How to become a teacher in Western Australia

WA public schools offer one of the better starts for new teachers: a Level 2.1 salary of $88,178, a $2,000 a year Graduate Teacher Allowance for two years, extra release time in your first year and a mentor. Country schools add big allowances and a route to permanency after two years.

Step by step: becoming a WA teacher

Money while you study

• Commonwealth Prac Payment: $338.60 a week in 2026 during eligible mandatory placements, means-tested. See the Commonwealth Prac Payment.
• Commonwealth Teaching Scholarships: $10,000 a year, capped at $40,000 (undergraduate) or $20,000 (postgraduate), plus $2,000 for a remote final placement, in return for teaching in government schools. See Commonwealth Teaching Scholarships.
• WA scholarships and paid internships: the Department links to its own teaching scholarships, but we couldn't verify current amounts or which programs are open. Check education.wa.edu.au before you plan around one.

Your first year in a WA public school

• Salary: Level 2.1, $88,178 from 6 December 2025. You move up one level each year on your anniversary date to 2.9 ($127,737).
• Graduate Teacher Allowance: $2,000 a year for your first two years (pro rata if part-time).
• Release time: an extra 0.05 FTE in year 1, plus mentoring.
• Workload limits: maximum face-to-face teaching of 21 hours 20 minutes a week, and staff meetings outside hours capped at 5 hours a term.

Ways in: relief teaching and country schools

Many WA graduates start as casual relief teachers, paid by the hour: $52.67 an hour at Level 2.1, including a 20% loading in lieu of leave, with a minimum engagement of 3 hours. Others take a country job: the Country Teaching Program offers permanency after two years plus $5,000 to $13,730 a year. See WA casual relief teacher pay and WA rural and remote incentives.