Study in Australia: AI pilot to help tackle Western Australian teacher workloads

There are many Western Australian schools in the government’s AI pilot program and the most disadvantaged public schools in the area will be fully funded first.

Jason Clare MP Minister For Education Member for Blaxland said that Western Australian and Australian governments are backing an Artificial Intelligence (AI) in education pilot program. The government is funding this project to reduce the workloads of teachers in the WA area.

It is a $4.7 million initiative which will see using AI in eight WA schools to reduce lesson planning time which will give teachers more time to spend in the classroom than doing the admin work.

The eight schools that will be using AI under this agreement include Joseph Banks Secondary College, Harrisdale Primary School, School of Isolated and Distance Education, Lesmurdie Primary School, Ursula Frayne Catholic College, Emmanuel Catholic College, St James Anglican School, and Carey Baptist College.

“Teaching is the most important job in the world. The idea that teachers clock on at 9 am and knock off at 3pm is rubbish. AI will never replace a great teacher, but it can help cut down the time they spend doing admin so they can spend more time in the classroom. That’s why the Albanese Government is investing $30 million in the Workload Reduction Fund so they can maximise their time with students,” said Jason Clare.

WA Minister for Education Tony Buti said, “We want out teachers to be teaching our kids. To do this, unnecessary administrative burdens must be reduced, and we hope this new pilot program can support our teachers and ease their workload. We are determined to create the right conditions for schools to get on with their jobs of providing a great education.”

AI-based initiative details

Department of Education has joined forces with the Catholic Education WA, the School Curriculum and Standards Authority, and the Association of Independent Schools WA for the pilot project. The initiative is a part of the Commonwealth’s $30 million Workload Reduction Fund under the National Teacher Workforce Action Plan. The fund was agreed in December 2022 by the Education Ministers.

The Albanese Government has also agreed to offer an additional $777.4 million in Western Australian public schools to fully fund the most disadvantaged public schools in WA in the first phase, from the period 2025 to 2029.

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