New data shows another big jump in the number of people studying to become a school teacher.
Applications to study undergraduate teaching in 2026 have jumped 6.5 per cent and domestic undergraduate university offers have jumped 6.3 per cent.
The increase in offers will mean another strong year for people starting a teaching degree after last year the number of domestic students starting a teaching degree jumped 9 per cent. The year before that it jumped 10 per cent.
This is good news. Teaching is the most important job in the world and we need more of them.
When we were elected the number of people studying teaching was going down. Now it's going up.
This is a team effort. The Australian government and state and territory governments working together.
That includes pay rises for teachers and reducing teacher workload. It also included Commonwealth Teacher Scholarships worth up to $40,000 and the introduction of paid prac to provide financial support for teaching students.
This year the biggest reforms to teacher training in a generation also kick off. This includes changes to the core content of what students are taught to better prepare them to tach children to read and write and count, and give them the skills they need to manage classroom behaviour.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Education Jason Clare:
"Being a teacher is the most important job in the world, and we don't have enough of them.
"We're now starting to see this turn around.
"I want more young people to leap out of high school and want to become a teacher, rather than a lawyer or a banker.
"That's why we are tackling the teacher workforce shortage with teaching scholarships, reforms to teacher training and paid prac for teaching students."
Source: Higher Education Statistics Collection- Student data, Department of Education
Notes:
1. Preliminary 2025 data are subject to change. Final data are expected to be available in the third quarter of 2026.
2. Preliminary data include all commencements with census dates up to and including 31 December 2025 and reported by higher education providers by 14 January 2026.
3. A domestic student is a student who is an Australian citizen, New Zealand citizen, permanent humanitarian visa holder or other permanent visa holders.
