NSW Teachers Federation vice-president Henry Rajendra said while no Illawarra schools are on this list, it doesn't mean there isn't a shortage of teachers in the region's public schools.

"It just means the schools here haven't taken any action," he said.

"There was a time when the teacher shortages were impacting mostly on regional and remote areas. Now, due to government inaction, it is impacting across the board.

"We are in a crisis. Things are dire."

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Wollongong-based Mr Rajendra, said the NSWTF had launched a campaign to address the growing teacher shortages across NSW.

The 'More Than Thanks' campaign was launched on Thursday to coincide with new research showing the extent of the workforce crisis in the state's schools.

The new poll of 4190 NSWTF members in public schools conducted between August 25 and September 4 shows that 95 per cent of teachers and principals say shortages of teachers are a significant issue.

It also revealed 93 per cent said their school had difficulty recruiting casual teachers. This figure rose to 95 per cent in country schools.

Mr Rajendra echoed the sentiments of NSWTF president Angelo Gavrielatos in stating that 'More Than Thanks" was needed from the NSW Government to fix the worsening teacher shortages and stop students from missing out.

He also agreed with his boss that the only way to fix the shortages problem was to fix the wages and workload problem.

Mr Rajendra said an independent inquiry into the work of teachers, headed by former WA Premier, Geoff Gallop, had warned in February that uncompetitive salaries and unsustainable workloads were leading to the teacher shortages.

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NSW Education Minister Sarah Mitchel has publicly expressed her concerns with the teacher shortages.

In June this year the government introduced a plan to remove mid-careers' barriers to teaching, to try and enlist more teachers.

Mr Rajendra labelled the 'Fast Stream, Fast Track' plan underwhelming and ineffective to address the teacher shortages

"You address it in the first instance by addressing the salaries of teachers to ensure that they are competitive. You also have to look at reducing excessive workloads of teachers," he said.

"Our surveys show the unsustainable workload is a significant factor in the profession's ability to attract and retain teachers. Having uncompetitive salaries compared to other professions, also doesn't help."

The industrial award that determines the salaries and conditions of teachers expires in December.

In line with the recommendations of the Gallop inquiry, teachers and principals are seeking a salary increase of between 5 to 7.5 per cent a year to recognise the increase in their skills and expertise and begin to reverse the decline in teachers' wages compared to other professions.

Mr Rajendra said the last 18-months to two years showed teachers were prepared to go above and beyond to do what was needed to support their students.

"Teachers have had to pivot and change mode of lesson delivery a number of times. They have had to prepare work for their students for remote learning, which they have done time and time again," he said.

"Teachers are parents also so they also have to help their own children flourish during home learning.

"We know parents appreciate our dedicated teachers.

"The only problem we have is that there isn't enough of them. But the government can fix that and in the process ensure our students get the best education possible."

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