Increasing the supply of high-quality teachers in schools will make sure every student, no matter where they live, has access to a great local school, excellent teachers and a quality education.
The teacher incentives program will:
- boost the number of quality teachers in government schools
- make positions in rural and regional schools, disadvantaged schools and certain subject areas more attractive.
Hard-to-staff positions
The program includes financial and non-financial incentives to attract and retain teachers in hard-to-staff positions. Evidence shows that a combination of incentives is most effective at encouraging teachers to move where they're needed most.
Incentives will vary depending on recruitment difficulty, including:
- location
- level of disadvantage
- subject area.
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) positions will attract a higher share of incentives due to ongoing challenges in recruiting teachers in this subject area.
The value of the financial incentives is based on similar schemes in other jurisdictions and will be tailored to address Victorian-specific challenges.
The number of financial incentives will increase over time as we expect a continued teacher shortage, particularly in secondary schools.
The incentives aim to support students in rural and regional areas and address the gap between regional and metropolitan schools.
Support for teachers and principals
Support will be available to help teachers settle into their new school community.
Advice for teachers
Planning for your move and settling in
Your principal will give you an induction to the school context. They'll also introduce you to your new colleagues.
To help prepare for living and teaching in a rural or regional school, you should find out more information about the area and learn from the people around you.
Some things you can do to prepare to include:
- learning about the culture and values of the school as well as its curriculum offerings and student needs and interests. You can find information like this on the school’s website and newsletters
- taking part in local activities such as sporting and cultural events. This can be an informal and relaxing way to meet and get to know community members
- using resources to support your induction and ongoing professional learning.
Your wellbeing
When you have relocated away from family and friends it's important to be mindful of your emotional wellbeing and relationships with colleagues and the broader community.
People experience emotions, uncertainty and vulnerability in different ways.
When relocating to a new school or region you may have different emotional reactions than other teachers. For example, one teacher may feel excited, while another might feel anxious but reluctant to ask for help.
You might like to organise a regular time to meet your mentor, principal or a trusted colleague to talk about any issues or needs you may have. This may include support adjusting to your new role, school and community.
Employee Wellbeing Support Services
Employee Wellbeing Support Services provide free and confidential advice to proactively support the wellbeing of eligible department staff. Converge International is the department’s external provider of the Employee Wellbeing Support Services.
Staff can make appointments to receive tailored support across 8 different service streams and 6 specialist helplines.
Immediate family members aged 18 years and over can access the Family Assist stream. To access the services and make an appointment, call 1300 291 071 or book online via the Converge International(opens in a new window) portal, entering the organisational code mywellbeing
For further information, refer to the Employee Wellbeing Support Services Guidance chapter in the department’s Occupational Health, Safety and Wellbeing Management in Schools Policy.
Advice for principals and school leaders
Attracting and retaining suitable teachers in hard-to-staff schools
You play a vital role in attracting and retaining suitable teachers. New teachers are likely to feel more satisfied with their jobs and remain committed to their school and community when they are:
- made to feel welcome
- given well-planned inductions
- supported by mentors
- provided with access to professional and social networks.
Retention of graduate teachers can improve by up to 85 per cent when they have a positive and engaging experience in induction processes and are working with well-trained mentors.
‘We want to attract people to our town, not pull them there. We want them to stay longer term and be part of our community’ - participant, Expert Panel Rural and Regional
Providing school context
A central function of induction is the introduction to the school context.
Resources and a verbal briefing should be given to new teachers. This will help broaden their understanding of the school.
As the teacher learns about the local community they can better contribute to strengthening student learning outcomes.
Supporting new teachers
When new teachers relocate away from family and friends it’s important to support their emotional wellbeing and relationships with colleagues and the broader community.
Scheduling a regular time to meet and discuss issues or needs helps new teachers talk about support adjusting to their learning, new school and community.
Effective leaders contribute to a school culture where learning can flourish through:
- quality communication
- high expectations
- collaboration
- challenge
- trust-building
- support.
You can support new teachers by:
- supporting their relocation, including finding appropriate housing
- making sure they're well informed and prepared to adapt to changes in living and working circumstances
- highlighting the advantages of living and working in the area
- supporting their integration into the local community
- in collaboration with the local community, providing strong induction and welcome programs, including programs for partners/family members
- providing structured support and links to professional networks
- providing access to high quality, ongoing professional learning and development and support, such as mentoring and coaching, which is especially important for early-career teachers, who are overrepresented in hard-to-staff schools
- providing opportunities for career progression.
Local solutions
Schools and students in hard-to-staff locations face different challenges.
While rural areas and regional centres experience barriers relating to their characteristics, challenges also differ in each location, rural town and regional centre. Community size, proximity to major population centres, demographics and local economies are factors.
Policy and program design to improve learning outcomes for students must consider the local context.
More information
- Starting a job in a government school Induction guides
- Information about mentors
- HRWeb Topic Index A–Z
- Tools to improve your teaching
- Information about professional learning communities
- Bastow Institute of Education Leadership
- Employee health, safety and wellbeing information
- Employee Wellbeing Support Services
- Professional development opportunities
- Information about living and working in regional Victoria
Information for graduate teachers
Updated