Subsidised and supported rural teaching placements for pre-service teachers
Contribute to a local Victorian community while you develop skills and confidence in the classroom.
Placements at rural, regional, and specialist schools are invaluable experiences for pre-service teachers.
They allow you to build relationships with potential employers and add something extra to your teaching qualifications.
They could also be the first step towards a rewarding career and life in rural or regional Victoria.
Pre-service teacher (PST) Placement Grant (PPG) program
You may be eligible for a per-day grant to complete your PST placement.
To be eligible, you must complete your PST placement:
- in a regional, remote or specialist Victorian government school
- between 1 July 2023 and 31 December 2025.
This includes international students and PSTs already based in a regional or remote location.
The daily rate will depend on the location of the eligible host school and will be paid directly to the PSTs.
Further information about the grants.
Program options and participating partners
Teach Rural
The Teach Rural program supports student teachers in placements at rural and regional Victorian government schools.
As part of the program, you’ll get:
- a placement organised and coordinated by Country Education Partnership
- fully subsidised and organised accommodation
- tailored welcome packs with information on the schools and community
- a welcome event and dinner with the host school principal or mentor
- a peer network or community engagement event
- dedicated mentor teacher support and induction.
To find out more, visit the Teach Rural website.
Placements Plus
Placements Plus programs are department-funded partnerships between universities and clusters of Victorian government schools that aim to enhance the quality of pre-service teacher (PST) placements.
PSTs participating in Placement Plus programs will receive tailored wraparound supports during their placements, including professional learning and supports to strengthen connections with peers and their local school community. Tailored supports will also be provided to participating host schools, such as additional professional learning for supervising and mentor teachers.
The Placements Plus programs will be delivered in 2024-25 by Victorian universities in the following rural, regional and urban growth corridor areas:
- Ballarat and surrounding areas (Australian Catholic University program)
- Bass Coast and South Gippsland area (Monash University program)
- Goulburn area (RMIT program)
- Greater Bendigo (La Trobe University and the University of Melbourne joint program)
- Greater Shepparton (La Trobe University and the University of Melbourne joint program)
- Latrobe LGA (Federation University Australia program)
- Mildura (La Trobe University and the University of Melbourne joint program)
- Ovens Murray area (RMIT program)
- South East Growth Corridor (Monash University program)
- Specialist school program to be delivered in collaboration with PASS in PASS network specialist schools in the South East and South East Growth Corridor (Monash University program)
- Wimmera (Deakin University, Australian Catholic University and Federation University Australia joint program)
- Wodonga (La Trobe University and the University of Melbourne joint program)
- Wyndham area (Victoria University program).
To find out more, contact your participating university or the department’s ITE team at: ite@education.vic.gov.au.
Benefits of a rural or regional placement
There are so many benefits in doing a rural or regional placement. Watch the video to learn more.
Student teachers share their experiences
Find out what it’s really like from people who have done these placements before. Student teachers who did placements in St Arnaud and Wangaratta share their experiences.
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