Our System of Education
Australia’s system of education is of the highest standard and enjoys international renown. Our schools develop students’ skills and confidence; Australian university graduates excel at the cutting edge of research and innovation; and vocational and technical education drives our thriving industrial sector. Australia is widely recognised as a world leader in the field of international education and English language training.
International students
More than 400,000 students from around 200 countries receive an Australian education each year. Courses are offered both in Australia and offshore. In addition to long-term courses, many institutions also offer programs that assist international students in their learning, such as ‘foundation studies’ and English-language courses. Significant numbers of students come to Australia from China, India, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand, and Indonesia.
Students are attracted to the valuable skills, experiences and qualifications offered by an Australian education. Australia is a safe and friendly destination and a sophisticated and technologically advanced society with a reputation for quality, excellence and reliability in education services. Additionally, Australian institutions have established campuses offshore and created innovative partnerships in other countries to deliver courses in students’ home countries.
Since Australia is a culturally and linguistically diverse nation, Australian teachers and instructors are experienced in communicating with students who are not native English speakers. Students from around the world are drawn to Australia for an opportunity to learn English in an English-speaking country for study, work or travel purposes. In English-language training, Australia’s flexible language institutions cater for every level. English-language colleges provide a wide range of programs, including English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students. The tuition is well developed, and institutions that offer courses to students on student visas are closely regulated to ensure the highest standards.
Support for international students
The level of support offered to international students studying in Australia and their parents is unrivalled. The Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 requires institutions that provide education to international students to meet nationally consistent standards in education delivery, facilities and services. To ensure national consistency, every education and training provider that seeks to recruit, enrol or teach international students on a student visa, or advertise their ability to do so, must be registered on a Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students.
Greater cultural links through education
Australian universities have strong international links, particularly with our neighbours in the Asia–Pacific region. Australian academic staff are recruited internationally and substantial numbers of international students choose an Australian education each year. Likewise, increasing numbers of Australian students and staff are on study and work exchanges overseas. The Overseas Study Higher Education Loan program helps eligible Australian undergraduates finance their studies in other countries.
Australian Education International (AEI) is the international education arm of the Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR). AEI collaborates with governments to develop education partnerships of mutual benefit; inform the international education community of Australia’s strengths in education, training, research and innovation; and advance Australia’s reputation as a provider of high quality international education services. AEI has 26 international offices.
Australian Scholarships promotes development and excellence in education and aims to build mutual understanding between Australia and its Asia–Pacific partners. It brings together scholarships administered by DEEWR, and the Australian Government Agency for International Development, AusAID. Awards are available to high achievers from participating countries in the Asia–Pacific region as well as for Australians wishing to study overseas.
Australia’s professional development visa enables Australian organisations to deliver tailored training to overseas professionals, managers and government officials. The training programs are designed to enhance the overseas participant’s professional or managerial skills and to meet the needs of overseas employers.
Education revolution
Central to the Australian Government’s approach to education is the roll out of an Education Revolution from 2008. This revolution will involve additional effort, greater collaboration and a sharper focus on improving outcomes, starting with the earliest years and moving to school and into the training system. A key goal is to drive productivity growth. Reform will involve collaboration across the public and private sector and a genuine partnership involving parents, children, students, employers and all levels of government.
Early childhood education
The Government’s Education Revolution involves an ambitious and comprehensive plan to provide Australian families with high quality, accessible, affordable and integrated early childhood education and child care to ensure all Australian children are fully prepared for learning and life.
A new Office of Early Childhood Education and Child Care has been established to implement a number of key government initiatives. These include a goal of providing all children in the year before formal schooling with 15 hours of quality play-based early learning for a minimum of 40 weeks per year; the establishment of a national Early Years Learning and Development Framework that emphasises play-based learning, early literacy and numeracy skills, and social development; improvement of access to early learning for Indigenous and disadvantaged children; investing in the training of the early childhood workforce; the creation of a national Early Childhood Development Index; and the establishment of national quality standards in child care and preschool.
Primary and secondary schooling
Through the Digital Education Revolution, the Australian Government is investing $1 billion to deliver access to world class information communication technology (ICT) based teaching and learning in Australian schools. This initiative will support students to acquire the skills and knowledge needed to participate in society and employment in a digital world.
The Digital Education Revolution has a number of components. One of these is the National Secondary School Computer Fund (the Fund). The Australian Government is investing $900 million over four years to ensure that every school in Australia is a digital school, equipped with education tools for the 21st Century. The Fund will provide for new or upgraded ICT for secondary students in Years 9 to 12.
Another component of the Government’s Education Revolution is implementing the Trades Training Centres in Schools program, a $2.5 billion initiative designed to address Australia’s skills needs by providing greater opportunities for secondary students to participate in vocational education and training while still at school.
Student performance in the essential areas of reading, writing, language conventions (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy is assessed through national tests. All students in years 3, 5, 7 and 9 participate in these tests in May each year. Parents are provided with reports detailing their child’s performance against national standards, national achievement levels and the national mean. Additional information is provided to schools to inform teaching and learning programs that address the needs of students.
In addition, student performance in science literacy (year 6), civics and citizenship (years 6 and 10) and ICT literacy (years 6 and 10) is assessed through national sample assessments. Australian students also participate in two international studies: the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) in reading, mathematical and scientific literacy for 15 year olds; and the Trends in Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) for year 4 and 8 students.
The diversity of schooling in Australia, from government and non-government through to urban and rural provides parents and students choice in selecting an education that best suits their needs.
Schooling in Australia typically lasts 13 years. The preparatory preschool year is commonly taken, but is not compulsory, and most children begin their schooling around five years of age. Primary schooling lasts six or seven years and secondary schooling entails a further five or six years of study. School education is mandatory until age 15 or 16, depending on the state or territory.
Our approach to teaching
Teaching at Australian schools is highly interactive. Students are encouraged to participate and develop skills as well as acquire knowledge and confidence. On average, teachers hold two tertiary qualifications each. They receive four years of university level qualification and must be registered before applying for employment. Teacher training provides a mix of theory, content learning and practical classroom training.
Australian teachers regularly participate in ongoing professional development to further enhance their skills. The wide range of subjects taught at Australian schools provides a sound foundation for further study. The eight key learning areas are: English; mathematics; science; arts; studies of society and the environment; technology; languages other than English; and personal development, health and physical education.
Australian school students have demonstrated the quality of the Australian system by consistently performing at the top of international benchmarking studies, such as OECD PISA and TIMSS.
Tertiary and further education
There are two types of post-school education programs: those offered by institutions and industry in the Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector; and those offered by universities and other higher education providers.
Australia’s VET system delivers practical and career-oriented training, equipping individuals with the skills required in a modern economy. Its key roles are to drive economic growth and address skills shortages by bringing together students, employers, governments, and registered training organisations. Through strong industry leadership, the national training system provides Australians with the skills needed to enter the workforce for the first time, re-enter the workforce, retrain for a new job, upgrade skills for an existing job, and engage in lifelong learning.
The national training system includes both publicly funded TAFE (technical and further education) institutes and privately funded training providers. Through a national network of over 4,000 registered training organisations, the VET sector provides training for over 1.6 million Australians from all ages, backgrounds and locations. Of these, over 400,000 are engaged through the Government’s Australian Apprenticeships Scheme. Each year, across all industries and in many communities, VET students gain qualifications that are high quality, industry developed and nationally recognised.
The National Skills Shortages Strategy is an Australian Government initiative that aims to increase the pool of skilled labour available to industry. Through the strategy, the Government works in partnership with industry to develop innovative industry-led projects to pilot vocational and technical education strategies that are designed to attract new employees, retain and/or up-skill new and existing workers to meet current and future industry needs.
Australian universities have an international reputation for excellence in teaching and research, with academic staff recruited from Australia and around the world. Universities and other higher education institutions offer programs leading to bachelor and a range of postgraduate degrees, including higher degrees by research. Some universities also offer shorter undergraduate and corporate development programs.
In 2007, the Australian Government announced a $6 billion Higher Education Endowment fund. This, together with an additional $1.7 billion in funding for other measures, will ensure the development of more world-class universities, and foster excellence, diversity and specialisation in the sector.
As part of the Education Revolution, the Government has also announced that the number of national undergraduate and postgraduate scholarships will be doubled over four years from the start of the 2009 university year.
The Australian higher education sector consists of 37 public universities and two private universities that are autonomous and self-accrediting; four other self-accrediting higher education institutions; and about 150 other institutions accredited by state and territory governments (such as theological colleges and providers specialising in professional and artistic courses of study). An American university, Carnegie Mellon, has a branch in Adelaide. Australian universities have campuses overseas in Malaysia, South Africa and Vietnam.
All Australian higher education institutions have mechanisms in place to ensure that the high quality of their courses and services is maintained at an international standard.
Ensuring high standards
Australia’s system of education and training is subject to continuous improvement and review by government, industry and professional bodies to maintain and improve its already high standard.
Quality assurance across Australia’s VET sector is based on a partnership between education providers, the Australian Government, state and territory governments, and an independent quality audit agency. This partnership ensures nationally consistent standards in registration and accreditation, external monitoring and independent quality auditing (known as the Australian Quality Training Framework)
The Australian Universities Quality Agency (AUQA) is an independent, not-for-profit national organisation that promotes, audits and reports on quality assurance in Australian higher education. AUQA audits of higher education institutions take into account both onshore and offshore campuses of Australian universities and offshore partner organizations when appropriate. AUQA also undertakes quality audits of accreditation agencies. The Australian Qualifications Framework is a unified system of national qualifications in schools, vocational education and training (TAFEs and private providers) and the higher education sector (mainly universities). It was established in 1995.
Beyond domestic service delivery, the Australian Government’s Transnational Quality Strategy (TQS) framework protects and promotes the quality of Australian education and training delivered in other countries. AusLIST, a new initiative of the TQS framework, is a directory of providers committed to delivering offshore courses to a standard comparable with the courses provided in Australia. To be eligible for AusLIST, providers and their courses must meet existing Australian registration, accreditation and quality assurance arrangements.
Further information
- Australian Education International Australian Scholarships
- Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations
- Study in Australia
This fact sheet is also available to download ( PDF)
last updated May 2008