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Student Resource Package – Targeted Initiatives

Career Start – Transforming the First Years of the Teaching Career (Reference 132)

The Career Start program supports early career teachers to successfully transition into the classroom.

Career Start provides time release, mentoring and professional development opportunities. There are a range of supports for early career teachers and their mentors. The program accelerates the development of early career teachers’ professional practice. Additionally, there is a focus on early career teacher wellbeing.

Career Start ran a successful pilot from 2021 to 2023, then expanded in 2025.

Career Start is now available in Victorian government schools in these 13 areas:

  • Barwon
  • Brimbank Melton
  • Central Highlands
  • Goulburn
  • Hume Merri-bek
  • Inner Gippsland
  • Mallee
  • North Eastern Melbourne
  • Outer Eastern Melbourne
  • Outer Gippsland
  • Ovens-Murray
  • Southern Melbourne
  • Western Melbourne.

Career Start is not currently available outside of the 13 listed areas.

Eligibility in 2026

There are 3 ways a teacher can be eligible to participate in the Career Start program.

1. Automatic eligibility – no nomination required

Early career teachers are automatically eligible for Career Start in 2026 if they:

  • commenced their first year of classroom teaching on or after 6 June 2025
  • are employed at the classification of Classroom Teacher Range 1-1 (CT1-1)
  • are employed in a Victorian government school within one of the 13 participating areas listed above.

The department will use eduPay data to identify early career teachers who are eligible for the program. Principals will receive an email to confirm eligible early career teachers.

If a teacher is not registered in eduPay and you believe they are eligible for the program, please contact your Career Start regional manager by email (see below) as soon as possible.

2. Additional eligibility – nomination required

Principals may nominate early career teachers for the 2026 Career Start program if they:

  • commenced their first year of classroom teaching in a Victorian government school in one of the 13 eligible areas on or after 6 June 2025
  • are within CT1-2 to CT1-4 classification
  • have not been employed and gained experience as a school teacher in:
    • other school sectors in Victoria
    • another state or territory within Australia
    • internationally.

With respect to nominations, principals must confirm that:

  • the early career teacher is expected to benefit from Career Start supports
  • the school will support the nominated early career teacher to engage in all elements of the program.

Please contact your Career Start regional manager to nominate a new teacher for the Career Start program.

3. Nominations for pre-service teachers with Permission to Teach (General) to participate in the program

Principals may also nominate pre-service teachers with Permission to Teach (General) who are working in a Victorian government school in an eligible area to participate in the program. These pre-service teachers can start the program from the beginning of the year if they:

Please note that:

  • participants enrolled in Career Start in 2026 will not be eligible for the program if available in 2027
  • as with other early career teachers participating in the Career Start program, schools are required to assign a mentor to the pre-service teacher with Permission to Teach (General) for the duration of their participation in the Career Start program
  • schools must provide time release for mentoring and attendance at professional learning activities
  • if schools do not fully support both their early career teachers and mentors to participate in the program, funding to the school for the program may be reviewed and withdrawn.

Please contact your Career Start regional manager (below) to nominate a pre-service teacher working with Permission to Teach (General)

Rates and calculation

Career Start funding to schools includes funding for schools to backfill teachers and mentors participating in the Career Start program - to offset the reduction in teaching time provided to early career teachers and their mentors.

The annual level of funding per school is calculated based on the total FTE of enrolled early career teachers in the Career Start program. It will be calculated in Term 1 and published in the Student Resource Package (SRP) Confirmed cycle. Funding is re-calculated in line with the SRP Revised cycle.

Early career teachers may commence in Career Start up until the cut-off date of 5 June 2026.

Please note: No further changes to the allocation will be made past the SRP Revised Cycle.

Any early career teachers who take up roles after the cutoff date in the 2026 school year are not eligible for participation in 2026 but may be eligible for a future year of the Career Start program. This is to ensure continuity and relevance of the support provided. These ineligible early career teachers will still qualify for the 5% reduction in their duties as a teacher for their first 12 months as per the VGSA 2022.

The formulae and sample calculations below are examples from 2025.

FTE of career start graduates × [(graduate time release × (salaries + oncosts) + mentor time release × (salaries + oncosts))] × [days/365]

Funds for both Component A and Component B will be transferred to schools through the Student Resource Package (SRP) as a targeted initiative in the Confirmed Cycle and updated in the Revised Cycle to reflect changes in school staffing. Funding is allocated as credit.

Example A: Funding for Term 1 time release (2025)

Primary, specialist and P–12 schools
  • Time release for graduates funded at 9.3% of a CT2-4 salary + 17.35% school oncosts
  • Time release for mentors funded at 4.8% of a CT2-6 salary + 17.35% school oncosts

[Total FTE of Career Start graduates] × [(0.093 × ($104,216 + $18,081.48)) + (0.048 × ($116,894 + $20,281.11))] × [94/365]

or

[Simplified] 2025: [Total FTE of Career Start graduate teacher participants] × $4,624.82

Secondary schools
  • Time release for graduates funded at 8.5% of a CT2-4 salary + 17.35% school oncosts
  • Time release for mentors funded at 5.4% of a CT2-6 salary + 17.35% school oncosts

[Total FTE of Career Start graduates] × [(0.085 × ($104,216 + $18,081.48) + (0.054 × ($116,894 + $20,281.11))] × [94/365]

or

[Simplified] 2025: [Total FTE of Career Start graduate teacher participants] × $4,584.82

Example B: Funding for Terms 2 to 4 time release

Note: the below formulae account for the increase in teacher salaries at 1 July 2025 by calculating one term [87/365] of the payment using 2024–25 salaries, and 2 terms [184/365] of the payment using 2025–26 salaries.

Primary, specialist and P–9/12 schools

Total FTE of Career Start graduates] × [(0.093 × ($104,216 + $18,081.48)) + (0.048 × ($116,894 + $20,281.11)) × (87/365)] + [(0.093 × ($105,258 + $18,262.26)) + (0.048 × ($118,063 + $20,483.93)) × (184/365)]

or

[Simplified] 2025: [Total FTE of graduate teacher participants] × $13,423.77

Secondary schools

[Total FTE of Career Start graduates] × [(0.085 × ($104,216 + $18,081.48)) + (0.054 × ($116,894 + $20,281.11)) × (87/365)] + [(0.085 × ($105,258 + $18,262.26)) + (0.054 × ($118,063 + $20,483.93)) × (184/365)]

or

[Simplified] 2025: [Total FTE of graduate teacher participants] × $13,307.66

Total Career Start funding = Example A + Example B

Funding distribution

Example A and Example B funds are credited to schools according to the employment status of their registered early career teachers. If an early career teacher’s contract of employment does not extend beyond the end of Term 1, 2026, then only Example A will be funded to the school. Similarly, if an early career teacher’s employment only commences after the end of Term 1, 2026, only Example B will be funded to the school through the SRP Revised Cycle.

Changes to an early career teacher’s employment status will be reflected in the SRP Revised Cycle. Circumstances in which this may occur include if an early career teacher begins an ongoing position in Term 1 but resigns before the start of Term 2. In such a case, the school will have received Example A and B in the Confirmed Cycle but will cede Example B in the SRP Revised Cycle.

Further information

For further information contact Career.Start@education.vic.gov.au or your regional manager:

Please also visit Career Start – transforming the first years of the teaching careerExternal Link or Career Start: Policy.

Reference 132 of the SRP Guide, providing information on Transforming the First Years of the Teaching Career

Reviewed 01 April 2026

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