A new OECD report reveals that Australia’s education system is facing a diabolical staffing crisis**.** Since 2018, teacher shortages have soared leaving Australia among the worst-performing nations in the OECD.

The shortage is most acute in public schools, disadvantaged schools and regional town schools Despite the scale of the problem**,** progress in reducing it has been glacial. Governments have largely ignored the key causes of low teacher pay, high workloads, too much administrative work, lack of support and safety at work.

The OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey for 2024 found that 42% of Australian lower secondary teachers are teaching in schools with a shortage of qualified teachers. This is the sixth largest proportion of 30 OECD countries included in the survey. It is almost double the average of 23% reported for 27 OECD countries.

There was a dramatic increase in shortages since the previous TALIS survey in 2018. The percentage of lower secondary teachers teaching in schools with a shortage of qualified teaches has tripled from 14% in 2018 to 42% in 2024. The increase of 28 percentage points was the second biggest in the OECD. By contrast, several countries managed to reduce their shortage of teachers since 2018.

The shortage is just as dire for special education teachers. The survey found that 44% of lower secondary teachers are teaching in schools with a shortage of special education teachers. This is the eighth largest shortage in the OECD and much bigger than the average of 33% for 27 OECD countries.

The report found that the shortage of lower secondary teachers in public schools in Australia is the second highest in the OECD. Some 58% of teachers are teaching in public schools with a shortage of qualified teachers. These shortages are more than double the average of 25% for the OECD.

There is a huge gap in the shortage between public and private schools, with only 25% of lower secondary teachers working in private schools with a shortage of teachers. The gap of 33 percentage points between public and private schools is the largest in the OECD.

The shortage of teachers in disadvantaged schools is particularly dire. The survey found that 67% of lower secondary teachers working in disadvantaged schools are in schools with a shortage of qualified teachers. This is the equal highest percentage in the OECD. It is more than double the average for the OECD of 32%. Research shows that 91% of disadvantaged schools in Australia are public schools.

The survey also found that 63% of lower secondary teachers are working in regional town schools with a shortage of qualified teachers. This is the largest percentage in the OECD. It is more than double the average for the OECD of 25%. Norway has only 4% of teachers working in schools in regional towns with a shortage of teachers.

The shortage of teachers in city schools in Australia is the equal sixth largest in the OECD with 36.6% of lower secondary teachers working in schools with a shortage of qualified teachers. The shortage is much higher than the OECD average of 25%. Cities in Norway have no shortage of teachers.

The gap of 26 percentage points in the shortage of teachers between regional and city schools in Australia is the second largest in the OECD behind New Zealand. The average gap across OECD countries is only 0.5 of a percentage point.

The OECD report does not canvass the causes of shortages of teachers, but there is extensive research evidence showing that the main causes are low salaries relative to other professions, high workload, highly stressful working conditions and low professional status. For example, a recent international report published by Universities 21, an international network of leading research universities, found that shortages are being driven by low pay, excessive workloads, and a lack of professional recognition. A recent study published by Monash University highlighted lack of public respect for teachers, high workloads and administrative burdens and safety issues in schools.

After the long neglect of the teacher shortage by successive Coalition governments, education ministers agreed to a National Teacher Workforce Action Plan in December 2022 to reduce the shortage. The plan nominates five priorities: increasing teacher supply, strengthening teacher education, retaining teachers, elevating the profession and better understanding future teacher workforce issues.

The plan was heavily criticised for ignoring the root cause of the problem. Internationally renowned educator, Professor Pasi Sahlberg of the University of Melbourne, said the crisis was not a shortage of teachers issue but “ the lack of adequate compensation and support for existing teachers". An academic assessment of teacher workforce policy in Australia criticised it for concentrating on teacher recruitment instead of teachers’ workload and professional status as well as ignoring schools that were hard to staff.

The plan fails to directly or fully address key issues identified by research studies and teacher surveys. Much of it is about kicking the can down the road to avoid making the financial commitment to increase teacher salaries and reduce teacher workloads.

No priority is given to improving teacher salaries or increasing safety and well-being of teachers. Reducing teacher workload is largely hived off to pilot projects. Instead, it should be a simple matter for education departments to reduce the reporting and accountability demands on teachers and let them get on with teaching. Training and development appear to be limited to online courses teaching phonics and classroom management.

State and territory governments continue to resist claims by teacher unions for teachers to be paid at comparable rates to other professions. Workload and administrative tasks continue to be a major source of dispute by teachers as governments largely resist providing more administrative support in schools.

The NTWAP is not a plan to solve the massive teacher shortage in Australian but a plan to avoid dealing with the root causes of the shortage. Learning in public schools, disadvantaged schools and regional town schools will continue to be restricted by the lack of teachers. There is little prospect of making a dent in the large achievement gap between rich and poor.

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