Labor promises to pay students who get an ATAR of 80 or over up to $12,000 a year if they decide to study an education degree, as part of its plan to boost teaching standards and reduce teacher shortages.
The plan would see high-achieving students who choose to do an education degree given $10,000 a year for the length of the course, or $12,000 if they commit to teaching in a regional area — although it is not clear how long they would have to promise to teach regionally.
The extra cash would be offered to 1,000 students a year over five years and it is understood priority would be given to students with the highest ATARs.
Labor said a similar program in the United Kingdom had shown a 2.9 per cent increase in applications to study education and teaching for every 1,000 pounds ($1,743) in payments.
The party's long-term goal is to double the number of people who get an ATAR over 80 studying education over the next 10 years from around 1,800 a year to 3,600 a year.
"One of the most important things we can do to stop the slide in students results and boost student results is to lift teaching standards," Shadow Education Minister Tanya Plibersek said.
"If we want a better future in Australia, we need a smart, skilled workforce so we can compete for jobs and growth with our neighbours."
Labor would also boost programs to encourage people working in other fields to retrain as teachers, adding 1,500 new places which would include 700 new spots in the Teach for Australia program and 60 in the Nexus Program through LaTrobe University.
The funding would mean more people could work part-time as teachers' aides while they completed masters degrees in education.
Labor is also promising to work with states and territories to find ways to retain teachers.
The entire plan is set to cost $146.5 million over four years.
Coalition funding for retraining programs
Labor's commitment to new places in the Teach for Australia and Nexus programs matches an announcement the Coalition made last week that it would spend $40 million adding the extra spots to both programs.
The Coalition's focus would be on regional and remote areas and STEM subjects.
It also promised that, if re-elected, it would spend $13.4 million to "support changes to accreditation standards" which would include working towards bringing back the one-year graduate diploma of education.
It would also spend $10.7 million developing "micro-credentials in classroom management" as part of an expansion of the Quality Teaching Rounds program and $7.2 million on professional development for teachers.
"We have invested in Teach for Australia to place more than 400 new teachers in regional and disadvantaged schools since 2019," Acting Education Minister Stuart Robert said.
"Currently, more than 50 per cent of TFA teachers are in regional and remote schools and more than 40 per cent are teaching maths or science subjects.
"This new investment will enable Teach for Australia to double its reach and impact, helping to address teacher shortages and lift student outcomes right across the country."
