On this page (9 sections)
The short answer
You need an accredited teaching degree: a 4-year Bachelor of Education, or a 2-year Master of Teaching if you already have a degree. You also pass the LANTITE, complete supervised placements, then register with your state's teacher regulator and get any required child safety check. Graduates in government schools start on about $80,000 to $96,000.
- School leavers: about 4 years from enrolment to your first classroom.
- Graduates of another degree: about 2 years full-time.
- Funding while you study: Commonwealth Prac Payment ($338.60 a week on placement in 2026) and scholarships up to $40,000.
- Some employment-based programs pay you to teach while you finish the degree.
The six steps at a glance
From no qualification to your own class
- 1
Choose your level and route
Decide between early childhood, primary or secondary teaching, and between an undergraduate degree, a postgraduate Master of Teaching or an employment-based program. Secondary teachers also choose two teaching areas, such as maths and physics.
- 2
Enrol in an accredited ITE program
Every Australian ITE program is accredited by a state or territory teacher regulator against national standards set through AITSL. If the program isn't accredited, you can't register with it. Check AITSL's accredited programs list before you enrol.
- 3
Pass the LANTITE
All ITE students must pass the Literacy and Numeracy Test for Initial Teacher Education Students before they graduate. It costs $196 for both parts in 2026, and there is no longer a limit on attempts.
- 4
Complete placements and the TPA
You'll spend at least 80 days on supervised placement in an undergraduate degree, or at least 60 in a postgraduate one. In your final year you pass a Teaching Performance Assessment (TPA), which is a graduation requirement.
- 5
Register and get your checks
Apply to the teacher regulator in the state where you'll work (NESA, VIT, QCT, TRBWA, TRB SA, TRB Tasmania, TQI or TRB NT). You start with provisional or conditional registration. Some states also need a separate working with children check.
- 6
Get a job and move to full registration
Apply for permanent, contract or casual work. Within your first years you collect evidence that you teach at the Proficient standard and move to full registration. In NSW this also lifts you to Step 3 pay.
Pick your route: undergraduate, postgraduate or employment-based
Which route suits you depends mostly on whether you already hold a degree. AITSL describes the two standard routes plainly: a 4-year teaching degree (usually a Bachelor of Education) if you don't have a degree, and a Master of Teaching, which usually takes 2 years full-time, if you do. Some universities run accelerated masters that finish sooner. Double degrees, such as a Bachelor of Science/Bachelor of Education, are common for secondary teaching.
Placement minimums come from the national accreditation standards. Many providers require more days than the minimum.
If you're changing careers, read our career change to teaching guide and the employment-based pathways guide. They cover the trade-off between a cheaper, faster degree and a paid program with a service commitment.
What you need to get into a teaching degree
Entry rules are set by each university, so check the course page. For undergraduate entry, most universities publish an ATAR or selection rank and expect prerequisite subjects such as English. Postgraduate entry needs a bachelor degree, and secondary applicants need enough units in each teaching area. A maths teaching area usually needs a solid block of university maths.
Before you apply, check that you have
- A clear choice of level: early childhood (birth to 5), primary (about 5 to 12) or secondary (about 11 to 18).
- For secondary: enough prior study in two teaching areas, or a plan to pick them up.
- Confirmation that the program is on AITSL's accredited programs list for your state.
- A plan for the LANTITE. Some providers require it before entry or early in the course.
- Money for 12 to 16 weeks of unpaid full-time placement, less whatever the Prac Payment covers.
- Your citizenship or residency status, which decides whether you can get a Commonwealth supported place and HECS-HELP.
What it costs and the money you can get
Education sits in the lowest student contribution band for Commonwealth supported places, so a teaching degree is one of the cheapest degrees to take on HECS-HELP. You don't pay upfront. The debt is repaid through the tax system once your income passes $69,528 in 2026-27. Our cost of a teaching degree guide works through the full numbers.
Free calculator
Teacher HECS-HELP calculator
See what your teaching degree debt costs you each payday on a graduate salary, and how fast it clears.
Work out my HECS repaymentsRegistration and working with children checks
You can't teach in an Australian school without registration (called accreditation in NSW). Each state and territory runs its own regulator, and annual fees run from $95 (WA) to $137 (SA) in the states where we've confirmed 2026 fees. New graduates start on provisional registration, which signals the Graduate career stage of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers. You move to full registration once you show you teach at the Proficient stage, after at least 80 days in a school. The teacher registration guide compares all eight regulators.
How long it takes
Timeline: Year 12 leaver who wants to teach primary in NSW
- Years 1 to 4
- Bachelor of Education (Primary), 80+ placement days
- During the degree
- Pass LANTITE ($196 for both parts, any window)
- Final year
- Teaching Performance Assessment, then graduate
- On graduating
- Conditional or provisional NESA accreditation and a WWCC
- Years 1 to 2 of teaching
- Step 1 then Step 2 ($92,882 then $99,889 from 9 Oct 2026)
- Proficient accreditation
- Opens Step 3 ($104,156)
A graduate with an existing degree takes about 2 years on a full-time Master of Teaching. Part-time study stretches both routes.
What you'll earn when you start
Graduate pay is set by each state's award or agreement, not by negotiation. In government schools in October 2026 it ranges from $84,971 in SA (Step 1) and $85,313 in Tasmania (Band 1 Level 5) to $96,180 in the NT (CT1). Victoria still pays graduates $79,589, but the proposed VGSA 2026 would lift that to $92,882 from 1 October 2026 if the Fair Work Commission approves it, with back pay.
NSW graduate on $92,882 with a HECS-HELP debt (2026-27)
- Salary
- $92,882
- Income tax after LITO
- $18,385
- Medicare levy
- $1,858
- HECS-HELP repayment
- $3,503
- Employer super (12%, on top)
- $11,146
For every state's figure and what it means after tax, see the pay hub and which state pays teachers the most.
Where to go next for your state
Rules differ more than people expect: how fast you must reach Proficient, whether registration covers your child safety check, and which scholarships exist. Start with your state's page: NSW, Victoria, Queensland, WA, SA, Tasmania, ACT and the NT.
Frequently asked questions
How many years does it take to become a teacher in Australia?
Can I become a teacher without a degree?
Do I have to pass the LANTITE?
Can I get paid while studying to be a teacher?
Is it cheaper to study teaching than other degrees?
What's the difference between provisional and full registration?
Can I teach in another state with my registration?
Sources we checked · last verified 2026-10-16
About this page
Written and fact-checked by the TeacherPay AU editorial team against the enterprise agreements, awards and official pages listed in the sources. It is general information, not personal financial, tax or legal advice. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we'll fix it, usually within a day. See our editorial policy and how we calculate.
Keep reading
Degrees
Teaching degrees in Australia: Bachelor, Master of Teaching and which one you need
Bachelor of Education vs Master of Teaching vs double degrees: length, placements, accreditation and how to choose.
Registration
Teacher registration in Australia: every state's regulator, fees and rules compared
A state-by-state comparison of teacher regulators, 2026 fees, provisional and full registration, renewal rules and whether you also need a working with children check.
LANTITE
LANTITE explained: what it costs, when you can sit it and how to pass
Everything about the Literacy and Numeracy Test for Initial Teacher Education: fees, dates, format, the standard and re-sit rules.
Costs
What a teaching degree costs in 2026: HECS-HELP, hidden costs and the money that offsets them
The real cost of becoming a teacher: the 2026 education HECS band, total degree debt, placement and registration costs, repayments and the payments that cut the bill.
Career change
Changing careers to teaching in Australia: routes, money and what your experience is worth
How mid-career professionals retrain as teachers: the fastest routes, the money available, the pay you'll start on and how prior work is counted.