Almost two-thirds of Victorian state school teachers in their first five years of teaching are on short-term contracts, leading to job uncertainty and high staff turnovers.

The Australian Education Union’s annual survey of new teachers showed 65 per cent were on fixed contracts - almost 10 percentage points more than last year.

Of the 1043 teachers surveyed, only half saw themselves teaching for more than a decade.

Victorian AEU president Meredith Peace said teachers employed on a contract basis have to continually reapply for their jobs, which impacts negatively on their teaching.

Lack of work continuity also makes it difficult for teachers to obtain mortgages or car loans, and can mean they miss out on holidays between jobs.