Can AI Actually Give Teachers Time Back? Australia Is Testing It

Australia is putting a simple promise about AI to the test: can it actually reduce teacher workload?

The Australian Government’s $30 million Workload Reduction Fund supports 27 pilots across the country. Current projects include expanding NSWEduChat to staff in around 700 schools, generative-AI support for marking and feedback in independent schools, a Catholic education chatbot, and a Western Australian project using AI for lesson planning and learning activities.

Students at the International School of Western Australia. Australian workload pilots are testing whether AI and other changes can reduce time spent on tasks around teaching. Image: ISWAschool / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

The test that matters

There is plenty of discussion about AI transforming education. A more immediate measure may be whether it gives teachers meaningful time back without weakening professional judgement or creating new checking work.

For school leaders, that suggests a useful standard for any new AI tool: not whether it is impressive, but whether it measurably removes low-value work and leaves teachers more time for students.

Explore Australia’s Workload Reduction Fund pilots