Education in Australia

Education in Australia follows a three tier model: primary, secondary and tertiary education. Education is primarily regulated by the individual state governments, not the federal government. Education is compulsory up to an age specified by legislation; this age varies but is generally 15 or 16, that is prior to completing secondary education.

Post-compulsory education is regulated within the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF), a unified system of national qualifications in schools, vocational education and training (TAFEs and private providers) and the higher education sector (mainly universities).

OECD data shows that all member countries have problems with adult literacy, and in Australia one in five adults do not have the literacy skills to effectively participate in daily life

Government and Private

Primary and Secondary

Primary and secondary education may be provided by:
Government schools (also known as State schools, or public schools)
Private schools (the older of these institutions are sometimes called Public School)

There has been a strong drift of students to private schools during the past decade.

Government schools educate the majority of students and do not charge large tuition fees (most do charge a fee as a contribution to costs). The major part of their costs is met by the relevant State or Territory government. Private schools, both religious or secular (the latter often with specialisations), may charge much higher fees.

Public schools can be divided into two types: open and selective. The open schools accept all students from their government defined catchment areas, while selective schools have high entrance requirements and cater to a much larger area. Entrance to selective schools is often highly competitive. In Victoria, for example, more than 3000 applicants sit the entrance exam each year competing for the 600 available places.

Private schools can also be divided into two groups. By far the most numerous are Catholic schools. The rest are known as Independent schools, which are largely Protestant grammar schools and lower key religious schools. There has been substantial growth of low fee church based schools.

The most prestigious schools are generally the private grammar schools and highest performing selective High Schools. James Ruse Agricultural High School in New South Wales and Melbourne High School and Mac.Robertson Girls’ High School in Victoria consistently out perform the private grammar schools in all academic fields, and have thus earned their associated prestige.

The prestige itself, unlike some other countries, confers no advantage for university entrance; however, students from the prestigious schools tend to get higher than average Equivalent National Tertiary Entry Rank scores. However, this slight advantage does not appear to equate to superior university performance. A recent study found that students from independent schools are more likely to drop out in the first year of university than those from public schools. Regardless of whether a school is public or private, they are regulated by the same curriculum standards frameworks.

Most school students in Australia wear uniforms, although there are many exceptions. Private schools tend to have stricter dress codes than government schools do.