01-Education and social services

ANZSCO 2412Skill level 1Education and social services

Primary teacher

Plan and deliver curriculum-aligned teaching in primary schools from Foundation to Year 6.

Registration: Registration or accreditation with the teacher regulator in your state or territory

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Salary

Cited figures only: median full-time weekly earnings for the ANZSCO unit group Primary School Teachers (2412) from Your Career (Jobs and Skills Australia), and where available the QILT graduate starting salary for the matching study area.

Figure	AUD	Source
Median full-time weekly earnings	$2000	Your Career (2026-09-23)
Graduate starting salary	$82,100	QILT (2026-08-31)

How far does this stretch in each city?

Jobs, demand and who does this work

Figures for the ANZSCO occupation Primary School Teacher (241213), the closest official match for primary teacher, from Your Career (Jobs and Skills Australia data, sourced 2026-09-23).

People employed: 167,100
Future demand: Stable
Work full-time: 65%
Average full-time hours: 45 a week
Women: 85%
Median age: 39

Where the jobs are (share of workers)

NSW	32.1%
VIC	26%
QLD	19.2%
WA	12%
SA	6%
TAS	1.8%
ACT	1.4%
NT	1.3%

Highest qualification held by workers

Postgraduate qualification	24.2%
Bachelor degree	69.2%
Diploma or advanced diploma	4.3%
Certificate I-IV	0.3%
Year 12	0.9%
Below Year 12	0.2%

What a primary teacher actually does

Primary teachers are with the same class most of the day, every day, which is the joy and the grind of the job. A normal day starts with pre-bell prep (printing, setting up the room, chasing up absences) from about 8am. Teaching blocks run from roughly 9am to 3pm with a literacy block in the morning, numeracy after first break, then integrated units, specialist rotations or sport in the afternoon. Lunch and recess are duty rosters, so about one in three breaks is supervision, not a break. After the bell goes there's at least an hour of marking, planning, parent emails and team meetings. Reporting periods (end of Term 2 and Term 4) and parent-teacher interview weeks add evening hours. Most primary teachers work 45-50 hours in term and use the holiday breaks for unit planning, marking and a real rest. The room itself is loud, physical and emotionally close. You will be on your feet, kneeling at low tables, and managing 25 separate human beings before lunch.

Typical tasks

Plan units and lessons aligned to the Australian Curriculum.
Assess and report student progress.
Engage with families and support staff.

Skills you'll use

Australian Curriculum (F-6) planning across all eight learning areas
Explicit teaching of phonics, reading, writing and numeracy
Formative and summative assessment plus data tracking
Behaviour management and trauma-informed practice
Differentiation for students with disability, EAL/D and giftedness
Working with families and external specialists
Working in year-level teams and following whole-school programmes

How to become one

1Finish Year 12 with strong English. Some unis ask for HSC English Standard band 3 minimum or VCE equivalent
2Complete a 4-year accredited Bachelor of Education (Primary), or a 3-year undergrad degree followed by a 2-year Master of Teaching (Primary)
3Sit and pass the LANTITE (Literacy and Numeracy Test for Initial Teacher Education) before your final professional experience
4Complete the required supervised teaching practicum days during your degree (60 days plus is standard)
5Apply to your state registration authority (NESA in NSW, VIT in Vic, QCT in Qld, TRBSA in SA, TRBWA in WA, TRB in Tas, TQI in ACT, TRB in NT) and get a Working With Children Check
6Apply for graduate teacher roles. State systems advertise centrally each year and Catholic and independent schools recruit through their own networks
7Complete the provisional-to-full registration process in your first 1-2 years, which requires evidence against the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers

Where you can work

State government primary schools
Catholic systemic primary schools
Independent primary schools (AIS and ISV networks)
Rural and remote schools (often with location incentives)
Department of Education central and regional offices
International schools using the Australian Curriculum
Casual relief teaching across multiple schools

Career progression

Typical stages and roles. Years of experience are a rough guide; pay at each stage depends on the employer, award or agreement.

Graduate
0-2 years
Typical roles: Graduate primary teacher, Provisional registered teacher
Proficient teacher
3-7 years
Typical roles: Classroom teacher, Mentor teacher, Year-level coordinator
Highly accomplished or lead
8-15 years
Typical roles: Lead teacher, Curriculum coordinator, Assistant principal
School leadership
15+ years
Typical roles: Deputy principal, Principal, Director of teaching and learning

Is this for you?

This might not suit you if

You want a job where you can close your laptop at 5pm and not think about it
You find repeating instructions and routines exhausting
You can't sit with the emotional load of a child's home situation
You want a quiet, fully solo workspace
You expect to be able to specialise quickly (the first 5 years are generalist)

Ways in

Uni and TAFE routes for primary teacher. We only list pathways that actually lead to this occupation.

University

Bachelor degrees that lead to this career.

TAFE / VET

Nationally accredited Certificate and Diploma qualifications.

No direct TAFE pathway to this career.

State variations

NSW: Accreditation with the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) is required to teach in NSW schools.
VIC: Registration with the Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT) is required to teach in Victorian schools.
QLD: Registration with the Queensland College of Teachers (QCT) is required to teach in Queensland schools.
SA: Registration with the Teachers Registration Board of South Australia is required to teach in SA schools.
WA: Registration with the Teacher Registration Board of Western Australia (TRBWA) is required to teach in WA schools.
TAS: Registration with the Teachers Registration Board of Tasmania is required to teach in Tasmanian schools.
NT: Registration with the Teacher Registration Board of the Northern Territory is required to teach in NT schools.
ACT: Registration with the ACT Teacher Quality Institute (TQI) is required to teach in ACT schools.

Sources

ExamExplained does not publish predictive salary figures. For current Australian earnings data check Your Career (yourcareer.gov.au) directly. Career classifications follow the ABS ANZSCO 2022 release.