Australia’s school leadership pipeline is under growing strain, with new research warning rising workloads and wellbeing pressures are pushing the profession towards a sustainability tipping point.
New national findings from education workforce improvement company PeopleBench reveal school leaders are increasingly describing their roles as “overworked”, “under pressure” and “unsustainable”, with burnout risks intensifying.
This year’s State of the Sector report – PeopleBench’s sixth annual survey of school principals, deputy principals and senior leaders across Australia – found that school leaders are facing intensifying pressure, with 77 per cent rating their workload as “high” and 73 per cent describing the intensity of their work the same way.
Despite the mounting pressure, leaders reported stronger confidence in their school culture (73 per cent) and workforce (67 per cent) than in their own role (59 per cent) – a contradiction researchers describe as a growing “burnout paradox” in school leadership.
Speaking to the findings, Mr Mike Hennessy, Chief Research & Insights Officer at PeopleBench, said the sector was approaching a critical tipping point.
“These findings show Australia’s school leaders are carrying extraordinary levels of pressure, and many are now questioning whether the role itself is sustainable,” Mr Hennessy said.
“These are not isolated concerns – they are becoming defining features of school leadership.”
While workload pressures emerged strongly, the report also found personal factors were the single biggest reason leaders were considering leaving their role, with more than 42 per cent of those responses specifically linked to leaders’ own health and wellbeing.
“That is one of the most concerning findings in the report,” Mr Hennessy said.
“When school leaders begin citing their own health and wellbeing as a reason to walk away, this is no longer just a workload problem – it’s becoming a genuine sustainability and wellbeing crisis for the profession.”
The report also revealed a growing divide between metropolitan and regional schools.
School leaders outside major cities were notably more likely to leave their school within the next year (15.7 per cent compared with 11.2 per cent), prompting warnings of a potential “leadership drought” in regional Australia if retention pressures continue to intensify.
“Regional and rural schools have long faced complex workforce pressures, and these findings suggest leadership retention may become one of the sector’s next major challenges,” Mr Hennessy said.
At the same time, the research highlighted the extraordinary perseverance and dedication of school leaders, many of whom continue to prioritise staff, students and school culture despite the pressures they face personally.
“Even under immense strain, leaders remain highly invested in creating positive environments for their communities,” Mr Hennessy said.
“That commitment is one of the sector’s greatest strengths – but we cannot keep relying on goodwill to hold the system together.”
Mr Hennessy said addressing the issue would require governments and education systems to prioritise leadership wellbeing alongside workforce attraction and retention strategies.
“We need to reduce unnecessary workload, strengthen leadership support structures and create conditions where school leaders can thrive – not just survive.”
The annual PeopleBench State of the Sector report is an exploration of opinions from school leaders across K/P–12 education, specifically focused on workforce experiences, leadership challenges and the future sustainability of the sector.
To access the report, or to learn more about PeopleBench, click here.
