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:
- ACARA
publishes:
– the
annual National
Report on Schooling in Australia and the latest available
schools data via the National
Report on Schooling in Australia data portal
– the Australian Schools List—a searchable list
and interactive map of all schools and campuses across Australia
– consistent
school-level information via the My
School website.
- The
Productivity Commission’s annual Report
on Government Services provides information on school
education performance indicators (Part B, Section 4). This includes data on
schools, students, access, attendance, performance, attainment and retention
rates.
- The
Australian Bureau of Statistics’ Schools publication provides information about schools, students, and staff.
- Parliamentary Library publications on school education
include:
- Dr
Shannon Clark, Funding for Schools in Australia: a Quick Guide, Research
paper series 2022–23, (Canberra: Parliamentary Library, 2023).
- Carol
Ey and Dr Shannon Clark, School Education: a Quick
Guide to Key Internet Links, Research paper series 2020–21, (Canberra:
Parliamentary Library, 2021).