Tuesday, 26 August 2025

Teacher workforce

Ann-Marie HERMANS (South-Eastern Metropolitan) (00:40): (1869) My adjournment is to the Minister for Education, and the action I seek is that the minister immediately address the teacher shortage plaguing our state. The 2023 Victorian teacher supply and demand report exposed the full extent of Victoria’s teacher shortage. The numbers do not lie. With approximately 1100 vacancies across Victoria – 73 vacancies across 14 schools in my electorate alone – it is affecting special schools, primary schools and secondary schools. It affects schools in my electorate – Dandenong, Narre Warren North, Mordialloc, Cranbourne, Frankston and Rowville. To combat this crisis, the inquiry into the state education system in Victoria recommended the development of a standalone teacher retention policy, but what has been the government’s response? Pointing to existing inadequate initiatives and promising to keep us updated on their progress. Business as usual simply is not good enough when more than one in four registered teachers are choosing not to work in the sector, when 50 per cent of teachers leave the profession within five years of graduation and when 40 per cent of staff are uncertain about remaining in our public schools.

Teachers are facing rising administrative burdens, increased independent education student plans and worsening student behaviour, and some lack career progression options. It is no wonder that so many teachers are experiencing burnout and throwing in the towel. Add to this low wages and increasing responsibilities. This shortfall is affecting our students’ learning, with a disrupted learning environment and a decrease in quality of education. Teacher absenteeism contributes to student absenteeism as some students feel there is no point in going to school since they are not getting the classroom support they need. Through my visits to Emerson, David Scott and Berry Street schools, I have seen firsthand how reduced staff-to-student ratios support students who are experiencing learning difficulties. It fills me with dread to think how some of our special schools and their students will fare if this teacher shortfall is not addressed, and I cannot even begin to say how many people need behavioural schools added in this state.

One of the submissions provided to the inquiry came from the Centre for Independent Studies, which recommended streamlining the teacher registration process; developing a series of professional learning modules for early career teachers that build on the foundations of initial teacher registration and align this with accreditation; and ensuring more minimum professional development hours for priority areas, including classroom and behavioural management, pedagogy, curriculum assessment and professional behaviours. I commend the positive impact of simple, explicit instruction learning methods in schools like they have in Bentleigh West Primary. I call on the Allan Labor government to consider proposals like these rather than leaving our children to bear the brunt of their failures. With so many former teachers as MPs in our coalition, the Liberal–Nationals will back our educators by driving down the administrative burdens on teachers, pushing for explicit instruction and improving student learning and behaviour.