The latest data on schools and students in Australia has been released by ACARA as part of the National Report on Schooling in Australia 2025.
The latest release includes new data on schools and schooling, student enrolment, student retention, student attainment, and participation in education, training and employment.
ACARA progressively releases sections of the annual National Report on Schooling in Australia as data becomes available, providing more timely commentary on progress against nationally agreed policy initiatives by Australia’s school education sector.
Some of the key highlights from the latest release include:
In Australia in 2025:
- There were 9,673 schools – an increase of 20 schools since 2024. 69.6% of schools were government schools, 18.2% were Catholic and 12.2% were independent.
- 1,125,502 school students received an educational adjustment due to disability. This represents 27.0% of total enrolments, up from 25.7% in 2024 and 18.0% in 2015.
- The average student to teaching staff ratio was 12.8 students per teacher, compared to 12.9 students per teacher in 2024 and 13.9 students per teacher in 2015.
Between 2015 and 2025:
- The number of students in independent schools rose from 540,304 to 715,822 – a 32.4% increase. This has resulted in a 2.8 percentage point increase in the proportion of students attending independent schools.
- Data from the National Schools Statistics Collection indicates that in 2025, the proportion of 6–15-year-olds enrolled in school in Australia was 98.7% – up 0.1 percentage points from 2024, but down from 99.0% in 2021.
- Apparent retention rates estimate the progression of students through school over several years through several year levels.
- In 2025, the national apparent retention rate from Year 10 to Year 12 was 81.5%, an increase of 1.6 percentage points from 2024.
In Australia in 2025:
- The proportion of 15–19-year-olds who were fully engaged in education, training or work was 86.7% – up slightly from 86.6% in 2024. This rate is slightly lower than the 2019 (pre-pandemic) rate of 87.0%.
- The proportion of 17–24-year-olds who had left school and were fully engaged in education, training or work was 74.3%, up from 73.1% in 2024.