Which Teaching Subjects Have the Most Jobs?

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Subject area shapes teacher employment prospects more than almost any other factor. A maths teacher with provisional accreditation can find a permanent role in Term 1. A PE teacher with five years of experience may spend a year on casual relief. This guide ranks teaching subjects by genuine employment demand, distinguishing between subjects with many listings and subjects that are actually hard to fill.

1. Two Different Questions: Volume vs. Difficulty to Fill

Before looking at any rankings, you need to understand what a job listing count actually tells you. And what it does not.

Advertised vacancies count how many roles are posted. English consistently has the highest raw number of advertised secondary teaching positions in every state. In Victoria, a government report documented 2,876 English vacancies in a single year, versus 2,406 for mathematics and 2,196 for science. If you ranked subjects purely by listing volume, English would win.

But English has more listings for a simple structural reason: English occupies more timetable hours than any other subject, so there are more English teachers employed nationally. The supply of qualified English teachers is broadly proportional to demand.

Hard-to-fill roles measure something different: how few qualified candidates apply relative to the number of vacancies. A subject with 2,000 advertised roles and 2,500 applicants is competitive. A subject with 800 advertised roles and 400 applicants means most applicants will get a job.

The clearest measure of hard-to-fill is out-of-field teaching rate: the percentage of teachers delivering a subject without a formal specialisation in it. When schools cannot find qualified candidates, they deploy teachers from adjacent disciplines. High out-of-field rates signal genuine structural shortage.

2. Subject Rankings: Where Demand Outpaces Supply

The AITSL National Trends Teacher Workforce report (June 2025) provides the most recent nationally comparable out-of-field data for secondary teachers. Combined with state DoE high-demand lists and Commonwealth scholarship priority designations, this produces three tiers.

Tier 1: Critical Shortage

These subjects have the fewest qualified applicants relative to vacancies. Permanent employment offers arrive faster, scholarship funding is available for career changers, and in some states these qualifications open geographic options that other subjects do not.

Special Education

Special education is the single hardest area to staff in Australian schools. In primary schools, 60% of principals report difficulty filling specialist support roles. At lower secondary level, 44% of Australian teachers work in schools with a shortage of special education staff, above the OECD average of 33% (OECD TALIS 2024).

The demand is structural and growing: the proportion of students in schools where more than 10% of enrolments require additional support has risen from 36% to 66% between 2018 and 2024. NSW DoE lists inclusive/special education as a high-demand area, and it is a priority subject for Commonwealth Teaching Scholarships.

Career implications: strong permanent prospects, including in metropolitan schools. The work is more intensive than general classroom teaching — higher emotional demand, more documentation, and a caseload model rather than a subject model at primary level. But for teachers suited to the work, the employment security is unmatched.

Mathematics

Mathematics has a 38% out-of-field teaching rate nationally (AITSL National Trends June 2025). More than a third of the people currently teaching maths in secondary schools are not formally qualified to do so. The Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute estimates that at the current rate of teacher training, it would take 20 years to fully close the gap.

Every state government identifies mathematics as a priority. NSW DoE lists it as high-demand. The Commonwealth Teaching Scholarship targets secondary maths specifically. NSW's Transition to Teaching Scholarship guarantees a permanent role on completion for eligible career changers who specialise in maths, science, or TAS. Queensland's Turn to Teaching program, which provides paid employment during year two of a Master of Teaching and guarantees a permanent offer on graduation, lists maths as a priority subject.

Career implications: the strongest employment prospects of any secondary subject, including in metropolitan schools at most socioeconomic levels. Experienced maths teachers working in high-disadvantage schools will tell you the job is different in character from maths teaching at a selective or independent school — this is a realistic part of the picture, though not a reason to avoid the specialisation.

Technologies / TAS

Technologies (design, digital technologies, engineering, industrial technology, food technology, agriculture) is the hardest-to-staff secondary subject in terms of the proportion of schools reporting difficulty: 52.2% in union survey data. The shortage has been documented since at least 2019 and has not resolved.

NSW DoE lists TAS teachers with design and technology combined with engineering studies or industrial technology as high-demand. WA DoE lists design and technology as a priority recruitment subject. NSW's Transition to Teaching Scholarship specifically targets TAS (engineering, industrial technology in metal and timber, agriculture, food technology). Queensland's Turn to Teaching program covers technologies (design and digital solutions).

Career implications: strong permanent prospects. Workshop and laboratory environments carry different supervision requirements than standard classrooms, which some teachers find more rewarding and others more demanding. Career changers from trades and engineering backgrounds are increasingly valued.

Tier 2: Genuine Demand, More Candidates Available

These subjects appear on shortage lists but have lower out-of-field rates than Tier 1, meaning more qualified candidates are in the pipeline.

Tier 3: High Volume Advertised, Competitive for Permanent Roles

These subjects generate consistent job advertising but have more qualified candidates relative to vacancies. Permanent positions take longer. CRT-to-permanent pathways are common.

3. State-by-State Shortage Recognition

Shortage designation varies by state. The table below summarises which subjects each state government formally identifies as high-demand or targets through scholarship and incentive programs.

Sources: NSW DoE high-demand teachers page; WA DoE high-demand teaching jobs page; QLD Turn to Teaching program; Victorian Teacher Workforce Snapshot 2024; ACT Government Teacher Education Scholarships 2026; Commonwealth Teaching Scholarships. All accessed May 2026. "Cwlth" = Commonwealth Teaching Scholarship priority designation.

Notes on individual states

VIC: The Victorian Department of Education confirms STEM subjects, languages/LOTE, special education, and EAL/D as shortage areas through its Targeted Financial Incentives program (up to $50,000 for hard-to-staff STEM roles in rural/regional schools) and the Teach the Future Fellowship. Special education was the most requested Permission to Teach authorisation in 2023 (29% of all PTT grants), followed by LOTE (9%).

SA: South Australia does not publish a formal subject-specific shortage list comparable to NSW or WA. The state reduced hard-to-fill positions to 57 at the start of 2025 (down from 86 in 2023). Recruitment challenges are concentrated in country and remote schools rather than specific subjects.

TAS: Tasmania's DECYP does not publish a formal subject-specific shortage list. The Hard-to-Staff Schools Teacher Incentive Pilot Program (commencing Term 1, 2025) targets nine specific schools by location, not by subject area. Vacancy data suggests ongoing demand for STEM and special education qualified teachers.

ACT: The ACT Education Directorate's 2026 scholarship program explicitly identifies three priority teaching areas: languages, inclusive education (special education), and STEM. Fast-track registration processes apply for shortage subjects including mathematics and science.

NT: The NT Department of Education does not publish a formal subject-specific shortage list. Teacher recruitment in the NT is primarily driven by geographic need (remote and very remote community schools) rather than subject-area designation. All qualified secondary teachers are sought across the Territory.

4. Government Incentive Programs by Subject

Several programs provide financial support specifically linked to teaching shortage subjects. These are distinct from geographic loading payments (which apply to all subjects at rural and remote schools).

Commonwealth Teaching Scholarship

Up to $40,000 for undergraduate initial teacher education (ITE) students; up to $20,000 for postgraduate ITE students (Master of Teaching). Paid in annual instalments of $10,000. Priority subjects: secondary maths, science, TAS, English, inclusive/special education K–12. 5,000 scholarships are being offered across 2024–2028.

NSW Transition to Teaching Scholarship

Designed for career changers with a relevant undergraduate degree. Annual stipend of $10,000 while studying a Master of Teaching (Secondary), plus a professional experience allowance of $1,000 per week (up to $12,000). On completion, receives a permanent teaching position with NSW DoE. Subject areas of need: mathematics, science (must include chemistry or physics), TAS (engineering, industrial technology in metal and timber, agriculture, food technology).

QLD Turn to Teaching Internship

For career changers enrolling in a Master of Teaching. In year two, participants work at a Queensland state school on a 50% teaching load while completing their degree, paid at teacher salary rates. On graduation in a priority subject area, receives a permanent employment offer. Priority subjects: English, sciences, maths, technologies (design and digital solutions), languages, special education.

NSW Location-Based Incentives (All Subjects)

For teachers at eligible rural and remote schools, including those with shortage-subject qualifications:

• Rural Teacher Incentive: $20,000–$30,000 (post-tax), based on school transfer points
• Recruitment Bonus: up to $20,000 for hard-to-fill positions at 6- and 8-point schools
• Experienced Teacher Benefit: $10,000/year for up to 5 years
• Retention Benefit: $5,000/year for up to 10 years

These apply to all qualifying teachers regardless of subject, but shortage-subject teachers are disproportionately in the eligible locations. See the NSW Rural Incentives guide for school-by-school detail.

VIC Targeted Financial Incentives (Subject-Specific Loading)

The Victorian Department of Education provides commencement incentive payments of up to $50,000 (before tax) to attract suitably qualified teachers to hard-to-staff roles in rural and regional government schools. STEM specialist positions attract a higher share of incentive funding. Annual retention payments apply after the second, third, and fourth year of employment. Relocation costs are also covered.

SA Location Incentives (Country Schools)

South Australia offers monetary incentives and professional development support for teachers at country schools, under the Country Education Strategy funded with $13.5 million in new funding. No subject-specific loading payments are published; incentives are location-based.

5. Career Implications of Specialisation Choice

6. What Teacher Passport's Data Shows

Teacher Passport aggregates listings from government, Catholic, and independent school recruitment systems across all states and territories. The data covers roles where subject area is specified in the listing title or job classification. Not all roles specify a subject; primary positions, leadership, and support roles are excluded from subject-area analysis.

Use Teacher Passport's subject filter to browse current listings by specialisation area across all sectors and states.

7. Data Methodology

Understanding what the numbers represent matters as much as the numbers themselves.

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