INCA Education around the world

Australia : Education Structure (ages 3-19)


Last updated: 10-Jun-2008

3.1 Compulsory education

Individual State/Territory legislation determines the age of compulsory education. In most States/Territories, education is compulsory between the ages of 6 and 15. The exceptions are Queensland and Tasmania (see below).6 

Queensland

Youth Participation in Education and Training Act 2003

In 2000, the Queensland Government published its ten-year education strategy, Queensland State Education: 2010, which made retention a key priority for the State's education system. A target was set to raise the number of students completing Year 12 (ages 17-18) to 88 per cent by 2010.228  Subsequently, in 2003, the Queensland Government passed legislation requiring young people to be 'learning or earning' until the age of 17 227.  As a result of the Youth Participation in Education and Training Act 2003229, since 2006, it has been compulsory for young people to remain at school until they finish Year 10 (ages 15-16) or reach their 16th birthday, whichever comes first. Unless they are in full-time work, young people who have finished Year 10 or reached the age of 16 are then required to participate in education and training for:

  • a further two years, or
  • until they have gained a Senior Certificate (see 6.4.4.), or
  • until they have gained a specific level of vocational qualification, or
  • until they have turned 17.

Further, more detailed information regarding the Act is available from the Queensland Government website: http://education.qld.gov.au/etrf/legis.html  

Tasmania

In Tasmania, every child who is at least 5 years old on 1 January must be enrolled in the Preparatory Year in a school or be provided with home education.  He or she must remain in school to the age of 16. Legislation introduced in January 2008, has introduced additional requirements which mean that, after leaving Year 10 (at around age 16), young people must continue in education or training for two years or until they turn 17. Further information is available online.

Home education and education for geographically isolated children

Home education permits parents to apply for approval to educate their children at home. This approval is usually granted by the Education Departments in the various States and Territories to a small proportion of parents or communities.54 

The national/Commonwealth Assistance for Isolated Children (AIC) Scheme helps the families of students under the age of 16 years who are unable to attend an appropriate government school on a daily basis because of geographic isolation.  Depending on the circumstances, the scheme may provide boarding allowances, second home allowances or distance education allowances.  Such allowances are not means tested.  The AIC scheme is one of a number of Commonwealth programmes which aim to improve the education opportunities of students from rural and remote areas.165

Queensland

The Education (General Provisions) Act 1989 1  includes guidelines in respect of "facilities for and instruction in pre-school, primary, secondary or special education for non-government schools and ... home-schooling". 13  Since the 1980s, Queensland has provided some schools of distance education. There are currently seven such schools offering courses for all year levels and covering a range of subjects. Further information regarding the subjects offered is available from the websites for the individual schools:

Distance education teachers are increasingly using online technologies to teach their students. Teachers choose from a range of methods according to content type, communications systems available to students and the increasing availability of suitable online resources. Where possible, an integrated approach is used. Multiple modes of communication are employed to facilitate interaction between students and teacher, which may include:

  • Emailed lessons
  • Shared web space
  • Telephone lessons
  • High frequency radio lessons (see below)
  • Hands-on lesson materials.

Students may also occasionally be connected with the teacher for a live lesson involving a shared data screen. In such cases, an audiographics programme provides a shared 'whiteboard screen', which enables both teacher and student to work together although they are not in the same location. This method is particularly suited to lessons which require a high degree of visual interaction.

Since the start of the 2005 school year (January), all lessons delivered by Queensland's schools of distance education have been conducted over the telephone and high frequency radio teaching has no longer been used. This marked the completion of a programme to upgrade schools of distance education to telephone teaching. It is intended that the move to telephone teaching will enhance student and teacher interaction and allow classes to break into small groups, providing better opportunities for discussion and debate. It should also be particularly beneficial in subject areas relying on audio interaction, such as languages other than English, reading and music.234

Further information on distance education in Queensland is available from the Queensland Government website: http://education.qld.gov.au/curriculum/distance/queensland.html

Tasmania

Home education is a legally supported alternative to enrolment at school, provided that the parent is registered as a home educator in respect of that child. This means that the parent meets the requirements for undertaking home education, as described in the policy statement on home education. 7

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