Australian public school teachers are spending more than $175 million of their own money each year on basic classroom supplies, according to new data from the Australian Education Union (AEU).
The AEU’s 2025 State of Our Schools survey, which included more than 10,000 public school teachers, found that over 86% are using their own money to buy classroom supplies, averaging almost $1,000 each per year. Nationally, this adds up to nearly $177 million annually.
Teachers in primary schools, special schools, and very remote schools spend even more than the national average, with remote educators spending an average of $1,197 each.
AEU federal president Correna Haythorpe said the findings highlighted serious issues within the education system.
“The unacceptable reality is that teachers are spending significant amounts of their own money on the basic necessities needed to run a classroom,” Haythorpe said.
“We’re not talking about nice-to-haves or personal touches. Teachers are paying for basic items like stationery, books, classroom equipment, and materials to support individual students. These are critical items necessary for teachers to do their jobs properly, but they have been forced to pay for them out of their own pockets.”
What teachers are buying
The survey shows teachers are most commonly paying for stationery, with 85.2% purchasing these items. Classroom equipment was purchased by 84.2% of teachers, 51.5% bought items to support individual students, and 37.9% purchased library textbooks or resources.
Teachers in under-resourced schools spend an average of $1,119 each, compared with $660 for those in adequately resourced schools.
Funding agreements under scrutiny
Haythorpe said governments must prioritise the delivery of resources to public schools through new bilateral funding agreements between the Commonwealth and state and territory governments.
“When more than 85% of public school teachers are spending nearly $1,000 a year of their own money, that’s not generosity, that’s a system failure,” she said.
“This is especially unfair when teachers in under-resourced and remote schools are spending even more. The teachers who are already working in the toughest conditions are being asked to carry the greatest financial burden.”
The AEU 2025 State of Our Schools survey was conducted in late 2025 and surveyed 10,384 public school teachers across Australia.