Getting paid to study teaching in Australia: every payment, scholarship and paid pathway

The options at a glance

The Commonwealth Prac Payment: paid placement weeks

Since 1 July 2025 the Australian Government has paid eligible students during mandatory placements. In 2026 it's $338.60 a week, set at the single Austudy rate and indexed each 1 January (it was $331.65 in 2025). You need to be a domestic student in a Commonwealth supported place in an entry-to-practice teaching degree, on a placement that averages 30 hours a week or more, and you're means-tested unless you already get income support. You apply through your university.

Commonwealth Teaching Scholarships

The national scholarship pays $10,000 a year of full-time study, capped at $40,000 for an undergraduate degree or $20,000 for a postgraduate degree, plus $2,000 if you do your final-year placement in a remote or very remote school. In return you teach in government schools or government early learning for a period matching your degree length, within 10 years of your expected graduation. There is no $12,500 remote bonus, whatever some websites say. Round dates and eligibility for 2027 starters are in our Commonwealth Teaching Scholarships guide.

NSW: the most generous state scholarships

NSW runs three Teacher Education Scholarship programs for students starting or continuing a teaching degree in 2027: the general scholarship, an Aboriginal stream (which also covers primary teaching), and teach.Rural. The general scholarship targets secondary maths, science (including chemistry or physics), technological and applied studies, and K-12 inclusive or special education. Payments are taxable, paid twice a year once your enrolment and results are confirmed, and pro rata at $937.50 per subject if you take fewer than eight subjects a year.

Victoria: fellowships, placement grants and paid degrees

Victoria's large Secondary Teaching Scholarships, which aimed to cover study costs equal to standard HELP fees, were only for students enrolled in 2024 and 2025 and are now closed. The current offers are smaller or employment-based: Teach the Future Fellowships ($10,000 for 200 undergraduates in STEM, EAL or special education in 2026), placement grants of $100 to $200 a day at eligible schools, and Teach Today and Teach Tomorrow, which put up to 1,200 student teachers into paid school roles while they complete an 18 to 24-month degree. See Victorian teaching scholarships.

Paid employment-based degrees

If you already have a degree and can't afford to stop earning, an employment-based pathway may beat any scholarship. You're employed by a school (often as a paraprofessional or under a permission to teach) while you study. National programs include Teach For Australia and La Trobe's Nexus; NSW, Victoria and Queensland run their own. What you're paid while training depends on the employer: Queensland's official schedule pays Band 1 Step 1 (interns and permission-to-teach staff) $80,615 full-time from September 2026, against $90,164 for a 4-year-trained graduate. Compare programs in employment-based teaching pathways.

Tax on scholarships and payments

NSW states plainly that its training and appointment allowances are taxable and must be declared, and that tax and HECS-HELP repayments may be withheld from them. Treat other cash scholarships the same way unless the provider tells you otherwise. The good news is that most full-time students earn little else, so the tax is often small.

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