The Department of Education is to introduce more incentives to attract quality teachers to live and work in regional NSW.
Minister for Education, Sarah Mitchell announced the Rural and Remote Incentives Review which is to overhaul the rural incentives scheme and bring high-quality teachers to remote and regional NSW.
“The incentives scheme hasn’t been properly reviewed since the early 1900’s,” Ms Mitchell said.
“Regional NSW is evolving and modernising, and so must our policies,” she said.
“I want every student to enjoy the same educational opportunities no matter where they live and that means attracting and keeping great teachers at our regional and remote schools.”
Ms Mitchell said NSW already had the most comprehensive incentives scheme in Australia but there was an opportunity, through the Review, to see how incentives could be aligned with the local community and context.
The Minister said the Review would also look into how improving incentives could help build regional communities.
“I want to explore options like encouraging school leavers to take a gap year in regional and remote schools, supporting partners of teachers to find a job in the same area, assisting families in buying a property to start a home and also looking at what we can do to encourage those already living and working in the regions to consider teaching as a career,” she said.
