According to the Department of Jobs and Small Business (2018-2023), Australia is facing a critical shortage of early childhood and secondary school teachers. The valuable education sector has also recently been indexed as one of the top three growing industries in Australia. Moreover, there is a huge demand for qualified teachers to work in the regional area in Australia. There has never been a better time to start your pathway into teaching, a rewarding salary and perhaps a pathway into an Australian PR pathway.

There are three pathways to a career in teaching and these include Early Childhood education and Secondary education. The main difference between these sectors are the age group of students and resulting PR pathways which will be explained below.

Once you have completed either a 4-year Bachelor of Education or 2 years of a Master of Teaching, you will be eligible to apply for the 485 visa (Post Graduate Work stream). While you hold a 485 visa (Graduate work), you will have time to prepare to apply for a Permanent Resident visa. In addition, you will need an IELTS minimum of 7.0 for reading and writing and an 8.0 for speaking and listening in order to pass the skills assessment. There are several visa options under Education that can lead to Permanent residency in Australia.

The visa options for PR pathway are as follows:

• 186 – Employer Nomination Scheme visa (subclass 186)

• 187 – Regional Sponsor Migration Scheme (subclass 187)

• 189 – Skilled Independent (subclass 189) – Points Tested

• 190 – Skilled Nominated (subclass 190)

• 407 – Training visa (subclass 407)

• 482 – Temporary Skilled Shortage (subclass 482) – Medium Term Stream

• 489 – Skilled Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 489) – Family sponsored

• 489 – Skilled Regional (Provisional) visa (subclass 489) – State or Territory nominated

• 491 – Skilled Work Regional (provisional) visa (subclass 491) – State or Territory nominated

• 491 – Skilled Work Regional (provisional) visa (subclass 491) – Family Sponsored

• 494 – Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (provisional) (subclass 494) – Employer sponsored stream

A minimum of 65 points under the Skilled Migration Points Test is required in 189, 190 and 491 visa subclasses. Moreover, the 186, 482 and 494 visa subclasses are not points test based however you would need to have a sponsor and are usually required to have at least 2-3 years of experience in the related occupation.

Education courses in Australia are highly ranked on the global scale. There are 7 Australian universities currently ranked in the Top 50 best Universities for Education courses worldwide. Moreover, there are more and more job openings for qualified teachers in the near future according to the ABS Labour Force Survey. The research has also indicated the employment of teachers in Australia will grow rapidly in the next 10 years.

In order to prove the statement above, the Australian Government’s Job Outlook (December 2019) stated that the number of early childhood teachers required in early childhood education and care services is estimated to increase 22% between 2018 to 2023. Moreover, the average salary of an Early Childhood Teacher is estimated as AUD $67,000 per year according to Glassdoor (2021). Meanwhile, the average salary for a high school teacher is expected to be AUD $87,714 per year according to Indeed (2021).

The Early Childhood (Pre-primary School) teachers and Secondary School teachers are both listed on the occupation ceilings list in the 2020-2021 program year, which indicates international students who study education can depend on these two occupations to gain PR pathway.

There will be four study options for you to study Teaching in Australia.

• Option 1: Bachelor’s degree = Total 4 years

• Option 2: Foundation (1 year) + Bachelor (4 years) = Total 5 years

• Option 3: Diploma (2 years) + Bachelor (3 years) = Total 5 years

• Option 4: Master’s degree = Total 2 years

In order to get into one of the programs, you will need to meet both academic and English entry requirements.

The Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care needs an Academic IELTS of 5.5 (no band less than 5.0) and a successful Year 12 completion.

The Bachelor of Education needs an Academic IELTS between 6.5-7.5 with specific requirements for each skill. The academic entry requirements are – successful completion of high school or foundation.

The Master of Teaching or Education requires an Academic IELTS ranging from 7.5 (Speaking and Listening bands IELTS 8.0) with specific requirements for each skill. The entry requirement is a Bachelor degree with any major.

Requirements:

Educational:

• Study 4 years full-time (or part-time equivalent) higher education (University) level study in Australia that results in a formal qualification.

Professional:

• An initial teacher Education qualification relevant to the early childhood (pre-primary school) teacher occupation of at least one-year full-time study (or part time equivalent) at the higher education (university) level. The qualification must include a minimum of 45 days of supervised teaching practice with students across the ages of birth to 8 years in education programs prior to and in the early years of primary school.
• English language requirement: IELTS overall 7.5
• IELTS Academic of Reading and Writing: 7.0 and Speaking and Listening: 8.0

OR

• Completed 4 full-years of higher education in AU, Canada, Ireland, UK or USA

NOTES:

• The AITSL skill assessment is a separate procedure from teacher registration in the state/territory you intend to teach in.
• Applicant does not need to be registered as a teacher in Australia before applying for a Skills Assessment.
• Registration, accreditation or licensing with an Australian teacher regulatory authority or ACECQA does not guarantee a positive outcome for AITSL Skills assessment