Labor will give our region’s top achievers bursaries of up to $40,000 to encourage the best and brightest to enter teaching.
 
Member for Blair, Shayne Neumann MP, said year 12 students from Ipswich, the Somerset Region and the Karana Downs region with exceptional marks, and people with outstanding achievement at university or in the workforce, will compete for up to 1000 of the cash bonuses each year.
 
“If you were dux of your school, won a university medal, or are at the top of your profession, we want you to consider a teaching degree.
 
“The tax-free bursaries of $10,000 per annum will be paid to recipients for the duration of a teaching degree, up to a maximum of four years. 
 
“Labor wants the best and brightest Australians studying teaching.
 
“We want people competing to get into teaching in the same way they compete to get into medicine.
 
“We want Australians with a track record of achievement, motivation, and capability to teach the next generation.  
 
“A career in teaching should be a first choice, not a fallback.”
 
Students will have to maintain a high level of academic achievement throughout their degree to continue to be eligible for the cash bonus. 
 
After graduating, recipients will be expected to work in public schools for between one and four years, depending on how long they received the bursary.
 
“Labor wants Australia to have the best school system in the world,” Mr Neumann said
 
“Our extra money for schools will mean we can get more of our top achievers to be teachers, support them to deliver outstanding teaching throughout their careers, and give them the time to focus on the needs of every child.”