Teachers are spending far too much time on data collection and compliance paperwork while being starved of time for activities that directly benefit students, according to a report by the NSW Teachers Federation.
The latest analysis of a survey of 13,000 teachers will be launched today at the Teachers Federation conference and reveals educators are spending the majority of their non-teaching time on administrative tasks such as data collection and entry and programming compliance.
Meanwhile, work that teachers identify as having the greatest impact on students, such as professional learning, engaging with parents and carers, and collaborating with colleagues on curriculum development, is relegated to minimal time allocations.
NSW Teachers Federation Deputy President Ms Amber Flohm said the findings show teachers are doing “the wrong work” at the expense of student outcomes.
“It’s now taking longer to document a lesson than to teach it,” Ms Flohm said. “Teachers are spending their evenings and weekends completing paperwork that serves no educational purpose while having no time for professional development that would genuinely improve their practice.”
The survey results align with national data showing 75 per cent of teachers cite workload as the primary reason they intend to leave the profession, according to the Australian Teacher Workforce Data released in June 2025.
However, “not enjoying teaching” continues to decline as a factor, representing less than one in five teachers considering departure – suggesting educators still love teaching but are frustrated by administrative burdens.
Ms Flohm said many compliance requirements imposed by the Department and schools exceed what the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) actually mandates.
NESA guidelines state there is no requirement for detailed teacher evaluation and reflection in compliance evidence, no requirement about how evaluation is completed, and no expectation that teachers write comments regarding each aspect of each lesson.
“Yet schools continue to impose these burdensome requirements, often going far beyond what’s legally necessary,” Ms Flohm said.
The Federation argues the administrative overload is contributing to teacher shortages, particularly in regional areas where schools struggle to replace departing educators.
This week, 500 Teachers Federation delegates are gathering for the union’s annual conference to debate measures aimed at reducing unnecessary compliance and refocusing teacher time on student’s learning and teaching.
The union is calling for schools to strip back compliance requirements to statutory minimums and eliminate what it describes as “layers of unnecessary bureaucracy” imposed beyond NESA requirements.
Ms Flohm said the findings challenge recent policy directions toward standardised teaching approaches and pre-made curriculum materials.
“Teachers don’t want to be delivery agents for someone else’s materials,” she said. “They want time to do the creative, intellectual work of adapting learning to their students in front of them and their specific needs.”
