Staff in Australia's Schools, 2013

The Staff in Australia's Schools (SiAS) survey was commissioned by the Australian Government Department of Education (formerly the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations) in December 2012. The survey was conducted by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) in collaboration with a representative Advisory Committee of 21 members and was open to the sampled schools and teachers from May to August 2013. The project used an online survey of large national samples to provide a detailed picture of the Australian teacher and school leader workforces, and to gather information to assist in future planning. It was also designed to provide comparative and updated data following on from the previous SiAS surveys conducted in 2006-07 and 2010. Collecting new workforce data through a third national SiAS was important for supporting ongoing teacher workforce planning, such as in assessing current teacher shortages, future career intentions and current teacher labour markets. The survey was structured around four populations: Primary Teachers; Secondary Teachers; Primary Leaders; and Secondary Leaders. ‘Leaders’ were defined as Principals, Deputy/Vice Principals, and their equivalents in the different school systems.