School education: a quick guide


24 April 2023

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Dr Shannon Clark
Social Policy

This paper provides a brief overview of school education in Australia. It describes schools and students, responsibilities for schooling, the Australian Curriculum and the National Assessment Program. School funding is discussed separately in A Quick Guide to Funding For Schools in Australia.

School education in Australia is primarily the responsibility of the states and territories. State and territory governments regulate schools and administer government schools in their jurisdiction. All schools in Australia must be registered with their state or territory school registration authority. There are 14 school registration authorities in Australia.

The Australian Government plays a role in funding schools as well as in national policy initiatives and reforms.

Shared goals for education in Australia are set out in the Alice Springs (Mparntwe) Education Declaration (Mparntwe Declaration), which all education ministers agreed to in December 2019. The Mparntwe Declaration ‘sets out the national vision for education and the commitment of Australian Governments to improving educational outcomes’.

State and territory and Australian Government education ministers make decisions and work collaboratively on education matters through the Education Ministers Meeting. Meetings are generally held 4 times per year. The Australian Government Minister for Education is the Chair of the Education Ministers Meeting.

The Education Ministers Meeting replaced the Education Council as a forum for education ministers following changes to federal relations announced by then Prime Minister Scott Morrison in May 2020 when National Cabinet replaced the Council of Australian Governments (COAG).

Schooling in Australia

States and territories provide for 13 years of formal school education (p. 2). Primary education typically lasts for 7 years followed by 6 years of secondary education. South Australia recently transitioned from an 8-year/5-year pattern to the 7-year/6-year pattern.

The first year of full-time schooling is a Foundation year, which is variously known as (p. 29):

  • Kindergarten (ACT and NSW)
  • Preparatory (QLD, Tas and Vic)
  • Pre-primary (WA)
  • Reception (SA)
  • Transition (NT).

Children typically attend school from around the age of 5 until the age of 17 or 18. School is compulsory from the age of 6 until 17 in most states and territories (with provision for alternative study or work arrangements in the senior secondary years) (pp. 12, 29). Young people are required to participate in schooling (or an approved equivalent) to at least Year 10 across all states. After Year 10, depending on jurisdictional requirements, students are required to undertake full-time education, training or employment (or a combination of these activities) until they turn 17 (most states and territories), or 18 (Western Australia and Tasmania), or complete an approved learning program, whichever comes first.

School sectors

There are 2 overarching school sectors in Australia:

  • government schools (also referred to as public or state schools), which are owned and managed by state and territory governments
  • non-government schools (also referred to as private schools), which often have a religious affiliation, and are owned and managed by non-government organisations.

Government schools

The majority of schools in Australia are government schools and the majority of Australian students attend government schools (see Table 1). In 2022:

  • of the 9,614 schools in Australia, 69.7% or 6,699 schools were government schools
  • of the 4,042,512 school students across Australia, 65.1% or 2,622,755 students were enrolled in government schools.

Non-government schools

Non-government schools can be further distinguished as Catholic or independent (which can also be referred to as sectors); and as systemic or non-systemic. Systemic schools are formally affiliated with a group or system of schools. Non-systemic non-government schools do not belong to a system.

There are differences in how non-systemic Catholic schools are categorised across different datasets. For example, Catholic non-systemic schools are counted as ‘Catholic’ in the non‑government schools finance collection, while some Catholic non-systemic schools are counted as independent schools in the My School collection (see ACARA’s National Report on Schooling in Australia 2021, p. 133).

Catholic

Catholic schools make up the largest group of non-government schools. The following figures include systemic and non-systemic Catholic schools. In 2022:

  • there were 1,766 Catholic schools, comprising 18.4% of all schools
  • 795,368 students were enrolled in Catholic schools, comprising 19.7% of all students.

Independent

Independent schools may be associated with other denominations, other religions, particular educational philosophies, and/or operate as single entities. In 2022:

  • there were 1,149 independent schools, comprising 12.0% of all schools
  • 641,318 students were enrolled in independent schools, comprising 15.9% of all students.

Table 1     Number of schools and students by sector, 2022

 

Government

Catholic

Independent

Total

 

No.

%

No.

%

No.

%

No.

Schools

6,699

69.7

1,766

18.4

1,149

12.0

9,614

Students

2,605,826

64.5

795,368

19.7

641,318

15.9

4,042,512

Source: Drawn from Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), ‘School numbers’ and ‘Student numbers’, National Report on Schooling in Australia—Data Portal.

Australian Curriculum

Australia has a national curriculum which provides a clear understanding of what students across Australia should learn. The Australian Curriculum was developed by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA).

Implementation of the Australian Curriculum is the responsibility of state and territory school and curriculum authorities. They decide on the organisation and delivery of the Australian Curriculum, and the timing and extent of the take-up of the Australian Curriculum in their jurisdiction. The Australian Curriculum is flexible and can be used by schools and teachers to utilise teachers’ professional knowledge and personalise students’ learning.

A review of the Foundation–10 (F–10) Australian Curriculum was undertaken in 2020–21. Education Ministers endorsed the updated curriculum at the Education Ministers Meeting on 1 April 2022. The revised F–10 Australian Curriculum (Version 9.0) was made available on a new website in May 2022. Senior secondary subjects continue to use Version 8.4.

Version 9.0 of the F–10 curriculum will be implemented according to the timelines and approaches determined by state and territory education authorities. Some jurisdictions may start to teach some or all of the learning areas from 2023.

Organisation of the Australian Curriculum

The F–10 Australian Curriculum (Version 9.0) has 3 dimensions: learning areas, general capabilities and cross-curriculum priorities:

  • There are 8 learning areas: English, Mathematics, Science, Health and Physical Education, Humanities and Social Sciences, the Arts, Technologies, and Languages.
  • There are 7 general capabilities: Critical and Creative Thinking, Digital Literacy, Ethical Understanding, Intercultural Understanding, Literacy, Numeracy, and Personal and Social Capability. Each general capability is presented as a learning continuum or progression.
  • There are 3 cross-curriculum priorities: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures, Asia and Australia’s Engagement with Asia, and Sustainability.

General capabilities and cross-curriculum priorities are addressed and incorporated through the content of learning areas, rather than being separate learning areas, subjects or skills.

The Senior secondary curriculum (Version 8.4) has 15 senior secondary subjects across English, Mathematics, Science, History and Geography. Education ministers endorsed the subjects in December 2012 (for subjects in English, Mathematics, Science and History) and July 2013 (Geography) ‘as the agreed and common base for the development of state and territory senior secondary courses’.

National Assessment Program

Student achievement is measured through a number of national and international assessments. ACARA is also responsible for the management of the National Assessment Program (NAP). The NAP includes:

ACARA publishes national reports and interactive results for NAPLAN and sample assessments.

Further information

The following resources provide national information about schools and students:

 

For copyright reasons some linked items are only available to members of Parliament.

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