← Education and social services

ANZSCO 4221Skill level 4Education and social services

Education assistant

Support classroom teachers with literacy, numeracy and behaviour interventions and assist students with additional needs.

Salary

Cited figures from Job Outlook and QILT. ExamExplained does not publish predictive earnings or projections.

FigureAUDSource
Full-time weekly earnings$1150Job Outlook (2025-06-01)

How far does this stretch in each city?

What a education assistant actually does

Education assistants (also called teacher aides, learning support officers, school learning support officers (SLSOs), or education support officers depending on the state) work alongside classroom teachers during school hours. A typical day runs 8.30am to 3.30pm, often spread across multiple classrooms or attached to one or two students with funded support. Mornings are spent in the literacy and numeracy blocks running small-group instruction, reading recovery, one-to-one support for students with disability, or scribing for students with learning difficulties. Recess and lunch are usually duty time. Afternoons are sometimes integration support during specialist lessons (sport, art, science), and sometimes preparing materials for the next day. Most education assistants are employed on school-year contracts and don't work during school holidays, which is an important pay note: total annual income reflects 40 weeks of work, not 48. The job is socially intense - close contact with the same small group of students, knowing every family's situation - and physically active.

Typical tasks

  • Implement learning support plans.
  • Provide one-to-one and small-group instruction.
  • Help teachers manage class behaviour and routines.

Skills you'll use

  • Literacy and numeracy interventions (Multi-lit, Mini-lit, Macqlit, QuickSmart)
  • Behaviour support and de-escalation
  • Supporting students with disability (autism spectrum, intellectual disability, sensory needs)
  • Working under a teacher's plan and feeding back accurately
  • Personal care assistance where needed (toileting, feeding, mobility)
  • Mandatory reporting and child-safety awareness
  • Working with allied health (speech pathology, OT, school psychology)

How to become one

  1. 1Finish Year 10 or Year 12. Most schools want a Cert III or Cert IV in Education Support
  2. 2Complete a Cert III in Education Support (CHC30221) at minimum, or a Cert IV in School Based Education Support (CHC40221) for senior or specialist roles
  3. 3Get a Working With Children Check (NSW), Blue Card (Qld), Working With Vulnerable People (Tas, ACT, NT) or your state equivalent
  4. 4Complete first-aid training (HLTAID011 or HLTAID012) plus asthma, anaphylaxis and (in many schools) manual handling
  5. 5Apply for education-assistant roles in state, Catholic and independent schools. State systems often run a casual pool that's the easiest way in
  6. 6For Auslan-using students, specialist roles, or behavioural support, consider Cert IV in Education Support or further training (e.g. Cert IV in Disability)

Where you can work

  • State government primary and secondary schools
  • Catholic systemic primary and secondary schools
  • Independent primary and secondary schools
  • Specialist schools and support units (autism, behaviour, language)
  • Aboriginal education programmes within schools
  • Distance education schools and tutoring services
  • Out-of-school-hours care attached to a school

Career progression

Typical stages and salary bands. Salary figures are sourced from Job Outlook, QILT or industry bodies; brackets are 25th-75th percentile not absolute floors or ceilings.

  1. Casual or new education assistant
    0-2 years
    Typical roles: Casual education assistant, School learning support officer
    Salary band: $50,000 - $62,000 per year (source, sourced 2026-05-21)
  2. Established education assistant
    2-7 years
    Typical roles: Cert IV education assistant, Integration aide, Aboriginal education officer
    Salary band: $60,000 - $75,000 per year (source, sourced 2026-05-21)
  3. Senior or specialist
    7+ years
    Typical roles: Senior education assistant, Behaviour-support specialist, Literacy intervention aide
    Salary band: $70,000 - $85,000 per year (source, sourced 2026-05-21)
  4. Stepping into teaching or coordination
    5+ years
    Typical roles: Student wellbeing officer, School operations coordinator, Trainee teacher (via Bachelor or Master of Teaching)

Is this for you?

You might love this if

  • You like working closely with children who need extra support
  • You're patient enough to repeat the same instruction kindly
  • You're comfortable being a quiet support inside someone else's classroom
  • You're okay with a school-year contract and pro-rata pay
  • You can hold professional boundaries with families

This might not suit you if

  • You want to be the lead voice in the classroom
  • You want a 12-month-paid full-time salary
  • You can't physically manage personal care or restraint when required
  • You can't deal with frequent disruption and behavioural episodes
  • You expected rapid promotion without further study

Three ways in

Uni, TAFE and trade routes for education assistant. Not every career has all three; we only list pathways that actually lead to this occupation.

University

Bachelor degrees that lead to this career.

No direct undergraduate pathway. Consider postgraduate study after a related bachelor degree.

TAFE / VET

Nationally accredited Certificate and Diploma qualifications.

Apprenticeship trade

Earn while you learn through an Australian Apprenticeship.

Not an apprenticeship trade.

Sources

ExamExplained does not publish predictive salary figures. For current Australian earnings data check Job Outlook directly. Career classifications follow the ABS ANZSCO 2022 release.