State Government extends $7000 bonus for teachers to work at regional and remote schools

The State Government is sweetening the deal for West Australian teachers to go regional or remote, extending a $7000 bonus for those who make the move.

On Monday, Education Minister Sabine Winton will announce an extension of the Regional Attraction and Retention Incentive for more than 60 regional and remote schools.

The $7.4 million investment will see up to $7000 available for eligible teachers and school administrators working in designated rural and remote public schools.

The bonus will be paid in two instalments — the first at the start of the 2026 school year and the second will be paid to staff remaining at the school at the end of the year.

Ms Winton said the initiative complemented other measures including district allowances to attract and retain teachers, travel concessions, an air-conditioning subsidy, and salary increases for teachers and school leaders in all WA public schools.

“The Cook Labor Government remains committed to building our workforce and delivering a high-quality education to every young Western Australian, no matter where they live,” she said.

“As a former regional educator, I know how rewarding teaching in regional WA can be.

“Extending this initiative builds on our commitment to support our regional teaching workforce, who do an incredible job helping our students learn and thrive.”

Regional Principals Association president Kevin Brady said the incentive had improved regional teacher shortages since 2023 but some locations were still struggling to find appropriate teaching staff.

“We are seeing that in some locations, it’s still very difficult to find appropriate teaching staff, and in some cases, the number of applicants for positions is very low or even zero applicants,” he said.

“Certainly remote areas still struggle to get staff but even some schools in the South West have found it difficult to access appropriately qualified staff.”

He said regional and remote schools wanted to not only see monetary incentives but also more support for housing, professional development, transportation and students.

“The quality of education in regional areas depends on high quality principals and high quality teachers,” he said.

“What we know is that achievement of students in rural and regional areas sits below the achievement of students in metropolitan areas, and we can’t accept that that’s something that we should continue to put up with.

“We need to make sure that we do everything to achieve equitable results for metropolitan students and regional students as well and that’s not the case at the moment.”

The Regional Attraction and Retention Incentive was first rolled out to 48 rural and remote schools in 2023.