Proactive classroom management is associated with increased teacher wellbeing and improved student learning outcomes. Yet research indicates that many teachers over-report and underuse practices associated with this approach. The research findings reported here were drawn from semi-structured interviews conducted with 26 government secondary school teachers in Queensland, Australia. These teachers favoured a classroom management approach based on establishing positive relationships with students, but they raised challenges related to cultivating student engagement, meeting the diverse needs of learners and adherence to school disciplinary procedures. Although they felt generally confident with classroom management and were relatively satisfied with student behaviour, they identified a need for better initial teacher preparation, improved induction support and opportunities for ongoing professional development for classroom management.