Teaching Assistant

A teaching assistant supports classroom teachers in Australian schools by delivering targeted instruction to students, supervising learning activities, and managing classroom behaviour under the direction of the teacher. They work with individual students or small groups to reinforce core literacy and numeracy skills, assist students with disabilities or additional learning needs, and prepare teaching materials and resources.

Deliver small-group tuition in literacy and numeracy to students identified through school assessment data, following lesson plans prepared by the classroom teacher. Support students with diagnosed disabilities or learning difficulties by implementing individualised learning goals specified in their school support documentation. Supervise students during independent learning tasks and provide immediate feedback on task completion and behaviour. Prepare and organise teaching materials, including worksheets, flashcards, visual aids, and digital resources aligned to the Australian Curriculum. Monitor and record student progress on targeted skills (phonics, decoding, fluency, number facts) using observation notes or school tracking systems. Implement classroom behaviour management strategies and de-escalation techniques consistent with the school's behaviour policy. Assist students with personal care needs including toileting, feeding, or mobility where relevant to their support plan. Set up and manage learning stations or centres with age-appropriate activities that reinforce lesson objectives.

The standard entry pathway requires a Certificate IV or Certificate III with at least two years of on-the-job training (ABS skill level 3). Specific qualification requirements vary by employer and state. Some employers may accept equivalent experience. Check yourcareer.gov.au for available courses and dewr.gov.au/skills-reform/free-tafe for subsidised training options.

You're also managing high-needs students with emotional or behavioural challenges daily, which is draining. Casual or part-time contracts are common, meaning irregular hours and no job security.

These roles concentrate in metropolitan areas where school populations are larger. Government and independent schools in outer suburbs and regional centres also employ them, but job density is lower. Remote work isn't possible. Most positions are in primary schools rather than secondary, particularly in disadvantaged areas with higher special needs funding.

Published for ANZSCO unit group 4221, the wider group this job sits in, not for this job on its own.

This is the median for full-time employees who are not managers and are paid at the adult rate, before tax and salary sacrifice. It is a guide to what the work pays, not a wage rate.

Source: ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025, customised report.

• Active Listeningcore
• Adaptability and Flexibilitycore
• Confidentiality and Privacy Compliancecore
• Cultural Awareness and Sensitivitycore
• Disability Awareness and Inclusioncore
• Empathy and Emotional Intelligencecore
• Inclusive Practicecore
• Multitaskingcore
• Policy and Procedure Adherencecore
• Problem Solvingcore
• Team Collaborationcore
• Time Management and Prioritisationcore
• Verbal Communicationcore
• Written Communicationcore
• Attention to Detail
• Case Note Writing
• Conflict De-escalation
• Continuous Learning and Upskilling
• Digital Literacy
• Group Facilitation
• Professional Boundaries Maintenance
• Trauma-Informed Communication
• Workload Self-Management

• ABS OSCA 2024, occupation definition and task statements
• ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025, customised report.
• ABS, 2021 Census of Population and Housing based on usual place of residence (Custom Report). OSCA Experimental Estimates.

Role data is drawn from official Australian Government sources, and each figure names where it comes from. Where a role is not in the ABS classification, the page shows no government figures for it. Data may not reflect every local variation.

Where our numbers come from.

Last updated: 30 October 2026