Instead, he was battling the State and Federal governments on issues such as teachers' salaries, funding and principals' autonomy as new president of the NSW Teachers Federation.

Despite a great love for teaching, he shifted focus because he felt there was more need for his advocacy within the teachers' union.

"I miss school because every day I was a teacher, young people brought some joy into my life," he said.

"I'm going to miss that interaction ... because it is so re-energising each day to see a young person having success or experiencing something new.

"But there is a greater need to ensure that the interests of these young people and the teachers are being supported and advanced, and that gives me some comfort.

"I thought long and hard about the decision to seek election ... and I felt that at this stage in my career I'm so fearful of many of the agendas that have been rolled out federally and at a state level that I decided that I might be able to make a contribution."

After a week in the role, Mr Mulheron said he would be taking issue with salary caps for school and TAFE teachers and the implications these could have on the profession as a whole.

"The state wage cap of 2.5 per cent means teachers are now being paid below the inflation rate," he said.

"We can't attract the best and brightest into the profession ... we know from the Auditor General's report that the Government is predicting the retirement to be between 20-25,000 teachers between now and 2016."

Also on his agenda is the Government's push to give principals more power in schools, which he fears will result in a fragmented and underfunded system.

Mr Mulheron said one of the most important issues for the Illawarra would be how a trial of a new disability funding model for schools was rolled out.

The Teachers Federation fears the program, trialled in Illawarra schools for the past two years, could mean a loss of support teachers and funding for students.