WHO STAYS, WHO GOES? - A NEW LOOK AT TEACHER ATTRITION USING ADMINISTRATIVE DATA - Research note

Sep 6, 2026

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Teacher attrition—the rate at which teachers leave the profession—shapes Australia’s teacher shortage concerns. Using linked administrative tax data, the study maps who exits teaching, when they leave, and what happens afterward. Overall attrition is relatively low and not rising, with early-career exits nearly halved since 2009. Higher attrition concentrates in very remote areas, the Northern Territory, and among special education teachers. Findings also show limited financial explanations, and that many leavers move into education-related roles or the care economy while supply constraints persist upstream.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages28

Reading Time1 h 11 min

AccessFree to download

Executive Summary

Teacher attrition overview

Concentrated settings and teacher characteristics

Financial factors and sector differences

Destinations after leaving teaching

Upstream supply constraints

Policy implications

e61 Research Note | 4 June 2025 WHO STAYS, WHO GOES? A NEW LOOK AT TEACHER ATTRITION USING ADMINISTRATIVE DATA Jack Buckley and Silvia Griselda Executive Summary Teacher attrition — the rate at which teachers leave the profession — is often seen as a major contributor to Australia’s teacher shortages (Convery, 2022). Using linked administrative tax data, we provide a comprehensive picture of who leaves teaching, when, and what happens next. We find that: • Overall attrition is relatively low and not increasing. Early career teacher attrition rates have almost halved since 2009, and the annual attrition rate for teachers is now lower than turnover in all other occupation groups. • However, attrition is concentrated in specific settings. Attrition rates are much higher for teachers working in very remote areas, especially in the Northern Territory, and among special education teachers, potentially requiring further targeted policy interventions. – Attrition is also higher among teachers with very high ATARs. • Financial factors appear to play a limited role in explaining teacher attrition. Most teachers who leave the profession earn less than those who remain over the long term — after 10 years, former teachers earn on average $21,000 less than those remaining in the profession. – The exceptions to this are high-ATAR teachers and those who were only marginally attached to the workforce, who often receive short-term pay increases after leaving. Attrition rates within the public sector are similar across jurisdictions, despite differences in pay — and are higher in the private sector even though private school teachers tend to earn more. • Not all attrition is harmful. Over one-third of teachers who change occupations take up education-related roles, such as teachers’ aides, early childhood educators and education advisers and reviewers. A growing number are moving into the care economy, particularly primary school teachers. Many who leave were only marginally attached to the workforce and may be better matched in their new roles. • Teacher supply is constrained further up the pipeline. Attrition isn’t rising, but other issues are affecting supply. – A growing share of teaching graduates never go on to work as teachers. – Completion rates in teaching degrees are falling — a trend mirrored across most other fields of education. – New university enrolments in teaching have fallen far behind other fields with the number of new students enrolling in a teaching degree having barely changed in the past 15 years. Our findings suggest that overall teacher attrition rates are not at concerning levels, but policymakers should: • Focus on high-turnover settings such as very remote areas and special education; • Recognise that not all attrition is a policy failure—some exits reflect healthy labour market mobility; • Prioritise attracting more high-school graduates into teaching degrees, especially given slow growth in enrolments. Ensuring a strong and sustainable teaching workforce is a central challenge for Australia’s education system (Department of Education, 2022a). Like many OECD countries, Australia faces growing concerns about teacher shortages, with implications for student learning, school operations, and broader workforce planning. One important aspect of this challenge is teacher attrition—teachers leaving the profession altogether. High attrition can undermine efforts to build a stable and experienced workforce (Jackson et al. , 2014; Kini & Podolsky, 2016), increase recruitment and training costs, and leave vacancies in hard-to-staff schools (ABC News, 2023; Department of Education, 2022b). For these reason, reducing attrition has become a key policy priority (Convery, 2022). Yet, research on teacher attrition in Australia has been hampered by data limitations. Until recently, researchers had struggled to accurately measure the rate of attrition, with estimates ranging from roughly 1%

FAQs

How does the study measure teacher attrition using administrative data?

Teachers are identified in administrative tax records, and a teacher is considered to have left teaching if they are not employed as a school teacher in any of the next three years.

Is overall teacher attrition increasing in Australia?

No. Overall attrition is described as relatively low and not increasing, and early-career teacher attrition rates have almost halved since 2009.

Where is teacher attrition most concentrated, and who is most affected?

Attrition is much higher for teachers working in very remote areas, especially in the Northern Territory, and among special education teachers. The note also reports higher attrition for teachers with very high ATARs.

Sep 6, 2026

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