Two in Three Australian Teachers Now Use AI

If you've been using AI at school and quietly wondering whether you're ahead of the curve or behind it, the data says neither. You're the norm, and by international standards, Australia is near the front of the pack. TALIS 2024, the OECD's Teaching and Learning International Survey, ran its Australian arm through ACER, surveying 6,040 teachers across 359 schools. It found 66 percent of lower-secondary teachers and 47 percent of primary teachers had used AI in the past twelve months, putting Australia fourth out of 55 education systems worldwide, well above the OECD average of 36 percent.

What are teachers actually using AI for?#

Lesson prep, mostly. Among lower-secondary teachers already using AI, 71 percent said their main use was brainstorming lesson plans or summarising content, the planning side of the job rather than anything student-facing.

What teachers are worried about#

The concerns are just as real, and worth taking at face value. In the same survey, 87 percent of lower-secondary teachers and 58 percent of primary teachers said they're worried AI lets students pass off someone else's work as their own. A similar share, 82 and 61 percent respectively, worry AI gives students recommendations that aren't appropriate or correct. That's most of the profession, including plenty of teachers who use AI themselves, not a small vocal minority.

The gap between policy and practice#

A more textured picture shows up at the state level. A Learning First survey of nearly 3,400 NSW teachers and over 750 school leaders, released in May 2026, found more than 80 percent report their school has restrictions on AI use for assessments. Restrictions exist on paper. But of the roughly half of secondary teachers who say their students use AI for schoolwork, about three-quarters say it's being used to complete actual assessments anyway, and around half of teachers say they don't know how to prevent AI-enabled plagiarism at all. A rule that half the staff can't enforce isn't doing much work.

Why the non-users are not using it#

What's holding non-users back isn't principle, mostly, it's know-how. Among teachers not using AI, 75 percent of those in lower-secondary and 84 percent in primary point to a lack of skill or knowledge as the reason, not a considered decision to opt out.

None of this points to a simple verdict. AI in the classroom isn't a passing fad, and it isn't obviously making everything better either. It's already part of how Australian teaching happens, ahead of most of the world by these numbers, whether or not policy and training have caught up. The more useful question probably isn't whether to use it, most of you already are, it's noticing where it's genuinely saving you time and where a restriction on paper isn't matching what's happening in the classroom.

Further reading: ACER's TALIS 2024 Australian report and The Conversation on Australia's TALIS 2024 results.