevents the case where a small number of respondents with very high working hours inflating the mean.] instead of the mean, however the mean is still available in the chart. Full-time working hours for the calculation of the ratio were treated as 38 hours per week, this is part of the ongoing efforts to ensure consistency over all waves of the survey and all states and territories.

Ongoing work is being undertaken to improve the alignment of the contracted hours data in Queensland with that of the other states and territories. At present, only data for those contracted for four or more days a week is reported. There is a small chance that there is a greater proportion of the teacher workforce employed full-time in Queensland than is presently reported. Any change in the proportion employed full-time is not anticipated to change the working hours data for Queensland.

Data on actual working hours relative to contracted working hours for those in Queensland contracted to work four days per week or fewer will be made available in a future release. When this is made available, the actual working hours data for ‘all participating’ states and territories will also be made available for those contracted to work four days per week or fewer.

Career intentions, teacher workforce by state

The size of the available teacher workforce is determined not only by supply (e.g. through ITE and migration) but also by retention. Some individuals may leave a profession prior to retirement. Understanding the intentions of teachers to stay in teaching until retirement provides important insights into how teachers view the long-term sustainability of their own personal teaching career.

In the present data, attrition intentions rather than actual attrition are examined. Future ATWD reporting will be able to examine actual attrition from the workforce while ruling out transitions between states/territories and between sectors. It is important to acknowledge that intentions may not equate to actual behaviour. Not all teachers who intend to leave will leave, and some teachers who do not intend to leave nevertheless do. However, understanding the proportion of teachers intending to leave the profession or the number of years they intend to remain will help predict changes in the future size of the teacher workforce.

Those who reported that they intended to leave the profession before retirement were then asked how long they intended to remain working in the profession.

The proportion of the teacher workforce intending to leave before retirement has fallen since 2018, with a drop of 1 percentage point from 2018 to 2019 (25%) and another 4 percentage points from 2019 to 2020 (21%). The states/territories participating in these years did change, but similar patterns can be seen in each state/territory. SA reported the lowest proportion of teachers intending to leave (16%).

In 2020, almost half (47%) of the teacher workforce indicated that they intended to stay in the profession until retirement while another 33% were unsure about whether they would continue to work until retirement. Uncertainty was greatest in Victoria in 2020 (48%).

In all participating states and territories, the proportion of the teacher workforce who intended to leave the profession before retirement but continue working in schools for more than 10 years declined from 2018 (21%) to 2019 (18%) but then increased by 6 percentage points (2020: 24%). The NT saw the largest increase (+12 percentage points) in the proportion of those intending to remain for at least another 10 years (2018: 10%; 2020: 22%).

The proportion of the teacher workforce intending to remain for less than 10 years across all states and territories in 2020 was 51%. This was lowest in SA (40%) and highest in VIC (54%). SA recorded the largest increase (+3 percentage points) in those who intend to remain for just 1 year (2018: 6%; 2020: 9%).

In 2020, SA showed the highest proportion (33%) of uncertainty in the years to remain in the profession amongst those who intended to leave before retirement. This was higher than the proportion in all participating states and territories (25%).

Reasons for intending to leave, teacher workforce

The data in this chart represents categories of reasons for leaving collected through the ATWD Teacher Survey. Respondents who were part of the were only asked about the reasons affecting their decision to leave if they indicated that they plan to leave the profession before retirement. Multiple reasons could be selected. These reasons were then grouped into .

Across respondents in the who as of 2020 intended to leave the profession, 86% selected workload and coping as a reason for considering leaving the teaching profession. This represents the most frequent category of reason for intending to leave the profession.

The four most common categories of reasons for leaving cited by those intending to leave the profession before retirement were: workload and coping, recognition and reward, classroom factors, and school culture. These categories shared a consistent trend nationally, recording increases from 2018 to 2019 (workload and coping: 86% to 88%; recognition and reward: 65% to 70%; classroom factors: 44% to 55%; school culture: 39% to 45%). This was then followed by similar decreases from 2019 to 2020 (workload and coping: 88% to 86%; recognition and reward: 70% to 65%; classroom factors: 55% to 50%; school culture: 45% to 44%).

Nationally, those intending to leave due to the demands of professional regulation has steadily declined from 2018 (50%) to 2019 (43%) to 2020 (39%). For states and territories involved in the ATWD in 2018, the largest reduction from 2018 to 2020 was in NT (-16 percentage points). For those states and territories participating from 2019 to 2020, NT again experienced the largest decline from 2019 to 2020 (-13 percentage points).

Though similar to the national trend, teachers in SA intending to leave due to issues relating to classroom factors had a single-year spike in 2019 (58%, +26 percentage points) but then dropped to below the national average in 2020 (National: 50%; SA: 44%).

In 2020, respondents who intended to leave the profession before retirement, due to the demands of professional regulation were most prevalent in (49%) followed by TAS (45%). In all other states and territories, the range was from 25% to 36%.

Reasons for leaving related to a break from teaching and not being suited to teaching have remained largely stable. have both recorded very small decreases across the three years.

The reason items in each category of reasons to leave are provided below. For a respondent to be represented within a category, they were required to have selected at least one reason from within the category.

The process used to derive the categories of reasons is explained in the Technical Report for the ATWD Teacher Workforce Characteristics Report.

Workload and coping: The workload is too heavy; I am finding it too stressful/it is impacting my wellbeing or mental health; To achieve a better work/life balance.

Recognition and reward: Changes imposed on schools from outside (e.g. by government); Insufficient pay; Dissatisfaction with performance appraisal processes; The poor public image of the profession.

Classroom factors: Insufficient support staff; Class sizes too large; I’m facing challenges with student behaviour management.

School culture: I am not enjoying working in schools; Unsatisfactory relationships with other staff; Insufficient professional recognition within the school.

Professional regulation: The demands of professional regulation (e.g. professional learning, practice, etc.) are too heavy.

Not suited to teaching: To seek employment outside of education; I never intended teaching to be a long-term career; I have found that I am not suited to working in schools.

Break from teaching: To seek employment elsewhere in education; Parental/family reasons.

Teacher workforce characteristics, by position (school)

Registered teachers and leaders who participated in the ATWD Teacher Survey provided information about where they are deployed. Those deployed in a school or early childhood setting (the ) were then asked about their position and their contractual arrangements. This tile presents data on the characteristics of those working in schools based on their position.

When examining the data, the counts increase from year to year due to growing numbers of participants who participated in the ATWD Teacher Survey. The percentage should be used to understand change over time, with counts only being compared within the same year.

When comparing data across years, a change in the percentage of registered teachers with a characteristic could reflect a change in the composition of the national workforce. However, it might also reflect the fact that a new state or territory with a different workforce composition has joined the ATWD Teacher Survey. A change in percentage from year-to-year is more likely to reflect a change in the national trend when it is present in more jurisdictions, and when the newly joined jurisdictions have a similar percentage to the continuing jurisdictions. Cross-year trends that are described refer to the participating states and territories in the survey for each of those years.

In 2018, the ATWD Teacher Survey was participated in by NSW, SA and NT. In 2019, VIC and QLD joined the ATWD Teacher Survey. In 2020, all remaining states and territories joined (WA, TAS and ACT), providing national coverage.

The following outcomes are included for each position type in this tile:

Age, gender, and country of birth
Contract type and contracted hours
Source of ITE qualification – Australian or overseas
Deployment
Learner levels taught
Registration period and status
Years in profession and years in leadership (senior leaders only)

Classroom teachers

In 2020, exhibited the following characteristics:

Almost half were over 50 years of age (45%), with 16% aged 60–68 years, and 2% over retirement age.
Two-in-ten (20%) teachers were born overseas.
Typically employed under ongoing/permanent arrangement (76%), with more than half (58%) were contracted to work full-time.
Most commonly women (78%).
Typically held full registration (90%) and had been registered for at least 10 years or more with their current regulatory authority (63%).
Most taught learners exclusively at the secondary level (46%), or primary level (35%); while 14% of classroom teachers taught early childhood learners, typically as well as at the primary learner level.
Were highly experienced, with 71% joining the profession more than 10 years of experience. 16% were .

The following trends were observed in the characteristics of :

An increasing proportion of classroom teachers were employed on an ongoing contract, with a six percentage point increase from 2018 (67%) to 2019 (73%) and another increase of three percentage points in 2020 (76%).
Those working part-time but at least four days per week (0.80-0.94 FTE) decreased by three percentage points from 2019 (17%) to 2020 (14%).
The proportion of classroom teachers teaching at the primary learner level decreased by 12 percentage points from 2018 (47%) to 2019 (35%) but remained stable between 2019 and 2020 (35%). This was partly off-set by a 7 percentage point increase in classroom teachers teaching learners at both primary and early childhood learner levels.
Classroom teachers were more likely to be fully registered in 2020 than in 2018 (+4 percentage points; 2018: 86%; 2020: 90%).
The proportion of decreased 6 percentage points from 2019 (21%) to 2020 (16%), and fewer had been registered for less than 5 years with their current regulatory authority (2019: 23%; 2020: 19%).

Middle Leaders

In 2020, exhibited the following characteristics:

Almost half were over 50 years of age (48%), with 16% aged 60–68 years, and 2% over retirement age.
Typically employed under ongoing/permanent arrangements (91%), with 73% contracted to work full-time.
16% were born overseas.
Almost all held full registration (98%) and had been registered for at least 10 years with their current regulatory authority (78%).
87% engaged in teaching, with most teaching learners who were exclusively at the secondary level (66%), or primary level (19%); while 9% of middle leaders taught early childhood learners, typically as well as primary learner level.
Were experienced, with just 15% having joined the teahing profession less than 10 years ago.

From 2018 to 2020, trends and changes over time in the characteristics of middle leaders may be particularly influenced by the different arrangements and expectations in each new state and territory which began participating in the ATWD Teacher Survey.

The following trends were observed in the characteristics of :

From 2018 to 2020, more middle leaders were employed under an ongoing/permanent arrangement (+4 percentage points). However, fewer were employed full-time (-4 percentage points).
The presence of middle leaders in positions without face-to-face teaching responsibilities has increased steadily: four percentage points from 2018 (4%) to 2019 (8%), and another four percentage points in 2020 (12%).
Between 2018 and 2020, middle leaders who had been registered for more than 10 years increased 6 percentage points (2018: 72%; 2020: 78%), while those registered for less than 10 years decreased 5 percentage points (2018: 27%; 2020: 22%).

Senior Leaders

In 2020, exhibited the following characteristics:

Two in three were over 50 years of age (60%), with 20% aged 60–68 years, with 2% over retirement age.
More than one-in-ten (12%) were born overseas.
Were typically employed under ongoing/permanent arrangements (84%), with 76% contracted to work full-time.
Almost all held full registration (98%) and had been registered for at least 10 years with their current regualtory authority (89%).
46% engaged in face-to-face teaching, while 54% were in a leadership only position. For those engaged in face-to-face teaching, they most commonly taught learners who were exclusively at the primary (40%) or secondary level (32%). One in five (21%) of senior leaders taught early childhood learners, typically as well as the primary learner level.
Most likely to have been a leader for 10 years or more (35%), compared to 6 to 9 years (20%), 3 to 5 years (27%), or 1 to 2 years (18%).
Very experienced, with 95% having joined the teaching profession at least 10 years ago. In terms of leadership experience, 35% had been in an equivalent position for more than 10 years.

The following trends and were observed in the characteristics of :

From 2018 to 2020, more senior leaders were employed under an ongoing/permanent arrangement (+6 percentage points), but fewer reported that they were employed full-time (-8 percentage points).
The proportion of women in senior leadership roles decreased 2 percentage points from 2018 (71%) to 2020 (69%).
From 2018 to 2020, there was an increase in the proportion of senior leaders who had been in a similar role for 10 years or more (2018: 31%; 2020: 35%). In contrast, the proportion of senior leaders who had been leading for 1 to 2 years decreased by seven percentage points (2018: 25%; 2020: 18%).
The presence of senior leaders in leadership-only positions underwent a large change in 2020, from 31% in 2019 to 54% in 2020. This may reflect changes in how teaching load was allocated across positions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite a smaller proportion of leaders engaged in teaching, the reductions were evenly distributed across all learner levels, with no changes from 2019 to 2020 among senior leaders.

Casual/relief teachers

In 2020, (CRTs) exhibited the following characteristics:

Almost half were over the age of 60 (49%), with 31% having started in the profession over 40 years ago. Only 14% were early career teachers.
Typically undertaking paid work equivalent to less than 4 days per week (0.79 FTE or less; 87%). Just 9% were working the equivalent hours of a full-time position (0.95-1.00 FTE) under their casual arrangement.
One-quarter (25%) were born overseas.
Most commonly taugh learners across both early childhood and primary levels (34%), followed by exclusively secondary learner levels (33%).
Typically held full registeration(76%).

The following trends and were observed in the characteristics of casual/relief teachers (CRTs):

Between 2018 and 2020, CRTs who had been registered with their current regulatory authority for 10 years or more increased (+14%, 2018: 50%; 2020: 64%), while those who had been registered for less than 5 years decreased (-11%, 2018: 34%; 2020: 23%).
The proportion of among CRTs decreased 9 percentage points from 2018 (23%) to 2020 (14%), while the proportion of those who joined the profession over 40 years prior increased 11 percentage points from 2018 (20%) to 2020 (31%) over the same period.
More likely to be fully registered in 2020 than in 2018 (+9 percentage points; 2018: 67%; 2020: 76%).

School characteristics, by position (school)

This tile shows the characteristics of the schools where the ATWD Teacher Survey respondents work. This data is reported for those deployed in schools separately based on their position. These school characteristics are drawn from those published by ACARA. The school characteristics available are school remoteness, school sector, and school type.

When examining the data, the counts increase from year to year due to growing numbers of participants who participated in the ATWD Teacher Survey. The percentage should be used to understand change over time, with counts only being compared within the same year.

When comparing data across years, a change in the percentage of registered teachers with a characteristic could reflect a change in the composition of the national workforce. However, it might also reflect a new state or territory has joined the ATWD with a dramatically different composition. A change in percentage from year-to-year is more likely to reflect a change in the national trend when it is present in more jurisdictions, and when the newly joined jurisdictions have a similar percentage to the continuing jurisdictions. Cross-year trends that are described refers to the participating states and territories in the survey for each of those years.

In 2018, the ATWD included teacher survey responses from NSW, SA and NT. In 2019, VIC and QLD joined the ATWD Teacher Survey. In 2020, all remaining states and territories joined (WA, TAS and ACT), providing national coverage.

Everyone in the and deployed in a school was asked about the school they work in or had worked in most recently. Responses were sought through a drill-down menu which first required the selection of the school’s state, the school’s suburb, and finally the name of the school. If a teacher could not find their school in the list an open text box was provided.

The drill-down menu was populated with schools from ACARA’s records. When a teacher responded using the open text box it was not always possible to identify a clear match.

The percentage of school characteristics are calculated using only data from those with a school which could be conclusively identified, it does not include the teacher workforce who are not in schools, the non-teacher workforce, or those in schools but where the specific school could not be conclusively identified.

School remoteness

- 64% worked in major cities, 23% in inner regional, 11% in outer regional and 2% in remote and very remote schools.

- 66% worked in major cities, 20% in inner regional, 12% in outer regional and 2% in remote and very remote schools.

- 68% worked in major cities, 19% in inner regional, 11% in outer regional and 2% in remote and very remote schools.

- 61% worked in major cities, 21% in inner regional, 13% in outer regional and 5% in remote and very remote schools.

Overall, the teacher workforce saw small shifts in the distribution of school remoteness from 2018 to 2020, with the majority of all positions working in major cities and the minority in remote and very remote schools.

There was a small increase in the proportion working in inner and outer regional areas of +2 to +4 percentage points: classroom teachers (2018: 28%; 2020: 32%) and middle leaders (2018: 26%; 2020: 30%), senior leaders (2018: 32%; 2020:34%), casual/relief teachers (2018: 30%; 2020: 33%).

There was a smaller decline in the proportion working in remote and very remote areas across all positions (-2 percentage points): classroom teachers (2018: 4%; 2020: 2%), middle leaders (2018: 4%; 2020: 2%), senior leaders (2018: 7%; 2020: 5%), casual/relief teachers (2018: 4%; 2020: 2%).

School sector

were more likely to be employed in government schools (70%) than in Catholic schools (15%) or independent school sector (15%).

were more likely to work in government schools (53%) than in independent schools (25%) or Catholic schools (21%). Working at independent and Catholic schools was more common among middle leaders than other positions.

were more likely to work in the government schools (73%) than in the Catholic (16%) and independent school sector (11%).

were more likely to be employed in government schools (70%) than in Catholic schools (17%) or independent schools (13%).

Most schools in Australia are government schools. Consistent with this, in 2020, all positions were most commonly found in government schools, with more than seven-in-ten (73%), (70%) and (CRTs) (70%), and slightly over half (54%) of were working in government schools.

Independent schools in 2020 were the least common school sector for all positions except middle leaders (CRTs: 13%; classroom teachers: 15%; senior leaders: 11%), whereas there were 4 percentage points more middle leaders in independent schools (25%) than Catholic schools (21%).

The proportions of each position in each sector were relatively stable from 2019 to 2020.

School type

In 2020, the most common school type for all positions except middle leaders were primary schools - casual/relief teachers (CRTs) (48%), classroom teachers (43%) and senior leaders (56%). Middle leaders were predominantly employed in secondary schools (primary schools: 23%; secondary schools: 44%).

In 2020, a greater percentage of (6%) than those in other positions worked in special schools (: 3%; : 3%; : 2%).

Less than half (43%) of worked in primary schools, 33% in secondary schools, 21% in combined schools, and 3% in special schools.

Less than half (44%) of worked in secondary schools, 31% in combined schools, 23% in primary schools and 2% in special schools.

Over half (56%) of worked in primary schools, 22% in secondary schools, 16% in combined schools. A greater proportion of senior leaders (6%) than those in other positions (2-3%) worked in special schools.

Around half (48%) of had most recently worked in primary schools, 31% in secondary schools, 18% in , and 3% in special schools.

From 2018 to 2019, the proportion of middle leaders working in combined schools decreased by 10 percentage points (2018: 39%; 2019: 29%), but then slightly increased by 2 percentage points in 2020 (31%).

An increase was observed in the proportion of classroom teachers working in secondary schools from 2018 (39%) to 2019 (44%) which continued through 2020 (44%). A similar pattern of increase then stability was observed across CRTs (2018: 27%; 2019: 30%; 2020: 31%) and middle leaders (2018: 39%; 2019: 44%; 2020: 44%). This may reflect a different composition of positions across the states and territories which first started participating in 2019, compared to those which first started participating in 2018..

Working hours, by position (school)

The teacher workforce were asked about the time they spent working during a ‘typical working week’. This self-report data has previously been validated (see Technical Report) and the pattern of working more hours than contracted is present across the workforce in all states and territories.

In the first ATWD Teacher Workforce Characteristics Report, the ratio of working hours to contracted hours was calculated using the mean and based on full-time hours of 40 hours per week. All subsequent reporting has adopted 38 hours per week for full-time working hours to ensure consistency over all versions of the survey and all states and territories.

There are two methods used in the ATWD for calculating the ratio of hours worked to contracted hours. For those working full-time these lead to the same result. Each method is appropriate to use at different times. A simple average is used when each band of contracted part-time hours is large enough to be reported individually (average of individuals: worked divided by paid hours). When the bands of part-time hours are reported in a combined manner the calculation is done at the workforce level: the data is weighted in accordance with each teacher’s contribution to total workforce FTE (sum of worked FTE divided by sum of paid FTE). The weighted methodology is used in this tile.

In 2020, of working in schools, 58% were employed . Those working full-time reported working 145% of their paid working hours (mean: 55 hours). teachers were contracted to work on average for 27 hours (mean: 0.72 FTE) and reported working 152% of their paid hours (mean: 41 hours).

From 2018 to 2020, it can be observed that working part-time consistently meant working more as a proportion of paid hours (2018: 149%; 2020: 152%), when compared to full-time teachers (2018: 147%; 2020: 145%), and that the gap has widened since 2018 (2018: 2 percentage points; 2020: 7 percentage points).

In 2020, employed on a basis in schools reported working 149% of their paid working hours (mean: 57 hours).

Only full-time data can be reported for middle leaders at present.

In 2020, employed on a basis in schools reported working 157% of their paid working hours (mean: 60 hours).

Only full-time data can be reported for senior leaders at present.

In 2020, of (CRTs) working in schools 9% were . Those working full-time reported working 121% of their paid working hours (mean: 46 hours). CRTs were on average contracted to work for 16 hours per week (mean:0.42 FTE) and reported working 125% of their paid hours (mean: 20 hours).

Career intentions, by position (school)

This tile examines data on the attrition intentions for the teacher workforce deployed in schools by type of position. The teacher workforce was asked about their attrition intentions, and those who reported that they intended to leave the profession before retirement were then asked how long they intended to remain working in the profession.

Some individuals may leave a profession prior to retirement. Understanding the intentions of teachers to stay in teaching until retirement provides important insights into how teachers view the long-term sustainability of their own personal teaching career.

Future ATWD reporting will be able to report on attrition in addition to attrition intentions. These future analyses will be able to identify attrition from the workforce while ruling out transitions between states/territories and between sectors. It is important to acknowledge that intentions may not equate to behaviour. Not all who intend to leave the profession before retirement will do so, and some who do not intend to leave nevertheless do. However, understanding the proportion of teachers and leaders intending to leave the profession or the number of years they intend to remain will help predict changes in the future size of the teacher workforce.

Classroom teachers

In 2020, were more likely to indicate that they intended to stay until retirement (45%) than leave before retirement (22%). Another 33% were unsure about whether they would continue to work until retirement.

The proportion of teachers intending to leave before retirement has fallen by five percentage points from 2019 (27%) to 2020 (22%), while the proportion of those intending to stay in the profession has increased by seven percentage points (2019: 38%; 2020: 45%).

The proportion of who intended to leave the profession before retirement who planned to continue in the profession for 10 years or more were 3 percentage points higher in 2020 than in 2018. This trend was not linear, with a three percentage point decrease from 2018 (20%) to 2019 (17%), followed by an increase of six percentage points the following year (2020: 23%).

Around one-in-four teachers who intended to leave before retirement were unsure of how long they would continue in the profession, with this being relatively stable over time (2018: 24%; 2020: 26%).

In 2020, the proportion of classroom teachers intending to remain in teaching for less than 10 years was 51%.

Middle Leaders

In 2020, were more likely to continue in the profession until retirement (47%) than leave before retirement (21%), while 33% were unsure of their intentions.

The proportion of middle leaders intending to leave before retirement decreased by five percentage points from 2019 (26%) to 2020 (21%).

In 2020, one-in-four (27%) who intended to leave the profession before retirement planned to continue working for at least another 10 years, with more than half (57%) of middle leaders intending to continue working for five or more years.

Between 2019 and 2020, the proportion of middle leaders intending to leave the workforce within ten years declined by eight percentage points (2019: 59%; 2020:52%), while those intending to stay more than 10 years saw a comparable increase (2019: 20%; 2020:27%).

Senior Leaders

In 2020, more than half (57%) of intended to remain in the profession until retirement, while 28% were unsure about their intentions.

There has been a steady year-on-year decline in the proportion of senior leaders intending to leave before retirement, with a four percentage point decrease from 2018 (23%) to 2019 (19%) and another four percentage points in 2020 (15%).

One-in-three (32%) intended to continue working in schools for 10 years or more in 2020, while another 26% intended to remain in the profession for 5 to 9 years.

The proportion of senior leaders who intended to continue working in the profession for 10 years was relatively stable from 2018 (25%) to 2019 (23%) but then increased by nine percentage points from 2019 to 2020 (32%).

Those intending to stop working within one year decreased by two percentage points from 2019 (10%) to 2020 (7%).

Casual/Relief Teachers (CRTs)

The proportion of (CRTs) intending to leave before retirement has fallen eight percentage points from 2018 (25%) to 2020 (16%).

In 2020, half (51%) of CRTs intended to stay in the profession until retirement (+10 percentage points; 2018: 40%; 2020: 51%). Another 33% were unsure about whether they would continue until retirement.

In 2020, the proportion of who intended to leave the profession before retirement and stop working in one year or less decreased five percentage points from 2019 (17%) to 2020 (11%).

CRTs who intended to leave the workforce were not intending to say in the workforce longer in 2020 than in 2019, but rather had become more uncertain about how long they intended to remains. In 2019, 28% of CRTs were unsure how long they would continue in the profession, this increased 9 percentage points to 37%.

Comparisons across positions

In 2020, were the most likely to intend to stay until retirement (57%), followed by (51%), (47%), and (45%).

Among those intending to leave the profession before retirement in 2020, planning to remain for 10 years or more was related to the seniority and stability of position:

– 32%
– 27%
– 23%
– 17%

Reasons for intending to leave, by position (school)

This tile presents the categories of reasons for leaving provided those in the teacher workforce who were deployed in schools, separately for each type of position.

Respondents who were part of the were only asked about the reasons affecting their intention to leave if they indicated that they planned to leave the profession before retirement. Multiple reasons could be selected. These reasons were then grouped into (see Technical Report).

When examining the data, the counts increase from year to year due to growing numbers of participants who participated in the ATWD Teacher Survey. The percentage should be used to understand change over time, with counts only being compared within the same year.

When comparing data across years, a change in the percentage of registered teachers with a characteristic could reflect a change in the composition of the national workforce. However, it might also reflect a new state or territory has joined the ATWD with a dramatically different composition. A change in percentage from year-to-year is more likely to reflect a change in the national trend when it is present in more jurisdictions, and when the newly joined jurisdictions have a similar percentage to the continuing jurisdictions. Cross-year trends that are described refers to the participating states and territories in the survey for each of those years.

In 2018, the ATWD Teacher Survey was participated in by NSW, SA and NT. In 2019, VIC and QLD joined the ATWD Teacher Survey. In 2020, all remaining states and territories joined (WA, TAS and ACT), providing national coverage.

The reason items in each category of reasons to leave are provided below. For a respondent to be represented within a category, they were required to have selected at least one reason from within the category.

The process used to derive the categories of reasons is explained in the Technical Report for the ATWD Teacher Workforce Characteristics Report.

Workload and coping: The workload is too heavy; I am finding it too stressful/it is impacting my wellbeing or mental health; To achieve a better work/life balance.

Recognition and reward: Changes imposed on schools from outside (e.g. by government); Insufficient pay; Dissatisfaction with performance appraisal processes; The poor public image of the profession.

Classroom factors: Insufficient support staff; Class sizes too large; I’m facing challenges with student behaviour management.

School culture: I am not enjoying working in schools; Unsatisfactory relationships with other staff; Insufficient professional recognition within the school.

Professional regulation: The demands of professional regulation (e.g. professional learning, practice, etc.) are too heavy.

Not suited to teaching: To seek employment outside of education; I never intended teaching to be a long-term career; I have found that I am not suited to working in schools.

Break from teaching: To seek employment elsewhere in education; Parental/family reasons.

Key findings include:

Across all positions, for those who intended to leave the profession before retirement workload and coping was the most frequent category of reason provided: (88%), (87%), (87%) and (CRTs) (72%).
Recognition and reward was the second most common category of reasons for intending to leave the profession for all positions: (65%), middle leaders (66%), senior leaders (63%) and CRTs (52%).
In 2020, the third most frequently selected category of reasons varied across positions. For classroom teachers and CRTs this was classroom factors (classroom teachers: 55%; CRTs: 49%), school culture and classroom factors for middle leaders (42%), and the single-item category 'the demands of professional regulation (e.g. professional learning, practice, etc.) are too heavy" for senior leaders (36%).

Between 2018 and 2020, workload and coping was the most frequently selected category of reason by who intended to leave the profession before retirement (2018: 89%; 2020: 88%).

In 2020, almost two-thirds (65%) of classroom teachers cited that one of their reasons for intending to leave the profession was due to a lack of recognition and reward. Although this has remained the second most indicated reason since 2018 (70%), in 2020 it was selected five percentage points less often.

From 2019 to 2020, classroom factors, the third most cited reason by classroom teachers was selected by five percentage points fewer teachers(2019: 60%; 2020: 55%).

The proportion of classroom teachers intending to leave due to the heavy demands of professional regulation has steadily declined from 2018 (55%) to 2020 (41%).

Between 2018 and 2020, workload and coping was the most frequently selected category of reason who intended to leave the profession before retirement (2018: 87%; 2020: 87%).

The second most common type of reasons selected by middle leaders has consistently been recognition and reward from 2018 (66%) to 2020 (66%). The proportion who selected this reason increased slightly in 2019 (71%) and then decreased by five percentage points in 2020, back to 2018 levels.

From 2019 to 2020, classroom factors, the third most cited reason for intending to leave dropped by five percentage points (2019: 47%; 2020: 42%) and was selected as often as school culture reasons in 2020 (42%).

The proportion of middle leaders intending to leave due to the demands of professional regulation has steadily declined from 2018 (49%) to 2020 (35%).

Between 2018 and 2020, workload and coping was the most frequently selected category of reason who intended to leave the profession before retirement (2018: 88%; 2020: 87%).

In 2020, almost two-thirds (63%) of senior leaders intended to leave due to a lack of recognition and reward. Although this remained the second most indicated reason from 2018 to 2020, it has reduced in frequency since 2018 (69%) and 2019 (70%).

Between 2018 and 2020, the proportion of senior leaders planning to leave due to the demands of professional regulation has steadily declined (2018: 45%; 2020: 36%). This was the third most cited category of reasons by senior leaders in 2020, while all other roles indicated classroom factors instead.

From 2019 to 2020, the proportion of senior leaders who cited classroom factors as a reason for intending to leave decreased by seven percentage points (2019: 40%; 2020: 33%), going from the third most selected reason in 2019 to the fifth in 2020. This decrease coincides with a reduction in senior leaders who have teaching responsibilities from 69% in 2019 to 46% in 2020.

Between 2018 and 2020, workload and coping was the most frequently selected category of reason by who intended to leave the profession before retirement (2018: 76%; 2020: 72%). Despite being the top reason for CRTs intending to leave the profession, it was selected less frequently than by those in other roles in 2020 (middle and senior leaders: 87%; teachers: 88%).

In 2020, more than half (52%) of CRTs indicated that one factor underpinning their intention to leave was a lack of recognition and reward. Although this remained the second most indicated reason for intending to leave, the frequency with which it was selected had fallen since 2019 (61%).

From 2019 to 2020, classroom factors, the third most selected type of reason by CRTs was selected nine percentage points less often (2019: 58%; 2020: 49%).

The proportion of CRTs intending to leave due to the demands of professional regulation has steadily decreased from 2018 (50%) to 2020 (38%).

Survey respondent characteristics, by country of ITE

Registered teachers and leaders who participated in the ATWD Teacher Survey provided information about where they are deployed. Those deployed in a school or early childhood setting (the ) were then asked about their roles and their contractual arrangements.

The following outcomes are included in this chart, for those with an Australian or overseas ITE qualification:

When examining the data, the counts increase from year to year due to growing numbers of participants who participated in the ATWD Teacher Survey. The percentage should be used to understand change over time, with counts only being compared within the same year.

When comparing data across years, a change in the percentage of registered teachers with a characteristic could reflect a change in the composition of the national workforce. However, it might also reflect the fact that a new state or territory with a different workforce composition has joined the ATWD Teacher Survey. A change in percentage from year-to-year is more likely to reflect a change in the national trend when it is present in more jurisdictions, and when the newly joined jurisdictions have a similar percentage to the continuing jurisdictions. Cross-year trends that are described refer to the participating states and territories in the survey for each of those years.

In 2018, the ATWD Teacher Survey was participated in by NSW, SA and NT. In 2019, VIC and QLD joined the ATWD Teacher Survey. In 2020, all remaining states and territories joined (WA, TAS and ACT), providing national coverage.

In 2020, more than half (60%) of with an overseas were over the age of 50 years old, an increase of 11 percentage points from 2018 (49%).

For those with an overseas ITE qualification, the proportion aged under 40 was stable (2018: 16%; 2020: 14%), while for those with an Australian ITE qualification there was a 9 percentage point decrease in this age group (2018: 33% 2020: 24%).

In 2020, the majority of with an overseas were born overseas (96%), compared to 15% of teachers with an Australian ITE qualification were born overseas.

In 2020, over half (59%) of who had completed their overseas were employed under an arrangement, which was similar to the 61% with Australian ITE qualifications. Due to the sample size, in this tile fixed-term and casual employment contracts are combined, even though these are distinct groups.

Between 2018 and 2020, there was a 5 percentage increase in the proportion of teachers with overseas ITE qualifications were employed under permanent and ongoing arrangements(2018: 55%; 2020: 59%).

In 2020, almost two-thirds (63%) of with an overseas were employed full-time (0.95 to 1.00 FTE). 11% were employed part-time for four days a week (FTE of 0.80 to 0.94), while 26% were employed for less than four days a week (FTE of less than 0.79).

In 2020, more than three-quarters (78%) of with an overseas were deployed in schools while only 6% were deployed in an (ELC). A further 2% were on an extended leave of absence from a school of ELC, and 10% were not working in a school or ELC.

Teachers with an overseas ITE qualifications deployed in schools varied over time, decreasing by 8 percentage points from 2018 (81%) to 2019 (73%) and then increasing by 5 percentage points in 2020 (78%). In contrast, the proportion of teachers with an Australian ITE qualification deployed in schools has remained relatively stable since 2018 (86%) with a slight drop from 2019 to 2020 (-3 percentage points, 2019: 88%; 2020: 85%). These differences are likely to reflect the smaller size of the overseas ITE qualification group, and new states commencing participation in the ATWD Teacher Survey.

Since 2018, more than three quarters of teachers with an overseas ITE qualification have been women (2018: 76%; 2020: 76%), and this is comparable to data for those with Australian ITE (2020: 17%).

In 2020, half (50%) of the with an overseas taught at the secondary learner level, followed by the primary learner level (29%), both the early childhood and primary learner levels (12%), early childhood learner level (9%), or the secondary learner level as well as primary or early childhood learner level (6%).

In 2020, 60% of the with an overseas were accounted for 20%, (14%), and (6%).

From 2018 and 2020, the proportion of teachers with an overseas ITE qualification that held classroom teaching positions increased by 6 percentage points (2018: 54%; 2020 60%) while the proportion of senior leaders decreased by 6 percentage points over the same period (2018: 12%; 2020: 6%).

In 2020, teachers with an overseas ITE qualification were less likely to hold senior leadership positions (6%) than teachers with an Australian ITE qualification (10%).

From 2018 to 2020, the proportion of overseas qualifed teachers who had been registered with their current regulatory authority for more than 10 years increased by 9 percentage points (2018: 49%; 2020: 58%), while those registered for less than 5 years remained stable (2018: 24%; 2020: 22%).

In contrast, the proportion of teachers with an Australian ITE qualification with less than 5 years of registration with their current regulatory authority steadily decreased from 2018 (22%) to 2020 (17%).

From 2018 to 2020, an increasing proportion of teachers with an overseas were fully registered (2018: 82%; 2020; 85%).

In 2020, teachers with an overseas ITE qualification were more likely to have a provisional registration (14%) than a teacher with an Australian ITE qualification (10%).

In 2020, over two-thirds (69%) of the teacher workforce with an overseas had started working in the teaching profession at least 20 years ago (20-29 years: 30%; 30-39 years: 23%; 40+ years: 16%). Some of this experience will be in Australian schools, and some will also have experience in schools overseas.

In contrast, only slightly more than half (51%) of those with an Australian ITE qualification had a similar length of years since commencing in the profession (20-29 years: 20%; 30-39 years: 30%; 40+ years: 11%).

The proportion of early career teachers (1-5 years experience) among those with an overseas ITE qualification has decreased by 3 percentage points since 2018 (2018: 5% ; 2020: 2%).

School characteristics, by country of ITE

This tile shows the characteristics of the schools where the ATWD Teacher Survey respondents work. This data is reported for the teacher workforce separately based on whether the teacher obtained an overseas or Australian . These school characteristics are drawn from those published by ACARA. The school characteristics available are school remoteness, school sector, and school type.

When examining the data, the counts increase from year to year due to growing numbers of participants who participated in the ATWD Teacher Survey. The percentage should be used to understand change over time, with counts only being compared within the same year.

When examining ‘all participating’ state and territory data across years, a change in the percentage of registered teachers with a characteristic could reflect a change in the composition of the national workforce. However, it might also reflect a new state and territory contributing to the ATWD Teacher Survey that year, that might shift the picture of the national teaching workforce if that state or territory has a dramatically different workforce composition. A change in percentage from year-to-year is more likely to reflect a change in the national trend when it is present in more jurisdictions, and when the newly joined jurisdictions have a similar percentage to the continuing jurisdictions. Cross-year trends that are described refers to the participating states and territories in the survey for each of those years.

In 2018, the ATWD included teacher survey responses from NSW, SA and NT. In 2019 VIC and QLD were added to this. In 2020 the remaining states and territories were added (WA, TAS and ACT) allowing the ATWD to provide a truly national picture.

Everyone in the and deployed in a school was asked about the school they work in or had worked in most recently. Responses were sought through a drill-down menu which first required the selection of the school’s state, the school’s suburb, and finally the name of the school. If a teacher could not find their school in the list an open text box was provided.

The drill-down menu was populated with schools from ACARA’s records. When a teacher responded using the open text box it was not always possible to identify a clear match.

The percentage of school characteristics are calculated using only data from those with a school which could be conclusively identified, it does not include the teacher workforce who are not in schools, the non-teacher workforce, or those in schools but where the specific school could not be conclusively identified.

All teachers within the teacher workforce with limited registration or permission to teach are included within the count for teachers with an Australian ITE qualification.

School Remoteness

In 2020, three-quarters (77%) of the with an overseas worked in major cities which was 12 percentage points higher than among those with an Australian ITE qualification (2020: 65%). They were as less likely to be working in inner regional schools (11%) compared to teachers with an Australian ITE qualification (21%).

From 2018 to 2019, the proportion of teachers with an overseas ITE qualification employed in inner regional areas dropped by 4 percentage points (2018: 15%; 2019: 11%) and then stabilised in 2020 (11%).

School Sector

Most schools in Australia are government schools. Consistent with this, in 2020, respondents with both overseas (58%) and Australian (67%) ITE qualifications were both most likely to have been working in a government school. However, those with overseas ITE qualifications were less likely than those with Australian ITE qualifications to have been working in a government school in 2020 (-9 percentage points), and were more often working in independent schools (+13 percentage points; Australian ITE: 16%; Overseas ITE: 28%).

The with an overseas had stable proportions in each sector from 2018 to 2020. More than half were in government schools (2018: 57%; 2020: 58%), independent schools the next most frequent (2018: 29%; 2020: 28%).

School Type

In 2020, the proportion of the with an Australian working in primary schools (41%) was higher than those with an overseas ITE qualification (29%).

In contrast, respondents with an overseas ITE qualification (32%) were more likely to work in than teachers with an Australian qualification (22%). This is likely to reflect the fact that more combined schools are in the independent sector, where teachers with an overseas ITE qualification were also more likely to work. The same proportion of teachers with an Australian (34%) and an overseas ITE qualification (34%) worked in secondary schools.

Between 2018 to 2020, the proportion of teachers with an overseas ITE qualification working in secondary schools increased by five percentage points (2018: 29%; 2020: 34%), a similar trend was seen among teachers with an Australian ITE qualification (2018: 30%; 2020: 34%).

Career intentions, by country of ITE

This tile examines data on the attrition intentions for the teacher workforce by country of ITE qualifications. The teacher workforce was asked about their attrition intentions, and those who reported that they intended to leave the profession before retirement were then asked how long they intended to remain working in the profession.

Some individuals may leave a profession prior to retirement. Understanding the intentions of teachers to stay in teaching until retirement provides important insights into how teachers view the long-term sustainability of their own personal teaching career.

Future ATWD reporting will be able to report on attrition in addition to attrition intentions. These future analyses will be able to identify attrition from the workforce while ruling out transitions between states/territories and between sectors. It is important to acknowledge that intentions may not equate to behaviour. Not all who intend to leave the profession before retirement will do so, and some who do not intend to leave nevertheless do. However, understanding the proportion of teachers and leaders intending to leave the profession or the number of years they intend to remain will help predict changes in the future size of the teacher workforce.

In 2020, of the with an Australian , under half (46%) intended to continue working until retirement, and one-third (33%) were unsure. From 2018 to 2020, the percentage of teachers with an Australian ITE qualification who intended stay until retirement increased by 7 percentage points (2018: 39%; 2020: 46%). In contrast, those intending to leave prior to retirement decreased by 5 percentage points (2018: 26%; 2020: 21%).

In 2020, over half (55%) of the with an overseas intended to remain in the profession until retirement, while almost one-third (31%) were unsure if they would stay until retirement. From 2019 to 2020, there was a 14 percentage point increase in the proportion of teachers with overseas ITE qualifications who intended to stay until retirement (2019: 41%; 2020: 55%).

In 2020, one-quarter of the with an Australian (25%) who intended to leave the profession before retirement but continue working in schools were unsure of how many more years they intended to stay in teaching. Nearly one-in-four (24%) intended to continue teaching for 10 years or more, and almost half (46%) intended to remain in the profession for 5 years or less. Between 2018 and 2020, the proportion of teachers with an Australian ITE qualification who intended to stay in teaching for 10 years or more varied, decreasing by 4 percentage points from 2018 (22%) to 2019 (18%) and then increasing by 6 percentage points in 2020 (24%).

In 2020, nearly half the with an overseas , either intended to stay in the profession for 10 year or more (25%) or were unsure of the length of time they would remain (22%). The other half intended to remain in the profession for less than 10 years, with an equal proportion of teachers intending to stay for 2-4 years (19%) or 5 years (19%). From 2018 to 2020, the proportion of teachers with an overseas ITE qualification who intended to stay in teaching another 10 years or more increased by 9 percentage points (2018: 16%; 2020: 25%).

Reasons for intending to leave, by country of ITE

This tile presents the categories of reasons for leaving provided by respondents separately for those with an Australian ITE qualification and those with an overseas ITE qualification.