Report on Government Services 2024

Schooling aims to provide education for all young people. The structure of primary and secondary schooling is the same across all states and territories in Australia.

Compulsory school education

Entry to school education is compulsory for all children in all states and territories. The child age entry requirements are subject to specific legislation within each state and territory (ABS 2024). In 2023, minimum starting ages generally restricted enrolment to children aged between four-and-a-half and five years at the beginning of the year (ABS 2024). (Refer to section 3, for more details.)

National mandatory requirements for schooling – as agreed in the National Youth Participation Requirement (NYPR) – came into effect through relevant state and territory government legislation in 2010. Under the NYPR, all young people must participate in schooling until they complete Year 10; and if they have completed Year 10, in full-time education, training or employment (or combination of these) until 17 years of age (COAG 2009). Some state and territory governments have extended these requirements for their jurisdiction.

Type and level of school education

Schools are the institutions within which organised school education takes place (a definition of ‘school’ is in the 'Explanatory material' tab) and are differentiated by the type and level of education they provide:

• Primary schools provide education from the first year of primary school – known as the ‘foundation year’ in the Australian Curriculum (the naming conventions used in each state and territory is included under 'foundation year (pre-year 1)' in the 'Explanatory material' tab). In 2023, the structure of primary schooling is the same across all states and territories in Australia from Pre-Year 1 to Year 6. Prior to 2022, primary school education was to Year 7 in South Australia, and prior to 2015 was to Year 7 in Queensland and Western Australia.
• Secondary schools provide education from Year 7 to Year 12 in all states and territories in Australia.
• Special schools provide education for students with one or more of the following characteristics: mental or physical disability or impairment; slow learning ability; social or emotional problems; or in custody, on remand or in hospital (ABS 2024).

Affiliation, ownership and management

Schools can also be differentiated by their affiliation, ownership and management, which are presented as two broad categories:

• Government schools are owned and managed by state and territory governments
• Non-government schools, including Catholic and independent schools, are owned and managed by non-government establishments.

State and territory governments are responsible for ensuring the delivery and regulation of schooling to all children of school age in their jurisdiction. State and territory governments provide most of the school education funding in Australia, which is administered under their own legislation. They determine curricula, register schools, regulate school activities and are directly responsible for the administration of government schools. They also provide support services used by both government and non-government schools. Non-government schools operate under conditions determined by state and territory government registration authorities.

From 1 January 2018, the Australian Government introduced the Quality Schools package replacing the Students First funding model which had been in effect since 1 January 2014. More information on these funding arrangements can be found under 'Interpreting efficiency data' in the 'Explanatory material' tab.

The Australian Government and state and territory governments work together to progress and implement national policy priorities, such as: a national curriculum; national statistics and reporting; national testing; and teaching standards (PM&C 2014).

Nationally in 2021-22, government recurrent expenditure on school education was $78.7 billion, a 6.2% real increase from 2020-21 (table 4A.1). State and territory governments provided the majority of funding (68.1%) (figure 4.1).

Government schools accounted for $58.7 billion (74.6%), with state and territory governments the major funding source ($49.0 billion, or 83.4% of government schools’ funding). Non‑government schools accounted for $19.9 billion (25.4%), with the Australian Government the major funding source ($15.4 billion, or 77.1% of non‑government schools funding) (table 4A.1).

The share of government funding to government and non-government schools varies across jurisdictions and over time according to jurisdictional approaches to funding schools (more details are under 'Interpreting efficiency data' in the 'Explanatory material' tab) and is affected by certain characteristics, such as school structure and student body in each state and territory.

This report presents expenditure related to government funding only, not the full cost to the community of providing school education. Caution should be taken when comparing expenditure data for government and non‑government schools, because governments provide only part of school funding. Governments provided 61.1% of non‑government school funding in 2022, with the remaining 38.9% sourced from private fees and fundraising (Australian Government Department of Education unpublished).

Schools

In 2023, there were 9,629 schools in Australia (6,237 primary schools, 1,453 secondary schools, 1,422 combined schools, and 517 special schools) (table 4A.5). The majority of schools were government owned and managed (69.7%).

Settlement patterns (population dispersion), age distribution of the population and educational policy influence the distribution of school size and level in different jurisdictions. Data on school size and level are available from Schools Australia, 2023 (ABS 2024).

Staff

In 2023, there were 471,870 active full-time equivalent (FTE) staff in schools in Australia (51.1% working in primary schools and 48.9% in secondary schools). The majority of active staff were engaged in duties in government schools (61.7%) (table 4A.6).

Nationally in 2023, there were 311,655 FTE teaching staff, an increase of 1.4% from 2022. Of these 50.6% were teaching in primary schools and 49.4% in secondary schools (ABS 2024).

Student body

There were nearly 4.1 million FTE students enrolled in school nationally in 2023, a 1.1% increase compared with 2022 (table 4A.7). Student enrolments were in:

• Government schools – 2.6 million FTE students enrolled (63.9% of all FTE students). This proportion has decreased from a peak of 65.7% in 2019 and 2018, and is the lowest in the last 10 years of data reported
• Non-government schools – nearly 1.5 million FTE students enrolled (36.1% of all FTE students)
• The proportion of FTE students enrolled in government schools is higher for primary schools (68.7%) than secondary schools (58.0%) (table 4A.7).

A higher proportion of FTE students were enrolled in primary schools (55.4%) than in secondary schools (44.6%) (table 4A.7). The Northern Territory had the highest proportion of FTE students enrolled in primary school education (59.5%).

The enrolment rate is typically close to 100% for Australian children aged 15 years (consistent with requirements under the NYPR) but decreases as ages increase. Nationally in 2023, the school participation rate was 96.7% for Australian children aged 15 years (down from 97.3% in 2022) (table 4A.8). In 2023, the rate decreased to 90.2% of 16-year-olds and 79.1% of 17-year-olds. Data for school participation rates for 15–19-year-olds by single year of age and totals are in table 4A.8.

Nationally, government schools had a higher proportion of students from selected equity groups than non‑government schools, including for:

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students – 8.3% of government school students and 3.3% of non-government school students in 2023 (table 4A.9)
• students from a low socio-educational background – 31.4% of government school students and 13.2% of non‑government school students in 2022 (table 4A.10)
• geographically remote and very remote students – 2.3% of government school students and 0.9% of non‑government school students in 2022 (table 4A.11).

In 2022, students with disability at government (23.5%), Catholic (19.5%) and independent schools (22.4%) required an education adjustment due to disability (table 4A.12). Data by level of adjustment is in table 4A.12.

The student to teaching staff ratio for all schools in 2023 was 13.1 students to one teacher, unchanged from 2022 (tables 4A.13–14). The student to teaching staff ratio was lower in non-government schools than government schools at 12.6 and 13.4 students to one teacher, respectively.

Secondary schools had a lower student to teacher ratio (11.8 students to one teacher) compared to primary schools (14.3 students to one teacher) (table 4A.14). This reflects different requirements for particular student groups, and for different school subjects in secondary schools.

School and Vocational Education and Training (VET)

School-aged people may participate in VET by either participating in ‘VET in Schools’, or (refer to section 5) remain engaged in education through a Registered Training Organisation (RTO). Nationally in 2022, there were 242,900 VET in Schools students (NCVER 2023). Overall, 403,500 people aged 15–19 years successfully completed at least one unit of competency as part of a VET qualification at the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) Certificate II level or above (at a school or RTO) (table 4A.15).

‘Attendance by selected equity group’ is an indicator of governments’ objective for school education services to be provided in an equitable manner.

‘Attendance by selected equity group’ compares the attendance rate of those in the selected equity group (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, students in remote or very remote areas) with the attendance rate of those outside the selected equity group (non‑Indigenous students, students in major cities and regional areas).

Similar rates of attendance for those within and outside the selected equity groups indicates equity of access.

The student attendance rate is the number of actual full-time equivalent student-days attended by full-time students in Semester 1 as a percentage of the total number of possible student-days attended in Semester 1.

Nationally in 2023, attendance rates for students in Years 1–10 was 89.6% in major cities, decreasing to 81.1% in remote areas and 66.1% in very remote areas (figure 4.2a). The decrease was greater for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students than for non-Indigenous students. This pattern was similar for government and non‑government schools, where the average attendance rates in major cities were higher than remote locations (table 4A.16).

Nationally in 2023, in all school sectors, the average attendance rate for non‑Indigenous students was higher than for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students across all year levels in all jurisdictions (figure 4.2b and tables 4A.16–19). The attendance gap was larger at the higher year levels.

The student attendance level is the proportion of full-time students whose attendance rate is greater than or equal to 90% over the period. Analysis of the attendance level can highlight ‘at risk’ populations (where a large proportion of individuals have had low attendance over the school year). Data on the student attendance level by Indigenous status and remoteness are in tables 4A.20–22.

‘Attendance’ is an indicator of governments’ objective that school education services promotes student participation.

‘Attendance’ is defined by the student attendance rate – the number of actual full-time equivalent student-days attended by full-time students in Semester 1 as a percentage of the total number of possible student‑days attended in Semester 1.

Higher or increasing rates of attendance are desirable. Poor attendance has been related to poor student outcomes, particularly once patterns of non‑attendance are established (Hancock et al. 2013).

Nationally in 2023 across all schools, attendance rates decreased from 89.2% in Year 7 to 84.5% in Year 10 (figure 4.3). For Years 7–10, attendance rates are higher at non‑government schools (89.8%) than government schools (84.0%) (tables 4A.17-18).

Nationally in 2023, the attendance rate for all school students for Years 1–6 was 90.2%, a decrease of 2.8 percentage points since 2018 (figure 4.3; table 4A.19).

‘Student engagement’ is an indicator of governments’ objective that school education services engage all students.

‘Student engagement’ is defined as encompassing the following three dimensions:

• behavioural engagement – which may be measured by identifiable behaviours of engagement, such as school attendance, attainment and retention
• emotional engagement – which may be measured by students’ attitudes to learning and school
• cognitive engagement – which may be measured by students’ perception of intellectual challenge, effort or interest and motivation (Fredricks, Blumenfeld, and Paris 2004).

It is measured using data from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) – a triennial assessment of 15-year‑old students conducted by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) that also collects student and school background contextual data. PISA collects information on one aspect of emotional engagement – students’ sense of belonging at school. Students’ level of agreement to six statements are combined to construct a Sense of Belonging at School Index (table 4A.23).

Higher or increasing scores on the index of sense of belonging at school (index) illustrate a greater sense of belonging at school, which is desirable. The index is standardised to have a mean of zero across OECD countries. Higher values of the index indicate a greater sense of belonging at school than the OECD average and lower values indicate a lesser sense of belonging at school than the OECD average.

This data should be interpreted with caution, as it is limited to one aspect of emotional engagement and captured for 15-year-old students.

National data is not currently agreed to report against behavioural or cognitive engagement. However contextual information is provided on state and territory government student engagement surveys, where they have been conducted (table 4.1). These surveys collect information from students across the behavioural, emotional, and cognitive domains of engagement. In addition, some aspects of behavioural engagement are captured via the attendance, retention and attainment indicators.

Nationally in 2022, the proportion of 15-year-old students that agreed or disagreed with the following statements was:

• I make friends easily at school (agree) – 77.6% (± 0.9)
• I feel like I belong at school (agree) – 70.2% (± 1.0)
• Other students seem to like me (agree) – 86.2% (± 0.8)
• I feel like an outsider (or left out of things) at school (disagree) – 78.9% (± 0.9)
• I feel awkward and out of place at my school (disagree) – 75.0% (± 0.9)
• I feel lonely at school (disagree) – 81.9% (± 0.8) (figure 4.4).

From these responses, the sense of belonging at school index for Australian students aged 15 years was ‑0.23 (± 0.02) in 2022, down from -0.19 (± 0.02) in 2018 (figure 4.4). In 2022, the mean score varied between states and territories, and most results were not significantly different from 2018, except for the decrease in Victoria.

National data on the index, by selected equity group (sex, Indigenous status, geolocation, and socio-economic background) are included in table 4A.24.

Table 4.1 School student engagement survey results

Source: State and territory governments (unpublished).

‘Retention’ to the final years of schooling is an indicator of governments’ objective that the school education system aims to engage all students and promote student participation.

‘Retention’ (apparent retention rate) is defined as the number of full-time school students in Year 10 that continue to Year 12.

The term ‘apparent’ is used because the measures are derived from total numbers of students in each of Year 10 and Year 12, not by tracking the retention of individual students. Uncapped rates (rates that can be greater than 100%) are reported for the time series analysis. Care needs to be taken in interpreting the measures as they do not take account of factors such as:

• students repeating a year of education or returning to education after a period of absence
• movement or migration of students between school sectors, between states and territories and between countries
• the impact of full fee-paying overseas students.

These factors may lead to uncapped apparent retention rates that exceed 100%.

This indicator does not include part-time or ungraded students (which has implications for the interpretation of results for all jurisdictions) or provide information on students who pursue Year 12 (or equivalent qualifications) through non‑school pathways.

Apparent retention rates are affected by factors that vary across jurisdictions. For this reason, variations in apparent retention rates over time within jurisdictions may be more useful than comparisons across jurisdictions.

A higher or increasing rate is desirable as it suggests that a larger proportion of students are continuing in school, which may result in improved educational outcomes.

Nationally in 2023, the apparent retention rate from Year 10 to Year 12 for full-time students was 78.7%, continuing its downward trend since 83.3% in 2017 (figure 4.5). The rate was higher for non-government schools (87.2%) than for government schools (73.0%). Both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and non-Indigenous students had similar trends.

Consistent with the NYPR mandatory requirement, all young people must participate in schooling until they complete Year 10. The apparent retention rate for all schools from the commencement of secondary school (at Year 7 or 8) to Year 10 has remained above 97% in all jurisdictions (except the Northern Territory) since 2014. Nationally, the retention rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students was over 97% in 2023, but below that of non‑Indigenous students (table 4A.25).

‘Quality teaching’ is an indicator of governments’ objective that school education delivers high quality teaching of a world‑class curriculum. A good quality curriculum provides the structure for the provision of quality learning (UNESCO‑IBE 2016), while teachers are the single most important ‘in‑school’ influence on student achievement (Hattie 2009). Teacher quality can influence student educational outcomes both directly and indirectly, by fostering a positive, inclusive and safe learning environment (Boon 2011).

‘Quality teaching’ is defined in relation to the teaching environment, including the quality of the curriculum and the effectiveness of the teachers. Teachers are considered effective where they:

• create an environment where all students are expected to learn successfully
• have a deep understanding of the curriculum and subjects they teach
• have a repertoire of effective teaching strategies to meet student needs
• direct their teaching to student needs and readiness
• provide continuous feedback to students about their learning
• reflect on their own practice and strive for continuous improvement (PC 2012).

This indicator may be measured in future by student responses to survey questions on their perceptions of the teaching environment including the curriculum. High or increasing proportions of students indicating positive responses to the teaching environment are desirable.

Data is not yet available for reporting against this indicator.

‘Workforce sustainability’ is an indicator of governments’ objective to provide sustainable school education services.

School teacher workforce sustainability relates to the capacity of the school teacher workforce to meet current and projected future service demand. These measures are not a substitute for a full workforce analysis that allows for training, migration, changing patterns of work and expected future demand. They can, however, indicate that further attention should be given to workforce planning for school education services.

This indicator is currently under development for reporting in the future.

‘Recurrent expenditure per student’ is an indicator of governments’ objective to provide school education services in an efficient manner.

‘Recurrent expenditure per student’ is defined as total government recurrent expenditure per FTE student, reported for government schools and for non‑government schools. Government recurrent expenditure per FTE student includes estimates for the User Cost of Capital (UCC) for government schools (more details are under 'Interpreting efficiency data' in the 'Explanatory material' tab). UCC is not included for non‑government schools.

FTE student numbers (table 4A.7) are drawn from the ABS publication Schools Australia 2022 (ABS 2023) and averaged over two calendar years to match the financial year expenditure data. From 2018-19, FTE enrolled students used to derive New South Wales and total Australian recurrent expenditure per student for government and all schools excludes Norfolk Island Central School (NICS) FTE enrolments. From 1 January 2022, responsibility for the provision of education services by NICS transitioned to the Queensland Government. From 2021-22, NICS FTE enrolments are excluded from the FTE enrolled students used to derive Queensland and total Australian recurrent expenditure per student for government and all schools.

Holding other factors constant, a low or decreasing government recurrent expenditure or staff expenditure per FTE student may represent better or improved efficiency.

Care should be taken with interpreting efficiency data as:

• a number of factors beyond the control of governments, such as economies of scale, a high proportion of geographically remote students or a dispersed population, and migration across states and territories, may influence expenditure
• while high or increasing expenditure per student may reflect deteriorating efficiency, it may also reflect changes in aspects of schooling (increasing school leaving age, improving outcomes for students with special needs, broader curricula or enhancing teacher quality), or the characteristics of the education environment (such as population dispersion).
• reporting requirements and methodologies may vary between years. Refer to footnotes in the data tables.

Nationally in 2021-22, government recurrent expenditure per FTE student in all schools was $19,521 (figure 4.6). Between 2012‑13 and 2021‑22, real government expenditure per FTE student increased at an average rate of 2.6% per year (table 4A.28).

Nationally in 2021‑22, government recurrent expenditure per FTE student in non‑government schools was $14,032 (excluding UCC). Between 2012‑13 and 2021‑22, real government expenditure per FTE student increased at an average rate of 3.7% per year.

Nationally in 2021‑22, government recurrent expenditure (including UCC) was $22,511 per FTE student in government schools (excluding UCC this was $18,676). Between 2012‑13 and 2021‑22, real government expenditure (including UCC) per FTE student increased at an average rate of 2.3% per year.

In-school expenditure per FTE student was higher for government secondary schools ($23,571 per FTE student) compared to government primary schools ($19,892 per FTE student). Out-of-school government expenditure per FTE student was substantially lower ($1,151 per FTE student) (table 4A.29).

Differences in the ‘student-to-staff ratio’ can provide some context to differences in the government recurrent expenditure per FTE student (tables 4A.13–14). Further information is available under 'Size and scope' in the 'Context' tab.

‘Student outcomes (national testing)’ is an indicator of governments’ objective that Australian schooling aims for all young Australians to become successful lifelong learners, confident and creative individuals, and active and informed members of the community.

‘Student outcomes (national testing)’ is defined by two measures drawn from the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) and National Assessment Program (NAP) sample assessments:

• NAPLAN testing is undertaken by students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. Results are reported in the NAPLAN national report for four levels of proficiency: Exceeding, Strong, Developing and Needs additional support, and mean scale score, for reading, writing and numeracy. (ACARA 2023).
  • As the key performance measure for NAPLAN results is under development, NAPLAN results will be reported in RoGS as the proportion of students achieving the ‘Exceeding’ or ‘Strong’ levels for reading, writing and numeracy. The mean scale score refers to a mean (average) score on a common national scale.
  • States and territories have different school starting ages resulting in differing average ages of students and time spent in schooling at the time of testing. Refer to table 4.2 for more information on the average ages of students across jurisdictions at the time of testing in 2023.
  • Results from 2023 will mark the start of a new times series due to NAPLAN changes including: resetting the NAPLAN measurement scales; all tests being held online, except Year 3 writing test; and test dates being moved from May to March. With all schools nationally participating in the online adaptive NAPLAN testing, restarting the time series sets a new baseline for future comparisons of more precise data. Results from 2023 are not directly comparable with the paper test results of previous years.
• NAP Sample assessments: NAP national sample assessments are undertaken by students in Years 6 and 10, on a triennial, rotating basis. Measures are reported for the proportion of students at or above the proficient standard in NAP assessments and mean scale score for Civics and citizenship literacy, Science literacy (testing undertaken by Year 6 students only for all jurisdictions) and Information and communication technologies (ICT) literacy.
  • The proficient standards, which vary across the tests, are challenging but reasonable levels of performance, with students needing to demonstrate more than minimal or elementary skills expected at that year level to be regarded as reaching them.

Most data is accompanied by confidence intervals. The 'Explanatory material' tab includes details on NAPLAN and NAP confidence intervals.

A high or increasing mean scale score or proportion of students achieving 'Exceeding' or 'Strong' proficiency levels (NAPLAN) or at or above the proficiency standard (NAP) is desirable.

For NAPLAN in 2023, the proportion of Year 3, Year 5, Year 7 and Year 9 students achieving 'Strong’ or ‘Exceeding’ proficiency levels for reading, writing and numeracy at the national level are in figure 4.7a.

The proportion of students achieving the four proficiency levels for reading, writing and numeracy by selected equity group (Indigenous status, geolocation, parental education and parental occupation) are in tables 4A30, 4A.32, 4A.34, 4A.36, 4A.38 and 4A.40.

Mean scale scores reported for reading, writing and numeracy by selected equity group (Indigenous status, geolocation, parental education and parental occupation) are in tables 4A.31, 4A.33, 4A.35, 4A.37, 4A.39 and 4A.41 respectively.

Students are counted as participating if they were assessed or deemed exempt (other students identified as absent or withdrawn are counted as not participating). In 2023, the overall NAPLAN participation rate for Australia was 93.5% across all year levels for the reading, writing and numeracy domains, up from 91.6% in 2022. Participation rates ranged from 88.4% to 95.9% across all year levels for these domains (ACARA 2023).

Nationally in 2019, 53.0% (± 2.0) of Year 6 students and 38.0% (± 2.6) of Year 10 students achieved at or above the proficient standard in NAP civics and citizenship literacy performance (figure 4.7b). Mean scale scores for citizenship literacy performance are in table 4A.43. National data on the proportion of students achieving at or above the proficient standard by selected equity group (sex, Indigenous status, geolocation and parental occupation) are in table 4A.44.

Nationally in 2018, 58.0% (± 2.4) of Year 6 students achieved at or above the proficient standard in NAP science literacy (table 4A.45). Mean scale scores for science literacy performance are in table 4A.46. National data on the proportion of students achieving at or above the proficient standard by selected equity group (sex, Indigenous status, geolocation and parental occupation) are in table 4A.47.

Nationally in 2022, 55.0% (± 2.4) of Year 6 students achieved at or above the proficiency standard in NAP ICT literacy performance, similar to the previous cycle in 2017 (table 4A.48). A significantly lower proportion of Year 10 students achieved at or above the proficiency standard in ICT literacy performance in 2022 (46.0% (± 3.2)) compared to 2017 (54.0% (± 3.0)). Mean scale scores for ICT literacy are in table 4A.49. National data on the proportion of students achieving at or above the proficient standard by selected equity group (sex, Indigenous status, geolocation and parental occupation) are in table 4A.50.

‘Attainment’ is an indicator of governments’ objective that Australian schooling aims for all young Australians to become successful lifelong learners, confident and creative individuals, and active and informed members of the community.

‘Attainment’ (attainment rate) is defined as the number of students who meet the requirements of a Year 12 certificate or equivalent expressed as a percentage of the estimated potential Year 12 population. The estimated potential Year 12 population is an estimate of a single year age group that could have attended Year 12 that year, calculated as the estimated resident population aged 15–19 years divided by five.

This indicator should be interpreted with caution as:

• assessment, reporting and criteria for obtaining a Year 12 or equivalent certificate varies across jurisdictions
• students completing their secondary education in technical and further education institutes are included in reporting for some jurisdictions and not in others
• the aggregation of all postcode locations into three socio-economic status categories (as a disaggregation for socio-economic status) – high, medium and low – means there may be significant variation within the categories. The low category, for example, will include locations ranging from those of extreme disadvantage to those of moderate disadvantage.

A high or increasing attainment rate is desirable.

Nationally in 2022, the Year 12 certificate attainment rate for all students was 76.3%. The rates increased as socio‑economic status increased. Across remoteness areas, the rates were substantially lower in very remote areas compared to other areas (figure 4.8).

The child care, education and training sector overview includes data on the proportions of the population aged 20–⁠24 and 20–⁠64 years that attained at least a Year 12 or equivalent or AQF Certificate II or above (that is school and non‑school education and training to Year 12 or equivalent or above) (tables BA.14–15).

‘Student outcomes (international testing)’ is an indicator of governments’ objective that Australian schooling aims for students to excel by international standards.

‘Student outcomes (international testing)’ is defined by Australia’s participation in three international tests:

• Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) – conducted by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) as a quadrennial international assessment – measures the proportion of sampled Year 4 and Year 8 students achieving at or above the IEA intermediate international benchmark, the national proficient standard in Australia for mathematics and science in the TIMSS assessment.
• Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) – conducted by the OECD as a triennial international assessment – measures the proportion of sampled 15-year-old students achieving at or above the national proficient standard (set to level 3) on the OECD PISA combined scales for reading, mathematical and scientific literacy.
• Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) – conducted by the IEA as a quinquennial international assessment – measures the proportion of sampled Year 4 students achieving at or above the IEA intermediate international benchmark, the national proficient standard in Australia for reading literacy in the PIRLS assessment.

A high or increasing proportion of students achieving at or above the national proficient standard, or a high or increasing mean scale score is desirable.

‘Destination’ is an indicator of governments’ objective that Australian schooling aims for all young Australians to become active and informed members of the community positioning them to transition to further study or work and successful lives.

‘Destination’ is defined as the proportion of school leavers aged 15–24 years who left school in the previous year, who are participating in further education, training or employment. Data is reported for school leavers whose highest level of school completed was Year 12, or Year 11 and below.

A higher or increasing proportion of school leavers participating in further education, training or employment is desirable.

Data is sourced from the Survey of Education and Work and for this indicator relate to the jurisdiction in which the young person was a resident the year of the survey and not necessarily the jurisdiction in which they attended school.

This report includes information on the student destination surveys conducted by each state and territory government, as context to this indicator (table 4.3). These surveys collect information from a larger number of students within relevant jurisdictions, but the research methods and data collection instruments differ which do not enable comparative reporting.

The proportion of all school leavers aged 15–24 years who left school in 2022 and who in 2023 were fully engaged in work or study was 67.2% (figure 4.10). Proportions were higher for Year 12 completers (72.0%), compared to those who completed Year 11 and below (51.0%) (table 4A.59).

The child care, education and training sector overview includes additional data on the participation of school leavers aged 17–24 years in work and study, including data on the Indigenous status and socio-economic status of school leavers (tables BA.2–5).

Table 4.3 School leaver destination survey results

Source: State and territory governments (unpublished).

An objective of the Steering Committee is to publish comparable estimates of costs. Ideally, such comparison should include the full range of costs to government. This section does not report on non‑government sources of funding, and so does not compare the efficiency of government and non‑government schools.

School expenditure data reported in this section

Efficiency indicators in this section are based on financial year recurrent expenditure on government and non‑government schools by the Australian Government and state and territory governments. Capital expenditure is generally excluded, but as Quality Schools funding and Students First funding cannot be separated into capital and recurrent expenditure, these payments are treated as recurrent expenditure in this section. Expenditure relating to funding sources other than government (such as parent contributions and fees) are excluded.

Sources of data – government recurrent expenditure on government schools

Total recurrent expenditure on government schools is unpublished data sourced from the National Schools Statistics Collection (NSSC) finance.

• Each state and territory government reports its expenditure on government schools to the Government Schools Finance Statistics Group Secretariat. Recurrent expenditure on government schools comprises: employee costs (including salaries, superannuation, workers compensation, payroll tax, termination and long service leave, sick leave, fringe benefits tax); capital related costs (depreciation and user cost of capital [UCC]); umbrella departmental costs; and other costs (including rent and utilities). The Government Schools Finance Statistics Group Secretariat provides unpublished data on the UCC for government schools, imputed as 8% of the written down value of assets (table 4A.4).
• The Australian Government reports its allocation to each state and territory for government schools, consistent with Treasury Final Budget Outcomes – including the Quality Schools funding (from 1 January 2018), Students First funding (to 31 December 2017) and a range of National Partnership payments (table 4A.3).
• To avoid double counting, Australian Government allocations are subtracted from the Australian, state and territory expenditure to identify ‘net’ state and territory government expenditure (table 4A.1).

Sources of data – government recurrent expenditure on non‑government schools

Total recurrent expenditure on non‑government schools is sourced from unpublished data from state and territory governments, and published data from the Australian Government as follows:

• Each state and territory government provides unpublished data on its contributions to non‑government schools (table 4A.1).
• The Australian Government reports its allocation to each state and territory for non‑government schools, consistent with Treasury Final Budget Outcomes – including the Quality Schools funding (from 1 January 2018), Students First funding (to 31 December 2017) and National Partnership payments (refer to table 4A.3).

Allocation of funding

Quality Schools package – Australian Government

From 1 January 2018 the Australian Government introduced the Quality Schools package replacing the Students First funding model which had been in effect since 1 January 2014. The Quality Schools package is needs based. Commonwealth funding is based on the Schooling Resource Standard that provides a base amount per student and additional funding for disadvantage. Students with greater needs will attract higher levels of funding from the Commonwealth. Funding is provided for government and non-government schools.

State and territory governments

In general, state and territory government schools systems are funded based on a variety of formulas to determine a school’s recurrent or base allocation, with weightings and multipliers added for students facing disadvantage. For non‑government schools, state and territory governments also provide funding for recurrent and targeted purposes, usually through per capita allocations. Indexation of costs is normally applied to these funding arrangements for both the government and non‑government school sectors. Changes in overall funding by state and territory governments across years is affected by all these factors, including enrolment numbers and school size, location and staffing profiles. The National School Reform Agreement, which commenced on 1 January 2019, sets the state and territory funding requirements as a percentage of the Schooling Resourcing Standard.

User cost of capital (UCC)

The UCC is defined as the notional costs to governments of the funds tied up in capital (for example, land and buildings owned by government schools) used to provide services. The notional UCC makes explicit the opportunity cost of using government funds to own assets for the provision of services rather than investing elsewhere or retiring debt.

UCC is only reported for government schools (not non‑government schools). It is estimated at 8% of the value of non‑current physical assets, which are re‑valued over time.

Source: Australian Government Department of Education (2023) https://www.education.gov.au/quality-schools-package/resources/what-quality-schools-package-and-what-does-it-mean-my-school, accessed 14 August 2023