Australia is one of the strongest programs we run for qualified teachers. Here’s the full picture: who actually qualifies, where you’d be placed, and what you can realistically expect to earn.

Who can apply

This isn’t a program for TEFL graduates or first-time teachers. Schools in Australia are hiring qualified teachers in the full professional sense, so the requirements are more specific than on most of our other programs:

  • You need to be a qualified teacher in your home country, not just TEFL-certified
  • We currently place teachers from the UK, USA, Ireland, Canada and New Zealand
  • You need experience teaching primary or secondary school aged children, though this doesn’t have to mean years in one school. Supply teaching and long-term cover both count, as long as you can show a genuine track record in front of a class

There’s also an age element worth knowing about upfront, because it affects which visa route is realistically open to you. Most teachers come in on a Working Holiday Visa rather than employer sponsorship, since sponsorship costs a school several thousand pounds and most schools prefer not to take that risk on a first-time hire. The Working Holiday Visa has an age cap that varies by nationality:

  • Under 36 for UK, Irish and Canadian citizens
  • Under 31 for US citizens
  • No age limit for New Zealanders

If you’re outside that window for your nationality, it’s still worth talking to us. Sponsorship isn’t impossible, it’s just a harder door to walk through as a first-time candidate.

Where you’ll be placed: Melbourne and Geelong

Most of our placements sit in and around Melbourne, Victoria’s capital and the state where the teacher shortage is most acute. Some go straight into the city. Others land in Geelong, a coastal city about an hour southwest of Melbourne on the Bellarine Peninsula.

Geelong isn’t a small country town. It’s Victoria’s second-largest city, with a population over 280,000 and one of the fastest growth rates of any city in Australia. It sits on Corio Bay, has its own waterfront and a genuinely lively food and arts scene, and puts you within easy reach of the Great Ocean Road and the surf beaches around Torquay and Bells Beach. It’s also home to the Geelong Cats, one of the AFL’s most successful and best-supported clubs, if that means anything to you (it will, eventually). For teachers who want an easier pace of life without giving up on being close to a major city, it’s one of the better-kept secrets on this program.

What you’ll earn

Qualified teachers from the UK or US in their 20s or early 30s are currently earning around £57,500 a year ($77,000), before tax. After tax and the Australian Medicare levy, that comes to a net salary of roughly £44,000 ($59,000), a strong number for a teacher in that age bracket, and one that beats what most would be taking home in a comparable role back home.

That salary applies whether you’re placed in Melbourne or in Geelong, which matters more than it sounds. The job doesn’t pay less because you’re in a smaller city. What changes is what that money is actually worth once you’re spending it, and that’s where Geelong pulls ahead.

Melbourne: the cost of living

Melbourne holds up well against London on its own terms:

  • 7.7% cheaper than London, excluding rent (Numbeo comparison)
  • Rent running 34.8% lower on average

The average teacher salary also sits slightly above the citywide average in Melbourne, so you’re earning a touch more than the norm while spending noticeably less than you would in a comparable role in London.

Geelong: the cost of living

Move an hour down the coast and the numbers open up further. According to Numbeo’s city comparison, Geelong’s cost of living is 16.7% lower than London’s before rent, and 33% lower once rent is included, with rent itself running 57.9% below London prices. The average teacher salary in Geelong also sits well above the local average, so that lower cost of living isn’t offset by a lower wage, it’s a genuine gain.

So, is this the right move for you?

If you’re a qualified teacher in the UK or US, under the relevant age cap for your nationality, and open to placement in Victoria, this is one of the strongest packages we offer: a proper professional salary, in an English-speaking country, that goes noticeably further than the same money would at home. Melbourne gets you most of the way there. Geelong, once you get past not having heard of it, gets you the rest.

Ready to take the next step?

Email us at info@impact-teaching.com and we’ll talk you through the current openings, in Melbourne and beyond, or have a look at our Australia program page for more on salaries, requirements and start dates.