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Executive Summary

The National Report on Schooling in Australia 2024 is the 36th annual national report on Australia’s school education sector. It has been produced by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) on behalf of Australian education ministers. 

The report highlights progress in 2024 towards the Alice Springs (Mparntwe) Education Declaration released by Australian education ministers in 2019 and is and is the third National Report on Schooling that has addressed these nationally agreed goals and commitments.  

The written report addresses the 11 areas of commitment to action specified in the Alice Springs (Mparntwe) declaration, describes the national policy and reporting context for school education in Australia, and reports against the nationally agreed key performance measures (KPMs) for schooling specified in the Measurement Framework for Schooling in Australia (updated 13/6/2025), providing data, analysis and commentary. The report also includes other high-level statistical information on Australian schooling in 2024 and for the period 2014–2024 inclusive. 

Chapter 1 provides an introduction to the report.

This chapter also provides an overview of the Measurement Framework for Schooling in Australia and a description of the data sources used in the report.

Chapter 2, ‘Schools and schooling’, provides information on the status of Australian schooling in 2024, including school, student and teacher numbers and school structures. 

In Australia, responsibility for school education rests mainly with the 6 state and 2 territory governments. All states and territories provide for 13 years of formal school education. Primary education, including a foundation year, lasts for 7 years and is followed by secondary education of 6 years.

Typically, schooling commences at age 5, is compulsory from age 6 until age 17 (with provision for alternative study or work arrangements in the senior secondary years), and is completed at age 17 or 18. School structures and age requirements in states and territories are summarised in section 2.1.

School, student and teacher numbers in 2024 are shown for Australia and by state and territory in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Number of schools, students and teachers by state and territory, Australia, 2024 

  

Notes: Student numbers are individuals (full-time students plus part-time students). Teacher numbers are full-time equivalent (FTE) teaching staff.

Source: ABS, Schools, 2024.

School Numbers

In 2024, there were 9,653 schools in Australia, an increase of 24 schools since 2023. The majority (69.7%) of schools were government schools, established and administered by state and territory governments through their education departments or authorities. The remaining 30.3% were non-government schools, mostly associated with religious organisations.

More than three-quarters (77.1%) of primary schools were government schools. Most secondary schools (73.7%) and special schools (64.6%) were also government schools, while most combined schools (64.6%) were non-government schools, mainly in the independent school sector.

View the data portal page on school numbers. 

Student Numbers 

A total of 4,132,006 students were enrolled in Australian schools in 2024, an increase of 1.1% from 2023. Almost two-thirds (63.4%) of school students were enrolled in government schools, 19.9% were in Catholic schools and 16.8% in independent schools.

More than half of students (54.9%) were primary school students. This difference is mainly due to the structure of schooling, in which primary schooling includes more year groups than secondary schooling.

View the data portal page on student numbers. 

School students with disability

In 2024, 1,062,638 school students received an educational adjustment due to disability. This represents 25.7% of total enrolments, up from 24.2% in 2023 and 18.0% in 2015. 

Among school students who received an educational adjustment due to disability, 53.9% of adjustments were provided to students with cognitive disability, 35.0% to students with social-emotional disability, 8.6% for students with physical disability and 2.5% for sensory disability.  

View the data portal page on school students with disability. 

Staff Numbers

In 2024, there were 320,377 full-time equivalent (FTE) teaching staff in Australia, an increase of 8,723 (2.8%) from 2023. Staff numbers closely reflect enrolments, with 62.3% of school teachers employed in government schools, 19.2% in Catholic schools and 18.5% in independent schools.

Australia’s teaching workforce continued to be predominantly female, with women making up 72.0% of FTE teachers in 2024. The gender difference was more pronounced at the primary level (82.4% female) than at secondary level (61.5% female).   

View the data portal page on staff numbers. 

Student-teacher Ratios

The average student to teaching staff ratio was 12.9 students per teacher, compared to 13.1 students per teacher in 2023 and 13.9 students per teacher in 2014. Student-teacher ratios were lower in independent schools (11.7 students per teacher) compared to Catholic schools (13.3 students per teacher) and government schools (13.1 students per teacher).

View the data portal page on student-teacher ratios. 

Chapter 3, ‘Policies and priorities’, outlines the national policy context for Australian schooling in 2024 and reports against the commitments to action agreed by Australian education ministers in the Alice Springs (Mparntwe) Education Declaration. 

This chapter summarises the national policy context for schooling, including the role of the national ministerial forum, the Education Ministers Meeting (EMM), in deciding agreed national policy for education in 2024 and the broader framework within which national decisions for schooling were made. It also reports on national progress in implementing the 11 Commitments to Action specified in the Mparntwe declaration.

Progress towards these commitments to action reported for 2024 included: 

• The advancement of universal early childhood education with a $1 billion fund for new centres, a 3 Day Guarantee of subsidised care from 2026, and a data-driven pricing model to support quality service delivery. 
• Progress in the implementation of the National Teacher Workforce Action Plan, with targeted measures to strengthen and sustain the teaching profession, through scholarships and high-achieving placements, removal of barriers to teacher training, and pilot programs to reduce teacher workload. 
• Commitment to culturally responsive, community-led approaches to improving outcomes for First Nations students, including a partnership with the national peak body, the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Council, as well as collaboration with other key organisations to co-develop and implement the National First Nations Education Policy. 
• Continued investment in First Nations education, including initiatives such as the Indigenous Boarding Provider Grants, the Good to Great Schools pilot to lift literacy and numeracy, and On-Country Learning funding to increase engagement and attendance in Central Australian schools. 
• A focus on inclusion through continued funding for the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data (NCCD) Continuous Quality Improvement Measure, helping schools build capacity to implement the NCCD effectively. 

View the data portal page on policies and priorities.

Chapters 4 to 8 report on the performance of Australian schooling in 2024, using the nationally agreed key performance measures (KPMs) for schooling specified in the Measurement Framework for Schooling in Australia.  

These chapters report on the agreed KPMs scheduled for reporting in 2024. The measures are reported at the national level, and by various breakdowns such as state and territory, school sector, school year and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander status. For relevant KPMs, time series for the previous 10 years (2014–2024) are also included. 

Chapter 4 reports on student enrolment, attendance, and apparent retention.

Enrolment Rates

Data from the National Schools Statistics Collection (NSSC) indicate that in 2024, the proportion of 6–15-year-olds enrolled in school in Australia was 98.6% – the same as in 2022 and 2023, but down from 99.0% in 2021.

View the data portal page on enrolment rates.

Student Attendance

In 2024, the attendance rate for students in Years 1-10 was 88.3%, down slightly from 88.6% in 2023. The national student attendance level for Years 1-10 (the percentage of students with above 90 per cent attendance) was 59.8% in 2024, down from 61.6% in 2023.

View the data portal page on student attendance. 

Apparent Retention

Apparent retention rates estimate the progression of students through school over several years through several year levels. In 2024, the national apparent retention rate from Year 10 to Year 12 was 79.9%, an increase of 1.2 percentage points since 2023. The apparent retention rate from Year 10 to Year 12 for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students was 57.0%, increased by 1.2 percentage points, an increase of 1.2 percentage points since 2023.

View the data portal page on apparent retention.

Chapter 5 reports on student achievement in the National Assessment Program (NAP) and International Assessments.  

NAPLAN

Section 5.1 reports on participation and achievement in the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN).

From 2023, the numerical NAPLAN bands and national minimum standards were replaced with 4 levels of proficiency (Exceeding, Strong, Developing, and Needs additional support). The new standards are reported on a reset NAPLAN measurement scale that makes better use of the online adaptive tests. Due to the change to the reporting standards for NAPLAN in 2023 and the changes to the timing of the NAPLAN tests, results from 2023 onwards cannot be directly compared to results from 2008 to 2022.

In 2024:

• NAPLAN participation rates for students in Years 3, 5 and 7 were over 96%. Year 9 students had lower levels of participation in NAPLAN, at 92.6%.
  
  
• Among Year 3 students
  • The percentage with NAPLAN scores at or above the Strong proficiency level was 66.3% for reading, 76.8% for writing and 63.5% for numeracy.
  • The percentage with NAPLAN scores at or above the Exceeding proficiency level
    was 20.1% for reading, 8.3% for writing and 10.2% for numeracy.
    
    
• Among Year 5 students:
  • The percentage with NAPLAN scores at or above the Strong proficiency level was 71.4% for reading, 67.3% for writing and 67.8% for numeracy.
  • The percentage with NAPLAN scores at or above the Exceeding proficiency level was 21.5% for reading, 11.4% for writing and 12.5% for numeracy.
    
    
• Among Year 7 students:
  • The percentage with NAPLAN scores at or above the Strong proficiency level was 67.3% for reading, 65.3% for writing and 67.2% for numeracy.
  • The percentage with NAPLAN scores at or above the Exceeding proficiency level
    was 19.9% for reading, 17.7% for writing and 13.5% for numeracy.
    
    
• Among Year 9 students:
  • The percentage with NAPLAN scores at or above the Strong proficiency level was 63.0% for reading, 61.0% for writing and 63.4% for numeracy.
  • The percentage with NAPLAN scores at or above the Exceeding proficiency level was 18.0% for reading, 21.1% for writing and 8.9% for numeracy.

Nationally, for reading, writing and numeracy, across all year levels, there were no significant differences in mean scale scores or the percentage of students achieving at or above the Strong or Exceeding proficiency levels since 2023. This was to be expected, given that only one year has passed since the NAPLAN measurement scales were reset.

View the data portal page on NAPLAN national results.

NAP sample assessments

In 2024, the proportion of participating Year 6 students achieving at or above the proficient standard for Civics and Citizenship was 43%. This was significantly lower than the proportion achieving at or above the proficient standard in 2019 (53%).

The proportion of participating Year 10 students attaining the proficient standard for Civics and Citizenship was 28%. This was significantly lower than the proportion achieving at or above the proficient standard in 2019 (38%).

View the data portal page on NAP Sample assessments.

International Assessments

The National Assessment Program (NAP) also includes the delivery of international sample assessments which are overseen by international organisations:

• The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).  
• The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) is conducted by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA).
• The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) is conducted every five years by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA).  

As a result of the 4 and 5-year schedules of these assessments, no international assessments were conducted in 2024.  

Vocational Education and Training

Chapter 6 reports on participation of young people aged 15-19 in Vocational Education and Training (VET). In Australia in 2024: 

• More than a quarter (26.0%) of 15-19-year-olds completing at least one unit of competency at Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) Certificate II or above, up from 25.5% in 2023.     
• Almost half (49.1%) of qualifications gained by 15–19-year-olds were at AQF level II and one-third (33.3%) were at AQF level III.
• The long-term trend in the proportion of 15–19-year-olds participating in VET was downward, from 28.5% in 2015 to 26.0% in 2024.

View the data portal page on participation in vocational education and training. 

Participation in education and work

Chapter 7 reports on the participation of young people aged 15 to 24 in education and/or work, as measured by the Australian Bureau of Statistics Survey of Education and Work. In Australia in 2024:  

• The proportion of 15–19-year-olds who were fully engaged in education, training or work was 86.6%, down from 87.3% in 2023 and 90.3% in 2021. This rate is slightly lower than the 2019 (pre-pandemic) rate of 87.0%.
• The proportion of 20–24-year-olds who were fully engaged in education, training or work was 75.1%, down from 77.4% in 2023, which was the highest rate recorded since 2008.
• The proportion of 17–24-year-olds who had left school and were fully engaged in education, training or work was 73.1%, down from 75.4% in 2023.
• The number of 15–19-year-olds undertaking a school-based apprenticeship or traineeship increased by 11.1% from 2023; and the number of 15–19-year-olds undertaking other VET courses at school increased by 5.2%.

View the data portal page on participation in education and work.

Student attainment

Chapter 8 reports levels of educational attainment of young people aged 20 to 24. In 2024: 

• The proportion who had attained at least Year 12 or AQF Certificate II or above was 90.5% (93.4% of females and 88.1% of males).
• The proportion who had attained at least Year 12 or AQF Certificate III or above was 89.6% (93.0% of females and 87.4% of males).

Since 2014:

• The proportion of 20–24-year-olds who had attained at least Year 12 or AQF Certificate II or above has risen 4.4 percentage points from 86.1% to 90.5%.
• The proportion of 20–24-year-olds who had attained at least Year 12 or AQF Certificate III or above has risen 5.1 percentage points from 84.9% to 90.0%.

 View the data portal page on student attainment. 

Chapter 9, ‘School funding’, reports data on government spending on Australian schooling and data on school income and capital expenditure. 

School funding

Schools are funded through a combination of state or territory government funding, Australian Government funding, fees and charges and other parental or private contributions.  In the 2023–24 financial year:  

Table 1: Key Performance Measures for schooling, Australia, 2023‒2024, and long-term trends

Key Performance Measures

Short-term change

Long-term trend

2023 or previous calendar year

2024

Change

Trend period

Average annual change (percent. points)

Trend

1. Student participation

1(b) Attendance rate: The number of actual full-time equivalent student-days attended by full-time students in Years 1 to 10 in Semester 1 as a percentage of the total number of possible student-days attended in Semester 1 (%)

88.6

88.3

↔

2014-24

-0.5

↓

1(c) Attendance level: The proportion of full-time students in Years 1-10 whose attendance rate in Semester 1 is equal to or greater than 90 per cent (%)

61.6

59.8

↔

2018-24

-3.2

↓

1(d) NAPLAN participation: Proportion of students participating in NAPLAN in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 (%)

Year 3

96.2

96.4

↔

2008-24

-0.1

↔

Year 5

96.7

96.7

↔

2008-24

-0.1

↔

Year 7

96.3

96.3

↔

2008-24

-0.1

↓

Year 9

92.3

92.6

↔

2008-24

-0.3

↓

1(e) Apparent retention rate from Year 10 to Year 12 (%)

78.7

79.9

↔

2010-24

0.0

↔

1(f) Participation of young people in VET including VET in Schools: Proportion of the population aged 15 to 19 years who in the calendar year successfully completed at least one Unit of Competency as part of a VET qualification at AQF Certificate II or above (%)

25.5

26.0

↔

2015-24

-0.2

↓

1(g) Proportion of 15 to 19-year-olds in full-time education or training, in full-time work, or both in part-time work and part-time education or training) (%)

ABS Survey of Education and Work

87.3

86.6

↔

2004-24

0.1

↑

1(h) Proportion of 20 to 24-year-olds in full-time education or training, in full-time work, or both in part-time work and part-time education or training (%)

ABS Survey of Education and Work

77.4

75.1

↔

2004-24

-0.2

↓

1(i) Proportion of 17–24-year-olds who have left school that are in full-time education or training, in full-time work, or both in part-time work and part-time education or training (%)

ABS Survey of Education and Work

75.4

73.1

↔

2004-24

-0.2

↓

2. Student Achievement – National Achievement Program – Literacy

2(a)(i) Proportion of students achieving at or above the national Strong proficiency level for reading:

Year 3

66.8

66.3

↔

–

N/A

N/A

Year 5

74.2

71.4

↔

–

N/A

N/A

Year 7

68.4

67.3

↔

–

N/A

N/A

Year 9

62.8

63.0

↔

–

N/A

N/A

2(a)(ii) Proportion of students achieving at or above the national Exceeding proficiency level for reading:

Year 3

18.3

20.1

↔

–

N/A

N/A

Year 5

21.3

21.5

↔

–

N/A

N/A

Year 7

19.2

19.9

↔

–

N/A

N/A

Year 9

16.9

18.0

↔

–

N/A

N/A

2(b) NAPLAN mean scale scores for Reading in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 (points on NAPLAN scale)

Year 3 (2023 scale)

404.6

404.1

↔

–

N/A

N/A

Year 5 (2023 scale)

495.9

492.1

↔

–

N/A

N/A

Year 7 (2023 scale)

536.3

535.0

↔

–

N/A

N/A

Year 9 (2023 scale)

564.4

565.0

↔

–

N/A

N/A

2(c)(i) Proportion of students achieving at or above the national Strong proficiency level for writing:

Year 3

76.0

76.8

↔

–

N/A

N/A

Year 5

66.2

67.3

↔

–

N/A

N/A

Year 7

62.5

65.3

↔

–

N/A

N/A

Year 9

58.0

61.0

↔

–

N/A

N/A

2(c)(ii) Proportion of students achieving at or above the national Exceeding proficiency level for writing:

Year 3

9.1

8.3

↔

–

N/A

N/A

Year 5

11.5

11.4

↔

–

N/A

N/A

Year 7

14.8

17.7

↔

–

N/A

N/A

Year 9

17.6

21.1

↔

–

N/A

N/A

2(d) NAPLAN mean scale scores for Writing in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 (points on NAPLAN scale)

Year 3 (2023 scale)

416.3

415.9

↔

–

N/A

N/A

Year 5 (2023 scale)

482.9

484.8

↔

–

N/A

N/A

Year 7 (2023 scale)

533.7

540.2

↔

–

N/A

N/A

Year 9 (2023 scale)

566.6

573.9

↔

–

N/A

N/A

3. Student Achievement – National Achievement Program – Numeracy

3(a)(i) Proportion of students achieving at or above the national Strong proficiency level for numeracy:

Year 3

64.7

63.5

↔

–

N/A

N/A

Year 5

67.7

67.8

↔

–

N/A

N/A

Year 7

67.2

67.2

↔

–

N/A

N/A

Year 9

63.9

63.4

↔

–

N/A

N/A

3(a)(ii) Proportion of students achieving at or above the national Exceeding proficiency level for numeracy:

Year 3

12.3

10.2

↔

–

N/A

N/A

Year 5

12.0

12.5

↔

–

N/A

N/A

Year 7

12.6

13.5

↔

–

N/A

N/A

Year 9

9.9

8.9

↔

–

N/A

N/A

3(b) NAPLAN mean scale scores for Numeracy in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 (points on NAPLAN scale)

Year 3 (2023 scale)

407.3

403.8

↔

–

N/A

N/A

Year 5 (2023 scale)

487.6

489.1

↔

–

N/A

N/A

Year 7 (2023 scale)

538.4

539.8

↔

–

N/A

N/A

Year 9 (2023 scale)

567.7

565.3

↔

–

N/A

N/A

5. Student Achievement – Civics and Citizenship

5(a) Proportion of students achieving at or above the proficient standard in NAP Civics and Citizenship (Comparison year is 2019):

Year 6 – Level 3 (%)

52.8

43.5

↓

2004-24

-0.2

↔

Year 10 – Level 4 (%)

38.4

27.8

↓

2004-24

-0.6

↔

7. Student Attainment

7(a) Proportion of the 20 to 24-year-old population having attained at least Year 12 or equivalent or AQF Certificate II or above

ABS Survey of Education and Work (%)

90.4

90.5

↔

2004-24

0.2

↑

7(b) Proportion of the 20 to 24-year-old population having attained at least Year 12 or equivalent or AQF Certificate III or above

ABS Survey of Education and Work (%)

89.6

90.0

↔

2004-24

0.3

↑

Notes:

Except for NAPLAN scale scores, KPMs are expressed as percentages.  Where appropriate, measures of short-term change in Table 1 have been tested for statistical significance. Where KPMs are based on census or administrative data, changes of more than 0.1 percentage points are considered noteworthy/significant.

Long-term trends for each KPM are shown for the period (at least 3 years) over which comparable data is available. To measure long-term trends, a line of best fit is calculated when at least three points are available. The annual change is calculated from the gradient. When the gradient exceeds the standard deviation calculated for the yearly KPMs, the line of best fit can be categorised as “trending up” or “trending down”.  When there is no difference, the line of best fit will be described as “trending flat”.

↑ means the short-term increase in the measure was significant/the long-term trend was positive/upward

↓ means the short-term decrease in the measure was significant/the long-term trend was negative/downward

↔ means the short-term change in the measure was not significant/a long-term trend was not evident N/A means not available. In 2023, NAPLAN testing moved from May to March and the NAPLAN scale was reset introducing a break in trend. Therefore, the trend in NAPLAN Achievement key performance measures cannot be shown beyond 2022. Trend data for 2008 to 2022 by state and territory, and by other disaggregations where possible and appropriate, is provided in the Key Performance Measures data set in the National Report on Schooling data portal.