Difficulties involved in staffing bilingual education programs in Australia are discussed. Bilingual teachers are defined as speakers of English and a community language that is the mother tongue of a sizeable non-English speaking group. Viewpoints are based on an attempt to implement a small-scale teacher training program at La Trobe University. The experience was limited to post-primary teacher trainees destined mostly to work in state schools in Victoria. It is suggested that teacher training institutions do not want to train bilingual teachers. There are few people in Australia who have a command of both English and another language, such that they feel competent to teach in either language. Teacher training institutions are not interested in making a commitment to undertake the teaching of community languages. At La Trobe University, an effort was made to teach people with tertiary qualifications from non-English speaking countries. The Victoria Education Department does not have a policy on bilingual teachers. The existing machinery, together with the present economic and political climate, leaves bilingual teachers with little or no means of being placed in schools. Possible roles of bilingual teachers and problems they would face are outlined, and needs of bilingual student teachers are discussed. (SW)