The problem
School systems are facing a significant issue as housing affordability and rising costs of living are intersecting with a global shortage of teachers. Currently modelling suggests the New South Wales public school system needs an additional 13,000 teachers to meet demand this decade. Where these new teachers will come from and be able to afford to live is a pressing concern.
What we did
We analysed house sales (strata and non-strata) and weekly rental costs by Local Government Area (LGA) against public school teacher salaries overtime to better understand the current state of housing affordability for school teachers. To identify the level of affordability, we drew on established thresholds (e.g., 30% of weekly income, or 3 times annual salary).
Key findings
Housing unaffordability: Currently, 90.8% of teaching positions are in LGAs that are unaffordable for a single teacher income household.
Increased transportation costs: The unaffordability of housing is forcing teachers to commute further to work adding financial and time costs.
Schools inaccessible for staff: Many schools traditionally thought of as easy to staff are becoming inaccessible due to housing and transportation costs.