Supporting early-career teachers
The department is delivering a range of supports to provide teachers with the best start to their career, and to support them to grow and to help school leaders find the balance they need to excel.
Supports for First-Year Early Career Teachers
Career Start – transforming the first years of the teaching career
Career Start is a structured program for early-career teachers which increases teacher retention and aims to improve their experience as they are inducted into the profession. Career Start provides time release, practice-focused mentoring, professional development and access to a regionally-based Learning Alliance Leader (experienced teacher) to early career teachers and their mentors to accelerate their professional practice and support their wellbeing. Career Start ran a successful pilot from 2021 to 2023, then expanded in 2024 and 2025.
Career Start is now available in all Victorian government schools in these 13 areas:
- Inner Gippsland
- North Eastern Melbourne
- Outer Eastern Melbourne
- Southern Melbourne
- Western Melbourne
- Hume Merri-bek
- Brimbank Melton
- Goulburn
- Ovens-Murray
- Mallee
- Outer Gippsland
- Barwon
- Central Highlands
Career Start is not currently available outside of the 13 listed areas.
For further information, refer to Career Start: transforming the first years of the teaching .
VIT mentor programs – enhancing the mentoring knowledge and skills of experienced teachers
The Effective Mentoring Program (EMP) is designed to enhance the mentoring knowledge and skills of experienced teachers who hold full registration with the Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT) so they can support graduate and returning teachers to progress from provisional to full registration with the VIT, and act as the VIT-trained mentor on workplace recommendations panels.
The program is delivered as a partnership between the department and the VIT.
For further information, refer to Effective Mentoring .
Reviewed 21 July 2026
