The new platform helping teachers with mental wellbeing

With more than half of Aussie teachers suffering from anxiety, two former teachers have developed a new platform where educators can anonymously let principals know how they're feeling.

Dr Timothy Hawkes and Adam Weber have developed the Truwell program to help combat some of the issues teachers are facing.

"Teacher stress is something which is probably costing our nation many billions of dollars a year," Retired teacher and principal Dr Hawkes told A Current Affair.

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In Australia, teachers have the most mental health compensation claims over any other profession, with 30 per cent of teachers not making it past five years.

And still rattled by his own three-year experience as a high school teacher - Mr Weber now spends his days trying to fix what he couldn't in the classroom with his colleague Dr Hawkes.

"We realised there were very serious deficiencies in teacher wellbeing programs," Dr Hawkes said.

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Dr Hawkes said there are about 15 per cent of teachers who are clinically depressed and need expert medical intervention, which both he and Mr Weber are hoping to prevent.

"We want to stop them getting into that dark space, where they're having to submit Workcover claims."

The platform offers colour-coded wellbeing surveys and the chance to spell out what needs to change.

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Data like this shows education bosses where their teachers need more support.

Truwell also offers 21 positive psychology courses which are tailored to the individual teacher's survey responses.

And school leaders are presented with a graph and given an immediate overview of the wellbeing of the staff at their school.

Another person who claims teachers need help and are under enormous stress is President of the New South Wales Teachers Federation, Angelo Gavrielatos.

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He commissioned an inquiry into teacher wellbeing - for the first time in 17 years.

He claims teachers are "overworked, underpaid" and "undervalued".

"International evidence shows that Australia's teachers and principals are working longer days, more weeks, more days in the year than their counterparts in other industrialised countries," he said.

And he said findings suggest both teachers and principals need more time and support.

"They also found that teachers status needs to be raised and to do so, the findings tell us that there needs to be urgent attention given to teachers' salaries," he said.

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The findings feed into a critical teacher shortage being felt right across the country.

More alarmingly the amount of primary school students in New South Wales alone is expected to soar by 200,000 over the next 20 years.

But who's fault is this?

Mr Gavrielatos said, "governments must be held accountable for the circumstances in which we find ourselves".

And he said the policy mix of governments is contributing to failing teachers and students.

And in the end, it's not the teachers who miss out the most when they walk away from the profession it's the students they leave behind.

"Ultimately it comes down to what is best for kids," Mr Gavrielatos said.

For more information on the Truwell program, visit: Truwell