Overview of Education System
Australia does not have a single national education system; its individual states and territories are responsible for their own education administration, although overall the structures are similar throughout the country. As such, the states and territories administer school systems from school entry (the year known as Foundation) to Year 12.
Government schools are owned and operated by state and territory governments, with the national government providing supplementary funding. Parallel to government schools, a large nongovernment sector includes systemic and independent schools, which are supported by state and territory governments. For reporting purposes, the nongovernment sector generally is described as Catholic and independent. Nongovernment schools receive most of their public funding from the national government, with state and territory governments and other sources (including parents) providing supplementary funding. Policy collaboration takes place in joint governmental councils that include federal, state, and territorial government representatives.
In 2016, 3,798,226 students were enrolled in schools across Australia. Just over one third of students (35 percent) attended nongovernment schools. The proportion of students attending government and nongovernment schools varies across the states and territories. Of these students, 207,852 identified as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander in 2016 (an increase from previous years), with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students making up almost 5.5 percent of all students.6
Curriculum and assessment development traditionally has been the responsibility of state authorities in Australia. However, since 2008 the landscape of Australian education has changed through a series of agreements between all state, territory, and Commonwealth education ministers. These agreements have introduced increasing national consistency in key aspects of early childhood education and school education, including school leaving age, curriculum, and teacher registration.
The Australian Curriculum, Assessment, and Reporting Authority is responsible for developing a national curriculum from Foundation to Year 12, a national assessment program that measures students’ progress, and a national data collection and reporting program. Statutory authorities for the regulation of the teaching profession oversee all states and territories, and their responsibilities include initial registration of all teachers. In 2010, the Australian Institute of Teaching and School Leadership was established to provide national leadership for federal, state, and territorial governments in improving teacher quality. In October 2011, education ministers endorsed a nationally consistent approach to teacher registration.
Minimum school starting ages vary by state and territory, from 4 years and 5 months to 5 years, but the compulsory starting age is 6 in most states. All states now provide one year of school before Grade 1, variously called kindergarten, preparatory (or prep), transition, preprimary, or reception (referred to as “Foundation” in the Australian Curriculum).
The Australian school system is organized around “years” or “grades”; Foundation is the first year of formal schooling, and Year 12 is the final year of secondary education. Some states include Year 7 in primary schools so secondary education may cover either Years 7 to 12 or Years 8 to 12. Following a decision of the Council of Australian Governments in July 2009, there is national agreement on a mandatory requirement for young people to complete Year 10 and then participate full time in education, training, or employment until age 17.7 Australia has no common national policy on ability streaming, grouping, or tracking of students. Streaming is a school based decision and is not promoted officially in any state. Some schools choose to stream students according to ability, and others offer special enrichment or remedial programs for select groups of students.