OSCA 251231

Primary School Teacher

Overview

  • Employed persons

    164,000

  • Employment status

    64.7% Full time

    35.3% Part time

  • Median age

    40 years

  • Employment by sex

    85.0% Female

    15.0% Male

    Highly female dominated

  • Indigenous employment share

    1.6%

  • Main employing industry

    Education and Training

Indicator Primary School Teacher Total employment
Employed persons 164,000 12,049,400
Median age 40 years 40 years
Full-time share 64.7% 64.2%
Part-time share 35.3% 35.8%
Female employment share 85.0% 48.5%
Male employment share 15.0% 51.5%
Gender segregation intensity scale Highly female dominated Gender balanced
Indigenous employment share 1.6% 2.2%
Main employing industry Education and Training Health Care and Social Assistance
Note: N/A values indicate data are not available due to confidentiality or data reliability requirements.

Occupation overview

Primary School Teachers teach a range of subjects within a prescribed curriculum to primary school students, and promote students' social, emotional, intellectual and physical development.

What the occupation involves

  • Delivers differentiated learning programs in literacy, numeracy, the humanities, arts, science, technology and physical education to primary school students
  • Guides discussions and supervises students' work in class
  • Employs effective classroom management skills to maintain a safe, supportive and positive learning environment
  • Prepares, administers and reviews assessment tasks to evaluate students' progress
  • Maintains records of students' progress
  • Discusses students' progress with parents and students, and prepares written reports on a regular basis
  • Participates in staff meetings, educational conferences and workshops
  • Contributes to the development of curriculum programs and resources
  • Performs extra-curricular tasks, such as assisting with sport, concerts, excursions and special interest programs

Common occupation titles

No alternative occupation titles are listed for this occupation.

Specialisations

No specialisations are listed for this occupation.

Skill level (education and experience level)

Skill level 1
equivalent to a university level qualification (Bachelor degree or higher).

Note: While skill levels are described using formal education levels, some people use a combination of informal learning, on-the-job training and personal experience to achieve an equivalent level.

Licensing or registration requirements

Registration or licensing is required.

OSCA structure

Professionals (2)

Employment

On this page

    Industries

    Top 10 most common industries, 2021

    Primary School Teacher Total employment
    Industry Share of occupation Industry Share of occupation
    Education and Training 98.3% Health Care and Social Assistance 14.5%
    Public Administration and Safety 0.8% Retail Trade 9.1%
    Administrative and Support Services 0.2% Construction 8.9%
    Other Services 0.2% Education and Training 8.8%
    Health Care and Social Assistance 0.1% Professional, Scientific and Technical Services 7.8%
    Accommodation and Food Services <0.1% Public Administration and Safety 6.6%
    Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing <0.1% Accommodation and Food Services 6.5%
    Arts and Recreation Services <0.1% Manufacturing 5.9%
    Financial and Insurance Services <0.1% Transport, Postal and Warehousing 4.5%
    Professional, Scientific and Technical Services <0.1% Financial and Insurance Services 3.7%
    Note: N/A values indicate data are not available due to confidentiality or data reliability requirements.

    States and territories

    Employment distribution by states and territories, 2021

    • New South Wales

      30.7%

    • Victoria

      27.1%

    • Queensland

      19.8%

    • South Australia

      6.9%

    • Tasmania

      2.2%

    • Northern Territory

      0.9%

    • Australian Capital Territory

      1.8%

    Primary School Teacher Total employment
    State / Territory Employment Share of occupation Employment Share of occupation
    New South Wales 50,400 30.7% 3,684,200 30.6%
    Victoria 44,400 27.1% 3,162,900 26.2%
    Queensland 32,400 19.8% 2,444,100 20.3%
    South Australia 11,300 6.9% 839,400 7.0%
    Western Australia 17,400 10.6% 1,306,200 10.8%
    Tasmania 3,500 2.2% 254,700 2.1%
    Northern Territory 1,500 0.9% 107,000 0.9%
    Australian Capital Territory 3,000 1.8% 248,600 2.1%
    Note: N/A values indicate data are not available due to confidentiality or data reliability requirements.

    Age and sex

    Employment distibution by age group and sex, 2021

    Primary School Teacher

    Total employment

    Age group Primary School Teacher Total employment
    15–24 years 4.9% 14.3%
    25–34 years 29.8% 22.7%
    35–44 years 26.7% 22.3%
    45–54 years 21.2% 20.4%
    55–64 years 13.9% 15.3%
    65–74 years 3.4% 4.3%
    75 years and over 0.1% 0.6%
    Note: N/A values indicate data are not available due to confidentiality or data reliability requirements.
    Sex Primary School Teacher Total employment
    Female 85.0% 48.5%
    Male 15.0% 51.5%
    Note: N/A values indicate data are not available due to confidentiality or data reliability requirements.

    On this page

      OSCA occupation profiles data

      This file contains data available from the OSCA Occupation Profile page.

      Use of this data must include the relevant attribution text provided.

      OSCA Occupation data - 2021 Census.xlsx

      xlsx 1236447

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      Occupation Standard Classification for Australia (OSCA)

      Occupation Standard Classification for Australia (OSCA) is the skill-based classification used to categorise occupations across the Australian labour market. OSCA is used to define occupations across all official occupational statistics. OSCA replaces the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO).

      Each job is classified to one, and only one, group of jobs at each level of the classification with no overlaps. This prevents the accidental double-counting of roles within the Australian labour market. For more information about OSCA, visit the What is OSCA information page, or the ABS website.

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