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Greenhouse gas emissions by Australia | State government actions
Per person emissions vary considerably by state. |
Greenhouse gas emissions by Australia | Victoria
The state of Victoria, in particular, has been proactive in pursuing reductions in GHG through a range of initiatives. In 1989 it produced the first state climate change strategy, "The Greenhouse Challenge". Other states have also taken a more proactive stance than the federal government. One such initiative undertaken by the Victorian Government is the 2002 Greenhouse Challenge for Energy Policy package, which aims to reduce Victorian emissions through a mandated renewable energy target. Initially, it aimed to have a 10 per cent share of Victoria's energy consumption being produced by renewable technologies by 2010, with 1000 MW of wind power under construction by 2006. The government legislated to ensure that by 2016 electricity retailers in Victoria purchase 10 per cent of their energy from renewables. This was ultimately overtaken by the national Renewable Energy Target (RET). By providing a market incentive for the development of renewables, the government helps foster the development of the renewable energy sector. A Green Paper and White Paper on Climate Change was produced in 2010, including funding for a number of programs. A Climate Change Act was passed including targets for 50% reduction in emissions. A recent review of this Act has recommended further changes.
The supreme court of Australia stopped a logging project in Victoria because it will be particularly destructive after the bushfires. The premier of Victoria Daniel Andrews announced that by 2030 logging in the state will be banned. |
Greenhouse gas emissions by Australia | South Australia
Former Premier Mike Rann (2002–2011) was Australia's first Climate Change Minister and passed legislation committing South Australia to renewable energy and emissions reduction targets. Announced in March 2006, this was the first legislation passed anywhere in Australia committed to cutting emissions. By the end of 2011, 26% of South Australia's electricity generation derived from wind power, edging out coal-fired power for the first time. Although only 7.2% of Australia's population live in South Australia, in 2011, it had 54% of Australia's installed wind capacity. Following the introduction of solar feed-in tariff legislation South Australia also had the highest per-capita take-up of household rooftop photo-voltaic installations in Australia. In an educative program, the Rann government invested in installing rooftop solar arrays on the major public buildings including the Parliament, Museum, Adelaide Airport, Adelaide Showgrounds pavilion and public schools. About 31% of South Australia's total power is derived from renewables. In the five years to the end of 2011, South Australia experienced a 15% drop in emissions, despite strong employment and economic growth during this period.
In 2010, the Solar Art Prize was created by Pip Fletcher, and has run annually since, inviting artists from South Australia to reflect subjects of climate change and environmentalism in their work. Some winning artists receive renewable energy service prizes which can be redeemed as solar panels, solar hot water or battery storage systems. |
Greenhouse gas emissions by Australia | See also
Climate change in Australia
Coal mining in Australia
Environmental issues in Australia
Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the environment
Plug-in electric vehicles in Australia |
Greenhouse gas emissions by Australia | References
External links
Australia's Mandatory Renewable Energy Target (Australia's MRET)
Garnaut Review (Garnaut Climate Change Review) |
Australians | Australians, colloquially known as Aussies, are the citizens, nationals and individuals associated with the country of Australia. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or ethno-cultural. For most Australians, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being Australian. Australian law does not provide for a racial or ethnic component of nationality, instead relying on citizenship as a legal status, though the Constitutional framers considered the Commonwealth to be "a home for Australians and the British race alone". Since the postwar period, Australia has pursued an official policy of multiculturalism and has the world's eighth-largest immigrant population, with immigrants accounting for 30 percent of the population in 2019.
Between European colonisation in 1788 and the Second World War, the vast majority of settlers and immigrants came from the British Isles in the United Kingdom and Ireland (principally England, Ireland, Wales and Scotland), although there was significant immigration from China and Germany during the 19th century. Many early settlements were initially penal colonies to house transported convicts. Immigration increased steadily, with an explosion of population in the 1850s following a series of gold rushes.
In the decades immediately following the Second World War, Australia received a large wave of immigration from across Europe, with many more immigrants arriving from Southern and Eastern Europe than in previous decades. Since the late 1970s, following the end of the White Australia policy in 1973, a large and continuing wave of immigration to Australia from around the world has continued into the 21st century, with Asia now being the largest source of immigrants. A smaller proportion of Australians are descended from indigenous people, comprising Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders.
The development of a distinctive Australian identity and national character began in the 19th century. The primary language is Australian English. Australia is home to a diversity of cultures, a result of its history of immigration. Since 1788, Australian culture has primarily been a Western culture strongly influenced by early Anglo-Celtic settlers. The cultural divergence and evolution that has occurred over the centuries since European settlement has resulted in a distinctive Australian culture.
As the Asian Australian population continues to expand and flourish as a result of changes in the demographic makeup of immigrants and as there has been increased economic and cultural intercourse with Asian nations, Australia has observed the gradual emergence of a "Eurasian society" within its major urban hubs, blending both European and Asian material and popular culture within a distinctly Australian context. Other influences include Australian Aboriginal culture, the traditions brought to the country by waves of immigration from around the world, and the culture of the United States. |
Australians | History
The Colony of New South Wales was established by the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1788, with the arrival of the First Fleet, and five other colonies were established in the 19th century, now forming the six present-day Australian states. Large-scale immigration occurred following a series of gold rushes in the 1850s and after the First and Second World Wars, with many post-World War II migrants coming from Southern Europe, Eastern Europe and The Middle East. Since the end of the White Australia policy in 1973, immigrants to Australia have come from around the world, and from Asia in particular.
The predominance of the English language, the existence of a parliamentary system of government drawing upon the Westminster system, constitutional monarchy, American constitutionalist and federalist traditions, Christianity as the dominant religion, and the popularity of sports including cricket, rugby football and tennis are evidence of a significant Anglo-Celtic heritage derived from the descendants of early settlers who form an ancestral group known as Anglo-Celtic Australians. As a result of many shared linguistic, historical, cultural and geographic characteristics, Australians have often identified closely with New Zealanders in particular. Australian citizenship prior to 1949 was a social, moral, and political concept. Prior to the introduction of Australian citizenship, Australians had the status of "British subjects". The High Court of Australia in Potter v Minahan (1908) stated that "Although there is no Australian nationality as distinguished from British nationality, there is an Australian species of British nationality." |
Australians | Ancestries
The Australian Bureau of Statistics does not collect data on race, but asks each Australian resident to nominate up to two ancestries each census. These ancestry responses are classified into broad standardised ancestry groups. At the 2021 census, the number of ancestry responses within each standardised group as a proportion of the total population was as follows: 57.2% European (including 46% North-West European and 11.2% Southern and Eastern European), 33.8% (including 29.9% Australian) Oceanian, 17.4% Asian (including 6.5% Southern and Central Asian, 6.4% North-East Asian, and 4.5% South-East Asian), 3.2% North African and Middle Eastern, 1.4% Peoples of the Americas, and 1.3% Sub-Saharan African. At the 2021 census, the most commonly nominated individual ancestries as a proportion of the total population were: |
Australians | European Australians
European Australians are Australians of whose descent is wholly or partially European. Australians of European descent are the majority in Australia, with the number of ancestry responses categorised within the European groups as a proportion of the total population amounting to 57.2% (including 46% North-West European and 11.2% Southern and Eastern European). The proportion of Australians with European ancestry is thought to be higher than the numbers captured in the census as those nominating their ancestry as "Australian" are classified within the Oceanian group, and the Australian Bureau of Statistics has stated that most who nominate "Australian" as their ancestry are Anglo-Celtic Australians. Since soon after the beginning of British settlement in 1788, people of European descent have formed the majority of the population in Australia.
The largest statistical grouping of European Australians are Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians whose ancestors originate wholly or partially in the British Isles. This includes English Australians, Irish Australians, Scottish Australians and Welsh Australians. Anglo-Celtic Australians have been highly influential in shaping the nation's character. By the mid-1840s, the numbers of freeborn settlers had overtaken the convict population. Although some observers stress Australia's convict history, the vast majority of early settlers came of their own free will. Far more Australians are descended from assisted immigrants than from convicts, the majority of Colonial Era settlers being British and Irish. About 20 percent of Australians are descendants of convicts. Most of the first Australian settlers came from London, the Midlands and the North of England, and Ireland.
Settlers that arrived throughout the 19th century were from all parts of the United Kingdom and Ireland, a significant proportion of settlers came from the Southwest and Southeast of England, from Ireland and from Scotland. In 1888, 60 percent of the Australian population had been born in Australia, and almost all had British ancestral origins. Out of the remaining 40 percent, 34 percent had been born in the British Isles, and 6 percent were of European origin, mainly from Germany and Scandinavia. The census of 1901 showed that 98 percent of Australians had Anglo-Celtic ancestral origins. In 1939 and 1945, still 98 percent of Australians had Anglo-Celtic ancestral origins. Until 1947, the vast majority of the population were of British origin.
Germans formed the largest non-British Isles ancestry for most of the 19th century. Between 1901 and 1940, 140,000 non-British European immigrants arrived in Australia (about 16 percent of the total intake). Before World War II, 13.6 percent were born overseas, and 80 percent of those were British. Following the Second World War, large numbers of continental Europeans immigrated to Australia, with Italian Australians and Greek Australians being among the largest immigrant groups during the post-war era. During the 1950s, Australia was the destination of 30 per cent of Dutch emigrants and the Netherlands-born became numerically the second largest non-British group in Australia. In 1971, 70 percent of the foreign born were of European origin.
Italian Australians are Australians of Italian ancestry, and comprise the largest non Anglo-Celtic European ethnic group in Australia, with the 2021 census finding 4.4% of the population claiming ancestry from Italy be they migrants to Australia or their descendants born in Australia of Italian heritage. Australia's long-history of Italian immigration has given rise to an Italo-Australian dialect of the Italian language. German Australians are Australians of German ancestry. The German community constitutes the second largest non-Anglo Celtic European ethnic group in Australia, amounting to 4% of respondents in the 2021 Census. Germans formed the largest non-English-speaking group in Australia up to the 20th century. Although a few individuals had emigrated earlier, the first large group of Germans arrived in South Australia 1838, not long after the British colonisation of South Australia. |
Australians | Asian Australians
Asian Australians are Australians with ancestry wholly or partially from the continent of Asia. At the 2021 census, the number of ancestry responses categorised within the Asian groups as a proportion of the total population amounted to 17.4% (including 6.5% Southern and Central Asian, 6.4% North-East Asian, and 4.5% South-East Asian). This figure excludes Australians of Middle Eastern ancestry, who are separately categorised within the North African and Middle Eastern group.
Chinese Australians are Australians of Chinese ancestry, forming the single largest non Anglo-Celtic ancestry in the country, constituting 5.5% of those nominating their ancestry at the 2021 census. Chinese Australians are one of the largest groups of Overseas Chinese people, forming the largest Overseas Chinese community in Oceania, and are the largest Asian-Australian community. Per capita, Australia has more people of Chinese ancestry than any country outside Asia. Many Chinese Australians have immigrated from Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan as well as Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines, while many are descendants of such immigrants. The very early history of Chinese Australians involved significant immigration from villages of the Pearl River Delta in Southern China.
More recent Chinese migrants include those from Mandarin and other Chinese dialects or forms. Less well-known are the kinds of society Chinese Australians came from, the families they left behind and what their intentions were in migrating. Gold rushes lured many Chinese to the Australian colonies. From the mid-19th century, Chinese dubbed Australia the New Gold Mountain after the Gold Mountain of California in North America. They typically sent money to their families in the villages, regularly visited their families, and retired to their home villages after many years working as market gardeners, shopkeepers or cabinet-makers. As with many overseas Chinese groups the world over, early Chinese immigrants to Australia established several Chinatowns in major cities, such as Sydney (Chinatown, Sydney), Melbourne (Chinatown, Melbourne, since the 1850s) and Brisbane (Chinatown, Brisbane), Perth (Chinatown, Perth), as well as in regional towns associated with the goldfields such as Cairns (Cairns Chinatown).
Indian Australians are Australians of Indian ancestry, and are the second-largest Asian Australian ancestry, comprising 3.1% of the total population. Indian Australians are one of the largest groups within the Indian diaspora. Indians are the youngest average age (34 years) and the fastest growing community both in terms of absolute numbers and percentages in Australia. Migration of Indians to Australia followed the pattern of "from 18th-century sepoys and lascars (soldiers and sailors) aboard visiting European ships, through 19th-century migrant labourers and the 20th century's hostile policies to the new generation of skilled professional migrants of the 21st century... India became the largest source of skilled migrants in the 21st century." |
Australians | Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are descendants of the original inhabitants of the Australian continent. Their ancestors are believed to have migrated from Africa to Asia around 70,000 years ago and arrived in Australia around 50,000 years ago. The Torres Strait Islanders are a distinct people of Melanesian ancestry, indigenous to the Torres Strait Islands, which are at the northernmost tip of Queensland near Papua New Guinea, and some nearby settlements on the mainland. The term "Aboriginal" is traditionally applied to only the indigenous inhabitants of mainland Australia and Tasmania, along with some of the adjacent islands. Indigenous Australians is an inclusive term used when referring to both Aboriginal and Torres Strait islanders (the "first peoples").
Dispersing across the Australian continent over time, the population expanded and differentiated into hundreds of distinct groups, each with its own language and culture. More than 400 distinct Australian Aboriginal peoples have been identified across the continent, distinguished by unique names designating their ancestral languages, dialects, or distinctive speech patterns.
In 1770, fearing he had been pre-empted by the French, James Cook changed a hilltop signal-drill on Possession Island in Torres Strait, into a possession ceremony, fabricating Britain's claim of Australia's east coast. Eighteen years later, the east coast was occupied by Britain and later the west coast was also settled by Britain. At that time, the indigenous population was estimated to have been between 315,000 and 750,000.
At the 2021 census, 3.2% of the Australian population identified as being Indigenous — Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders. Indigenous Australians experience higher than average rates of imprisonment and unemployment, lower levels of education, and life expectancies for males and females that are, respectively, 11 and 17 years lower than those of non-indigenous Australians. Some remote Indigenous communities have been described as having "failed state"-like conditions. |
Australians | Country of birth
In 2019, 30% of the Australian resident population, or 7,529,570 people, were born overseas. The following table shows Australia's population by country of birth as estimated by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in 2021. It shows only countries or regions or birth with a population of over 100,000 residing in Australia (for more information about immigration see Immigration to Australia and Foreign-born population of Australia): |
Australians | Language
Although Australia has no official language, English has always been entrenched as the de facto national language. Australian English is a major variety of the language with a distinctive accent and lexicon, and differs slightly from other varieties of English in grammar and spelling. General Australian serves as the standard dialect.
At the 2021 census, English was the only language spoken in the home for 72% of the population. The next most common languages spoken at home are Mandarin (2.7%), Arabic (1.4%), Vietnamese (1.3%), Cantonese (1.2%) and Punjabi (0.9%). Over 250 Indigenous Australian languages are thought to have existed at the time of first European contact, of which fewer than twenty are still in daily use by all age groups. About 110 others are spoken exclusively by older people. At the time of the 2006 census, 52,000 Indigenous Australians, representing 12% of the Indigenous population, reported that they spoke an Indigenous language at home. Australia has a sign language known as Auslan, which is the main language of about 10,112 deaf people who reported that they use Auslan language at home in the 2016 census. |
Australians | Religion
Australia has no official religion; its Constitution prohibits the Commonwealth government, but not the states, from establishing one, or interfering with the freedom of religion. At the 2021 Census, 38.9% of the population identified as having "no religion", up from 15.5% in 2001. The largest religion is Christianity (43.9% of the population). The largest Christian denominations are the Roman Catholic Church (20% of the population) and the Anglican Church of Australia (9.8%). Multicultural immigration since the Second World War has led to the growth of non-Christian religions, the largest of which are Islam (3.2%), Hinduism (2.7%), Buddhism (2.4%), Sikhism (0.8%), and Judaism (0.4%).
In 2021, just under 8,000 people declared an affiliation with traditional Aboriginal religions. According to Australian Aboriginal mythology and the animist framework developed in Aboriginal Australia, the Dreaming is a sacred era in which ancestral totemic spirit beings formed The Creation. The Dreaming established the laws and structures of society and the ceremonies performed to ensure continuity of life and land. |
Australians | Population
The current Australian resident population is estimated at 27,713,000 (18 August 2024). This does not include Australians living overseas. In 2015, 2.15% of the Australian population lived overseas, one of the lowest proportions worldwide. This ratio is much lower than many other countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member developed countries). |
Australians | Historical population
The data in the table is sourced from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The population estimates do not include the Aboriginal population before 1961. Estimates of Aboriginal population prior to European settlement range from 300,000 to one million, with archaeological finds indicating a sustainable population of around 750,000. |
Australians | See also
Australian Americans
Australian Canadians
Australian New Zealanders
Australian Paraguayans
Australians in the United Kingdom
Australians in China
Australians in Greece
Australians in India
Australians in Italy
Australians in Japan
Australians in Turkey
Australians in Thailand
List of prime ministers of Australia
Australians in the United Arab Emirates
Australians in Pakistan
Australians in Singapore
Australians in Hong Kong
Australians in Saudi Arabia |
Australians | Notes
References
Citation
External links
Media related to People of Australia at Wikimedia Commons |
Education in Australia | Education in Australia encompasses the sectors of early childhood education (preschool) and primary education (primary schools), followed by secondary education (high schools), and finally tertiary education, which includes higher education (universities and other higher education providers) and vocational education (registered training organisations). Regulation and funding of education is primarily the responsibility of the States and territories; however, the Australian Government also plays a funding role.
Education in Australia is compulsory between the ages of four, five, or six and fifteen, sixteen or seventeen, depending on the state or territory and the date of birth.
For primary and secondary education, government schools educate approximately 65 per cent of Australian students, with approximately 35 per cent in non-government schools. At the tertiary level, the majority of Australia's universities are public, and student fees are subsidised through a student loan program where payment becomes due when debtors reach a certain income level.
Underpinned by the Australian Qualifications Framework, implemented in 1995, Australia has adopted a national system of qualifications, encompassing higher education, vocational education and training (VET), and school-based education. For primary and secondary schools, a national Australian Curriculum has been progressively developed and implemented since 2010.
Australia is a leading global provider of education to international students, and in 2012 was ranked as the third-largest provider of international education after the United States and the United Kingdom. Australia has the highest ratio of international students per head of population in the world by a large margin, with 812,000 international students enrolled in the nation's universities and vocational institutions in 2019.
However, Australian students placed 16th in the world in reading, 29th in maths and 17th in science in the 2018 PISA study by the OCED. This continues a sharp decline in educational standards.
The Education Index, published with the UN's Human Development Index in 2018, based on data from 2017, listed Australia as 0.929, the second-highest in the world. |
Education in Australia | Regulation and funding
The regulation, operation, and funding of education is the responsibility of the states and territories, because the Australian Government does not have a specific constitutional power to pass laws with concerning education. However, the federal government helps to fund non-government schools, helps to fund public universities and subsidises tertiary education through a national student loan scheme, and regulates vocational education providers.
Post-compulsory education is regulated within the Australian Qualifications Framework, a unified system of national qualifications in schools, vocational education and training, and the tertiary education sector.
The Australian Government's involvement in education has been the responsibility of several departments over the years,[note a] with the Department of Education, Skills and Employment being formed in 2020.
The academic year in Australia varies between States and institutions; however, it generally runs from late January/early February until early/mid-December for primary and secondary schools, with slight variations in the inter-term holidays and TAFE colleges, and from late February until mid-November for universities with seasonal holidays and breaks for each educational institute. |
Education in Australia | Preschool
Historically, preschool and pre-prep programs in Australia were relatively unregulated and not compulsory. While still not mandatory for children to attend, the Federal Government has had a focus since 2009 on encouraging families to enrol their children (from around 4 years of age) in a preschool or kindergarten that delivers quality early childhood education and care Federal and state legislation now requires preschool services to implement and deliver programming based on the nationally approved Early Years Learning Framework The first exposure many Australian children have to learn with others outside of traditional parenting is daycare or a parent-run playgroup. This sort of activity is not generally considered schooling, as preschool education is separate from primary school in all states and territories, except Western Australia where pre-school education is taught as part of the primary school system and Victoria where the state framework, the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework (VEYLDF) covers children from birth to 8 years old, is used by some schools over the national framework. In Queensland, preschool programs are often called Kindergarten or Pre-Prep and are usually privately run but attract state government funding if run for at least 600 hours a year and delivered by a registered teacher.
Preschools are usually run by the state and territory governments, except in Victoria, South Australia and New South Wales where they are more often run by local councils, community groups or private organisations. Preschool is offered to three- to five-year-olds; attendance numbers vary widely between the states, but 85.7% of children attended preschool the year before school. The year before a child is due to attend primary school is the main year for preschool education. This year is far more commonly attended and may take the form of a few hours of activity during weekdays. Most states of Australia now fund government preschools to offer 15 hours per week (600 hours over a year) for each enrolled child in the year before they commence formal schooling |
Education in Australia | Primary and secondary education
10,584 registered schools were operating in Australia in 2019, of which 7,092 were government schools. As of 2019, government schools educated 65.4% of all students. In 2017, there were just under 282,000 teachers in Australian primary and secondary schools. Of the non-government schools, nearly two-thirds were Catholic schools. The major part of government-run schools' costs is met by the relevant state or territory government. The Australian Government provides the majority of public funding for non-government schools, which is supplemented by states and territories.
Non-government schools, both religious or secular typically charge compulsory tuition and other fees. Government schools provide education without compulsory tuition fees, although many government schools ask for payment of 'voluntary' fees to defray particular expenses.
Regardless of whether a school is government or non-government, it is regulated by the same curriculum standards framework. The framework is administered by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. Most schools require students to wear prescribed school uniforms. A school year in Australia starts in January and finishes in December. |
Education in Australia | History of school education in Australia
The first formal education in Australia began when the European convicts and settlers began to build the first public infrastructure, in the 19th century. The first schools were either built by ex-convicts or members of the Church. Beginning in approximately 1905, many children of the Stolen Generations were educated like non-aboriginal children, with the aim of effectively assimilating them into the non-aboriginal community. This was made illegal in 1969. |
Education in Australia | Compulsory attendance requirements
School education in Australia is compulsory between certain ages as specified by state or territory legislation. Depending on the state or territory, and date of birth of the child, school is compulsory from the age of five to six to the age of fifteen to seventeen.
In the ACT, NSW, the Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria, and Western Australia, children are legally required to attend school from the age of six years old, until the minimum leaving age. In Tasmania, the compulsory school starting age is 5 years old. However, most children commence the preliminary year of formal schooling, in Pre-Year 1, between four and a half and five and a half years of age, variously called kindergarten (sometimes called Year K), reception, preparation (also abbreviated as "prep") and transition.
As of 2010, the national apparent retention rate (ARR), a measure of student engagement that provides an indicator of the success of education systems in keeping students in school beyond the minimum leaving age, was 78 per cent for all full-time students in Year 12. |
Education in Australia | Australian Curriculum
While state and territory governments are responsible for the regulation and delivery of school-based education within their jurisdiction, through the Council of Australian Governments, the Commonwealth Government has, since 2014, played an increasing role in the establishment of the Australian Curriculum that sets the expectations for what all young Australians should be taught, regardless of where they live in Australia or their background. The development of the Australian Curriculum is based on the principles of improving the quality, equity and transparency of Australia's education system. The Australian Curriculum, for pre-Year 1 to Year 10, is made up of the following eight learning areas: English; Mathematics; Science; Humanities and Social Sciences; The Arts; Technologies; Health and Physical Education as well as Languages. In the senior secondary Australian Curriculum, for Year 11 and Year 12, fifteen senior secondary subjects across English, Mathematics, Science, History and Geography were endorsed between 2012 and 2013. The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority has mandated the achievement standards that describe the quality of learning (including the depth of understanding, the extent of knowledge, and the sophistication of skill) expected of students who have studied the content for each subject. |
Education in Australia | Types of schools
The types of schools in Australia fall broadly into two categories: government schools, being those schools operated by state or territory departments or agencies; and non-government schools, being those schools that are not operated by government departments or agencies. Non-government schools can be further classified, based on self-identification of the school's affiliation. Non-government schools are grouped for reporting as Catholic schools (including Catholic-affiliated private schools) or private (other non-government schools).
Government schools receive funding from the relevant state or territory government. Non-government schools receive funding from the Australian Government and relevant state or territory government; and in most cases, parents are required to make a co-payment for their child's education.
As of 2019 across primary and secondary education, approximately two-thirds of all school students attended government schools; with the remaining one-third of students educated in non-government schools.
A small portion of students are legally home-schooled, particularly in rural areas. |
Education in Australia | School years
Primary schools
Also sometimes called infants schools, Australia adopts the UNESCO term of primary school that generally covers a child's education from pre-Year 1 and finish with Year 6. The duration of primary school years varies across each Australian state and territory, with most adopting seven years; except in South Australia, where, until 2022, students finish with Year 7, making the duration of primary school eight years;: [see "Primary"] until they are 11, 12 or 13 years of age. Primary schools focus on developing essential literacy, numeracy and social skills, and provide foundational knowledge to children about the world around them. |
Education in Australia | Secondary schools
Secondary schools in Australia are also called high schools[note b] and colleges (or junior, intermediate, or senior colleges). Secondary schools vary across each Australian state and territory, but they generally cover Year 7 to Year 10 (compulsory period of education) and senior secondary schools continue to Year 12. |
Education in Australia | Middle schools
In the majority of Australian states and territories, middle schools are relatively uncommon. Students progress from primary school to secondary school. As an alternative to the middle school model, some secondary schools divided their grades into "junior high school" (Years 7, 8, 9 and 10) and "senior high school" (Years 11 and 12). Some have three levels, "junior" (Years 7 and 8), "intermediate" (Years 9 and 10), and "senior" (Years 11 and 12).
In June 2006 the Northern Territory Government introduced a three-tier system featuring middle schools for Year 7 to Year 9 (approximate age 12–15) and high school for Year 10 to Year 12 (approximate age 15–18). |
Education in Australia | Combined and central schools
In Australia, combined schools are schools that have classes from both primary and secondary year levels.: [see "Combined school"] These schools may be located in an urban, regional or rural area and can be government or non-government schools. As of 2019 there were approximately 500 Australian combined government schools: [search "Combined school"] and approximately 850 Australian combined non-government schools.: [search "Combined school"]
Central schools are predominantly, but not exclusively, government schools located in a rural area that provides both primary and lower secondary education to students, usually concluding at Year 10. As of 2019 there were 62 Australian central schools, and all except one were located in rural New South Wales.: [search "Central school"] In Western Australia, the term district high school is synonymous with central school. |
Education in Australia | Organisational structures
Schools are broadly categorised into government and non-government schools. The non-government schools are further categorised into Catholic schools and private schools. As of 2018, 65.7% of students were enrolled in government schools, 19.7% in catholic schools and 14.6% in private schools. |
Education in Australia | Government schools
Also called state schools or public schools, government schools educate approximately two-thirds of all school students in Australia. If a student elects to attend a government school, they are required to attend a school within their local school district unless the student has dispensation to attend another school, usually approved based on academic merit, specialisation, or other reasons, such as a student disability.
Government schools are run by the respective state government agency. They offer free education; however, many government schools ask parents to pay a contribution fee and a materials and services charge for stationery, textbooks, sports, uniforms, school camps and other schooling costs that are not covered under government funding. In 2010 the additional cost for schooling was estimated to be on average $316 per year per child.
Government schools may be further categorised into open or comprehensive schools, selective, special, and specialist schools; all defined below. In 2009 the Western Australia government introduced Independent Public Schools to describe a government school that, while a part of the state education system, was granted a higher degree of decision-making authority than a regular government school. A similar reform was introduced in Queensland and, as of December 2018, 250 government schools commenced as independent public schools in Queensland. In February 2014 the then Federal Education Minister, Christopher Pyne, announced a $70 million Independent Public Schools Initiative to support 1,500 Australian government schools to become more autonomous.
Government hospital schools are located at some major hospitals and provide access to tuition for students who have extended stays in hospitals.
Across Australia, the Federal Department of Education sets the overall national policy and direction for education in Australia. The following state and territory government departments are responsible for the administration of education within their respective jurisdictions: |
Education in Australia | Non-government schools
Schools from the non-government sector operate under the authority of state or territory governments but are not operated by government education departments. Schools from the non-government sector may operate as individual schools, in small groups or as a system such as those coordinated by the Catholic Education Commission in each state and territory.: [see "non-government sector"] All non-government schools in Australia receive funding from the Commonwealth government. |
Education in Australia | Catholic schools
The education system delivered by the Roman Catholic Church in Australia has grown from 18th-century foundations to be the second-biggest provider of school-based education in Australia. As of 2018, one in five Australian students attended Catholic schools. There are over 1,700 Catholic schools in Australia with more than 750,000 students enrolled, employing almost 60,000 teachers.
Administrative oversight of Catholic education providers varies depending on the origins, ethos, and purpose of each education provider. Oversight of Catholic systemic schools may rest with a Catholic parish, diocese, or archdiocese; while religious institutes have oversight of Catholic independent schools.
The National Catholic Education Commission (NCEC), established by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference through the Bishops Commission for Catholic Education, is tasked with maintaining liaison with the federal government and other key national education bodies and complements and supports the work of the state and territory Catholic education commissions. While some Catholic schools operate independently via religious institutes, the majority of Catholic schools, called systemic schools, operate under the Canon Law jurisdiction of an ecclesiastical public juridic person, such as a bishop.: 7 In practice, the bishop assigns a Catholic Education Office (CEO), Catholic Education Commission, Catholic Schools Offices, or a similar body: 4 with daily operational responsibility for the leadership, efficient operation, and management of the Catholic systemic schools which educate in parish primary and regional secondary schools in Australia. These diocesan bodies are charged with the implementation and management of the policies of the diocese and the allocation and administration of the funds provided by the government and private sources to Catholic systemic schools, as well as the financial responsibilities for the administration of salaries for staff members.
Most Catholic schools (96 per cent) are systemically funded, meaning that the government funding they nominally attract is provided to the relevant state Catholic Education Commission for needs-based distribution. Sixty-one Australian Catholic schools are non-systemically funded (independent schools) and receive government grants directly. |
Education in Australia | Private schools
Private schools are non-government schools that are not operated by government authority and have a system of governance that ensures their independent operation. Such schools are typically operated by an independently elected school council or board of governors and range broadly in the type of school education provided and the socio-economics of the school community served. Some private schools are run by religious institutes; others have no religious affiliation and are driven by a national philosophy (such as international schools), pedagogical philosophy (such as Waldorf-Steiner schools), or specific needs (such as special schools). As of 2018, including private schools run by Catholic religious institutes, of the 9,477 schools in Australia 1,140 schools (12 per cent) are in the private sector. In the same year, private schools enrolled over 617,000 students or 16 per cent of the Australian student population.
Private school fees can vary from under $100 per month to $3,200, depending on the student's year level, the school's size, and the socioeconomics of the school community. In late 2018 it was reported that the most expensive private schools (such as the APS Schools, the AGSV Schools in Melbourne, the GPS Schools, QGSSSA Schools in Brisbane and the NSW GPS Schools, Combined Associated Schools and the ISA Schools in Sydney and New South Wales) charge fees of up to $500,000 for the thirteen years of private school education.
Australian private schools broadly fall into the following categories: |
Education in Australia | Specialist organisational structures
Special schools
A special school is a school catering for students who have special educational needs due to learning difficulties, physical disabilities, developmental disabilities or social/emotional disturbance, or who are in custody, on remand or in hospital. Special schools may be specifically designed, staffed and resourced to provide appropriate special education for children with additional needs. Students attending special schools generally do not attend any classes in mainstream schools. The schools cater for students with mild, moderate and profound intellectual disabilities, deaf and hard of hearing students, students with Autism and students with a physical disability. Class sizes at specialist schools are smaller than at mainstream schools, and there is a much lower ratio of teaching and support staff to students. Some specialist schools also have therapists on staff. Specialist schools generally already have an accessible environment and curriculum for their student population; this may mean that there are limited subjects on offer. |
Education in Australia | Selective schools
A selective school is a government school that enrols students based on some sort of selection criteria, usually academic. The term may have different connotations in different systems and is the opposite of an open or comprehensive school, which accepts all students, regardless of aptitude.
In New South Wales, student placement in fully and partially selective high schools is highly competitive, with approximately 3,600 places offered to the 15,000 students who sit the Selective High School Test. As of 2019 there were 47 fully or partially selective government high schools, including 17 fully selective high schools (some of which are co-educational and others provide a single-sex educational environment); 25 partially selective high schools (high schools with both selective and comprehensive classes); four selective agricultural high schools; and one virtual selective high school. Of the 47 schools, 34 are located in greater metropolitan Sydney. Of the government selective high schools in New South Wales, James Ruse Agricultural High School is renowned for its academic achievements and competitiveness, as well as a near-perfect record of all students gaining university admission, especially in medicine, law and science. The school has outperformed every high school in New South Wales in the past 20 years in public university entrance examinations.
In Victoria, selective government high schools select all of their students based on an entrance examination. As of 2011, there were four selective schools: Melbourne High School, Mac.Robertson Girls' High School, Nossal High School and Suzanne Cory High School. In addition, there are three special schools namely Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School, John Monash Science School and Elizabeth Blackburn School of Sciences which cater to students opting for focused education in arts and science respectively.
In Queensland, there are four selective entry high schools. Brisbane State High School, established in 1921, is partially selective; and the three Queensland Academies which are fully selective and were formed during 2007 and 2008. All require entry based on academic entry tests, NAPLAN results, primary school grades, interviews and other considerations.
In Western Australia, selective secondary education (officially named Gifted and Talented Education (GATE)) is operated by the Western Australian Department of Education through the Gifted and Talented Selective Entrance Programs for Year 7, and subject to limited placement availability for year-levels upward to Year 11. All applicants are required to sit the Academic Selective Entrance Test and possibly complete combined interviews, auditions and/or workshops depending on the program(s) applied for. The programs are categorised into three strands: academic, language, and arts. Eighteen government schools participate in the Gifted and Talented Programs, each specialising in one of the strands. All participating schools are partially selective and partially local intake, except for Perth Modern School which is fully selective. |
Education in Australia | Specialist schools
Schools that operate specialist education programs exist in all Australian states and territories. These schools are typically associated with the arts or elite sports programs. In South Australia, specialist schools cover the arts, gifted and talented programs, languages, agricultural schools, science, technology, engineering and mathematics, advanced technology project schools, sports schools, and trade training centres. In Victoria, examples of specialist government schools include those focused on science and maths (John Monash Science School), performing arts (Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School), sports (Maribyrnong Secondary College), and leadership and enterprise (The Alpine School). An alternative model is those sporting organisations that deliver specialist programs to a narrow selection of schools, such as Cricket Australia's Specialist School Program to three Western Australian schools. |
Education in Australia | International schools
In Australia, international schools promote international education and may be operated by the government of the country of origin, the government of the state or territory in which the school is located, or be operated as an private school. International schools include those schools that have received international accreditation such as from the Council of International Schools, the International Baccalaureate Organization, or the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, or other similar organisations. As of 2019, approximately 80 Australian schools meet that definition, with the vast majority being schools that offered one or more of the International Baccalaureate programs. Other schools are affiliated with specific cultures or languages, most notably French (e.g. Telopea Park School (ACT), Lycée Condorcet (NSW), Auburn High School (VIC)), German (e.g. German International School Sydney (NSW) and Deutsche Schule Melbourne (VIC)), or Japanese (e.g. Sydney Japanese International School (NSW), The Japanese School of Melbourne (VIC) and The Japanese School in Perth (WA)) schools, including Japanese supplementary weekend schools; or may generally be international in their outlook, including the International Grammar School (NSW) or the International School of Western Australia (WA). |
Education in Australia | Mixed-sex and single-sex education
In Australia, both government and non-government schools operate co-educational and single-sex educational environments for students. The overwhelming number of schools are co-educational, with a small proportion of government schools operating single-sex schools, sometimes with a separate boys' and girls' school in the same suburb. All government single-sex schools are secondary schools. Examples of adjacent single-sex government secondary schools include Asquith Boys' and Asquith Girls', Canterbury Boys', North Sydney Boys' and North Sydney Girls', Randwick Boys' and Randwick Girls', and Sydney Boys' and Sydney Girls' (all in Sydney); and Melbourne High, Canterbury Girls', and Mac.Robertson Girls' (in Melbourne).
The majority of single-sex schools in Australia are non-government schools, heavily weighted towards private schools, some of which are Catholic private schools. Some Catholic systemic schools are also single-sex schools; however, like government schools, the overwhelming majority are co-educational schools. |
Education in Australia | Day and boarding schools
In Australia, both government and non-government schools operate day and boarding schools. As of 2019, of the 10,584 registered schools operating in Australia, approximately 250 schools (or less than 2.5 per cent) were boarding schools. Boarding schools can provide a valuable platform for students to achieve their potential academically along with providing support and guidance with their psychological, social, emotional and spiritual development. Some Australian schools offer gender-specific (boys' [approximately 21 per cent] or girls' [approximately 28 per cent]) and co-educational boarding schools (51 per cent); with multi-modal options, such as full-time boarding and part-time boarding (for example, going home on the weekends) offered by some schools. Some specialist education schools, such as The Australian Ballet School, offer boarding facilities. The largest peak body for boarding schools in Australia, the Australian Boarding Schools Association, claimed that, in 2017, there were 22,815 students in boarding schools covered by the association, an increase from 19,870 in 2014. |
Education in Australia | Qualifications
Within the context of the Australian Qualifications Framework, each state and territory is responsible for issuing certificates and/or qualifications to secondary students, collectively referred to as the Senior Secondary Certificate of Education. The following table serves as a summary of the qualifications issued by each state or territory: |
Education in Australia | As an alternative form (or as an addition to) the government-endorsed certification path, students, by approval, may elect to receive certification under the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. |
Education in Australia | Basic skills tests
The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (abbreviated as NAPLAN) is a series of tests focused on basic skills that are administered annually to Australian students. These standardised tests assess students' reading, writing, language (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy. Introduced in 2008, NAPLAN is administered by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) and is overseen by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Education Council. The tests are designed to determine if Australian students are achieving outcomes. The tests are designed to be carried out on the same days across Australia in any given year. Parents can decide whether their children take the test or not. The vast majority of Year 3, 5, 7 and 9 students participate. One of the aims of NAPLAN is to prepare young children for competitive examinations. |
Education in Australia | Provider of school education to international students
In Australia, a student is considered as an international student if he/she studies at an approved educational institution and he/she is not an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident, New Zealand citizen, or a holder of an Australian permanent resident humanitarian visa. Under the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 (Cth), the Australian Government regulates the delivery of school and tertiary education to international students who are granted a student visa to study in Australia. The government maintains the Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students (CRICOS) and, as of 2018, there were 396 school providers with an overall approved capacity of 88,285 students.: 6 While Australia as an education destination showed strong and sustained growth over many years, as of June 2019, school-based education fell by three per cent for the year, and represented approximately three per cent of all international student enrolments; with tertiary education, vocational education and training, and English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students (ELICOS) comprised 93 per cent of all enrolments and recorded 21 per cent annual growth. |
Education in Australia | Issues in Australian school education
Government education policy
Despite a substantial increase in government spending per student over ten years (after correcting for inflation), the proportion of students who are proficient in maths, reading and science has actually declined over that same period. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the Menzies Research Centre have both concluded that increasing school funding above a basic level has little effect on student proficiency. Instead, they both recommend greater autonomy. That is, the states should merely monitor the performance of the schools. Individual principals should have full authority and responsibility for ensuring student proficiency in core areas.
In 2010 the Gillard government commissioned David Gonski to the chair a committee to review funding of Australian schools. Entitled the Gonski Report, through the Council of Australian Governments the Gillard government sought to implement the National Education Reform Agreement that would deliver an A$9.4 billion school funding plan. Despite some states and territories becoming parties to the Agreement, the plan was shelved following the 2013 federal election. The Turnbull government commissioned Gonski in 2017 to chair the independent Review to Achieve Educational Excellence in Australian Schools, commonly called Gonski 2.0. The government published the report on 30 April 2018. Following negotiation, bilateral agreements between the Commonwealth of Australia with each state and territory commenced on 1 January 2019, with the exception of Victoria, whose bilateral agreement commenced on 1 February 2019. The funding agreements provide states with funding for government schools (20 percent) and non-government schools (80 percent) taking into consideration annual changes in enrolment numbers, indexation and student or school characteristics. A National School Resourcing Board was charged with the responsibility of independently reviewing each state's compliance with the funding agreement(s).
Australian students placed 16th in the world in reading, 29th in maths and 17th in science in the 2018 PISA study by the OCED. The Australian education system has suffered from the years of minimisation of funding, too often relying upon the full fee paying students from abroad across all levels of education, to prop up the short falls created by funding cuts. International full fee paying students, from primary school right through to Australia's universities have shown a slow decline in education standards. |
Education in Australia | Indigenous primary and secondary education
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are at a significant disadvantage when compared to non-Indigenous Australians across a number of key school educational measures. In 2008, the Council of Australian Governments announced seven[note e] "closing the gap" targets, of which four related to education, namely: |
Education in Australia | participation in early childhood education: with the goal of 95 per cent of all Indigenous four-year-olds enrolled in early childhood education by 2025;[note f]
reading, writing and numeracy levels: with the goal to halve the gap for Indigenous students in reading, writing and numeracy within a decade (by 2018);
Year 12 attainment: with the goal to halve the gap for Indigenous 20–24 year olds in year 12 or equivalent attainment rates (by 2020); and
school attendance: with the aim to close the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous school attendance within five years (by 2018).[note c]
As of 2018, the target results were: |
Education in Australia | Bilingual education in schools
Bilingual education in Australia may be divided into three different types, or target audiences, each having somewhat different purposes: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples; immigrant (CALD) groups; and English speakers looking to add another language to their education. The first two are interested in language maintenance and language revitalisation for ensuing generations.
The first recorded government support for bilingual education came under the Menzies government in 1950, when the first government schools for Aboriginal students were opened at four sites in the Northern Territory (NT), where instruction "should include English Language, Native Language (where appropriate)". Policies and practices varied in the following years, with the first five pilot programs introduced in 1973 after the Whitlam government came to power and brought in new federal policies.
In the Northern Territory (the jurisdiction with the greatest proportion of Indigenous people, and many remote communities), bilingual programs for Indigenous students begun with Federal Government support in the early 1970s. Yirrkala Community School was identified as the first to undergo bilingual accreditation in 1980, and bilingual students outperformed the non-bilingual students. However, by December 1998 the Northern Territory Government had announced its decision to shift A$3 million away from the 29 bilingual programs to a Territory-wide program teaching English as a second language. Within 12 months though the government had softened its position, after people took to the streets in protest.
From around 2000, most bilingual programs were allowed to continue under the names "two-way education", or "both-ways" learning. Other programs included language maintenance and language revitalisation in remote schools across the NT.
Then on 24 August 2005, the Minister for Employment, Education and Training announced that the government would be "revitalising bi-lingual education" at 15 Community Education Centres: Alekarenge, Angurugu, Borroloola, Gapuwiyak, Gunbalanya, Kalkaringi, Lajamanu, Maningrida, Milingimbi, Ramingining, Ngukurr, Shepherdson College, Numbulwar, Yirrkala and Yuendumu. This revitalisation is conceived as part of an effort aimed at "providing effective education from pre-school through to senior secondary at each of the Territory's 15 Community Education Centres".
However, in October 2008, in the first year of NAPLAN testing, despite the NT Indigenous Education Strategic Plan 2006-2009 supporting bilingual instruction, it was mandated by the NT Government that English should be the language of instruction in all NT schools for the first four hours of the school day. After legal challenges, an AIATSIS Symposium on Bilingual Education in 2009, media coverage and much debate, the policy was replaced by a new policy: "Literacy for Both Worlds", but that was soon withdrawn again. There was intervention by the Australian Human Rights Commission, and in 2012 the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander affairs issued a report which included the recommendation that: "Indigenous language education should be introduced to all schools with Aboriginal students, and indigenous languages included as an official Closing the Gap measure".
Prominent schools involved in bilingual education programs in the NT include Yirrkala Community Education Centre (CEC) and Shepherdson College on Galiwin'ku. Yirrkala School and its sister school ignored the government directive, and has continued to teach its "both ways" methodology. The students' first language, Yolngu Matha, is taught alongside English. The method has proven effective against reducing the drop-out rate, and in 2020 eight students were the first in their community to graduate year 12 with scores enabling them to attend university. Yirrkala School and its sister school, Laynhapuy Homelands School, are now being looked to as models for learning in remote traditional communities. Areyonga School, in Areyonga, was still using both-ways education in August 2023, 50 years since it had begun there, teaching in Pitjantjatjara language and culture. |
Education in Australia | Religious education in government schools
Constitutionally, Australia is a secular country. Section 116 of Chapter V. The States in the Australian Constitution reads: The Commonwealth shall not make any law for establishing any religion, or for imposing any religious observance, or for prohibiting the free exercise of any religion, and no religious test shall be required as a qualification for any office or public trust under the Commonwealth.
Nevertheless, Australia maintains one of the highest concentrations of religious schools, when compared with other OECD countries. Historically, the teaching of religion in Australian government schools has been a contentious issue and was a motivator for the foundation of the government schooling system.
While the National School Chaplaincy Programme provides an overarching framework based on pastoral care, not religious instruction, the practices and policies of religious instruction in Australian schools vary significantly from state to state. In New South Wales, the Special Religious Education classes are held in the government school sector that enable students to learn about the beliefs, practices, values and morals of a chosen religion. In Queensland, religious organisations may apply to school principals and, if approved, deliver approved religious instruction programs in government schools. In Victoria, legislation prescribes that government schools must not promote any particular religious practice, denomination or sect, and must be open to adherents of any philosophy, religion or faith. However, individual school principals may permit approved organisations to deliver non-compulsory special religious instruction classes of no more than 30 minutes per week per student, during lunchtime or in the hour before or after usual school hours. In Western Australia, both special religious education (not part of the general curriculum) and general religious education (as part of the general curriculum) are offered in government schools. |
Education in Australia | School violence
In July 2009, the Queensland Minister for Education said that the rising levels of violence in schools in the state were "totally unacceptable" and that not enough had been done to combat violent behaviour. In Queensland, 55,000 school students were suspended in 2008, nearly a third of which were for "physical misconduct".
In South Australia, 175 violent attacks against students or staff were recorded in 2008. Students were responsible for deliberately causing 3,000 injuries reported by teachers over two years from 2008 to 2009. |
Education in Australia | ESOS Act
The Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 (or ESOS Act) sets out the legal framework governing delivery of education to international students visiting Australia on a student visa. |
Education in Australia | Tertiary education
Tertiary education (or higher education) in Australia is primarily study at university or a registered training organisation studying Diploma or above in order to receive a qualification or further skills and training. A higher education provider is a body that is established or recognised by or under the law of the Australian Government, a State, the Australian Capital Territory or the Northern Territory. VET providers, both public and private are registered by state and territory governments.
There are 42 universities in Australia: 37 public universities, 3 private universities and 2 international private universities. As of 2015, the largest university in Australia was Monash University in Melbourne: with five campuses and 75,000 students.
There are non-self-accrediting higher education providers accredited by state and territory authorities, numbering more than 132 as listed on state and territory registers. These include several that are registered in more than one state and territory.
All students doing nationally recognised training need to have a Unique Student Identifier (USI). |
Education in Australia | International tertiary students
Australia has the highest ratio of international students per head of population in the world by a large margin, with 812,000 international students enrolled in the nation's universities and vocational institutions in 2019. Accordingly, in 2019, international students represented on average 26.7% of the student bodies of Australian universities. International education, therefore, represents one of the country's largest exports and has a pronounced influence on the country's demographics, with a significant proportion of international students remaining in Australia after graduation on various skill and employment visas. The Australian onshore international education sector is predicted to rise to 940,000 by 2025. The biggest source markets for onshore international learner enrolments in 2025 are expected to be China, India, Vietnam, Thailand, Nepal, Malaysia, Brazil and South Korea. According to a 2016 report by Deloitte Access Economics for the Australian Trade and Investment Commission, higher education and Vocational Education and Training (VET) were projected to be the fastest-growing sectors in onshore international education by 2025. Australian Government is also planning to add another 1.46 billion AUD according to Modern Manufacturing Strategy, which predicts a high jump in job growth and migration of people. |
Education in Australia | Rankings
36 Australian tertiary educational institutions were listed in the QS World University Rankings for 2021; and 37 institutions were listed in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings in the same year. As of 2020, 34 Australian universities were listed in China's Academic Ranking of World Universities ranking, with The University of Melbourne achieving the highest global ranking, at 35th. In the same year, according to the U.S. News & World Report Best Global Universities Rankings, 38 Australian universities were ranked, ranging from the University of Melbourne, at 25th place, to Bond University, at 1133th place.
The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) evaluation in 2006 ranked the Australian education system as sixth for reading, eighth for science and thirteenth for mathematics, on a worldwide scale including 56 countries. The PISA evaluation in 2009 ranked the Australian education system as sixth for reading, seventh for science and ninth for mathematics, an improvement relative to the 2006 rankings. In 2012, education firm Pearson ranked Australian education as thirteenth in the world.
The Education Index, published with the UN's Human Development Index in 2018, based on data from 2017, listed Australia as 0.929, the second-highest in the world. |
Education in Australia | See also
Notes
^[note a] These include: Department of Education, Employment and Training (DEET) (1988), Department of Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs (DEETYA) (1996), Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs (DETYA) (1997), Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST) (2001), Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) (2007), Department of Education (Australia, 2019–2020) (2013), Department of Education and Training (Australia) (2014).
^[note b] : In Western Australia, the term district high school refers to schools that enrol students from Year K to Year 10.
^[note c] : The schools listed here are Catholic schools that are private schools and administered by a religious institute. It does not include Catholic schools that are systemically administered by a diocese, Catholic Education Office, or Catholic Education Commission.
^[note d] : The South Australian Certificate of Education is also taught in Northern Territory secondary schools, where it is known as the Northern Territory Certificate of Education and Training.
^[note e] : Initially six targets were set; with the school attendance target set at a subsequent COAG meeting.
^[note f] : The initial target of 95% was set in 2008 with the aim to be achieved by 2013. The target was not achieved and was renewed in December 2015 with the aim to be achieved by 2025.
^[note g] : The 2018 NAPLAN data were unavailable at the time of publication of the 2017-18 National Indigenous Reform Agreement Performance data report. |
Education in Australia | References
Further reading
Campbell, Craig; Proctor, Helen (2014). A history of Australian schooling. Allen & Unwin. ISBN 978-1-74237-182-5.
Arthur Patchett Martin (1889). "The State Schoolmaster". Australia and the Empire: 157–187. Wikidata Q107340726.
Passow, A. Harry et al. The National Case Study: An Empirical Comparative Study of Twenty-One Educational Systems. (1976) online |
Education in Australia | External links
"School education: a quick guide to key internet links". Research Papers: 2018-2019. Parliament of Australia. 21 August 2018.
Australian Qualifications Framework website
Australia: Education GPS – published by the OECD
"The Australian Education System: Foundation Level" (PDF). Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Diplomatic Academy. Australian Government. 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 June 2018. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
Australian Bureau of Statistics – Education |
Same-sex marriage in Australia | Same-sex marriage has been legal in Australia since 9 December 2017. Legislation to allow it, the Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Act 2017, passed the Parliament of Australia on 7 December 2017 and received royal assent from Governor-General Peter Cosgrove the following day. The law came into effect on 9 December, immediately recognising overseas same-sex marriages. The first same-sex wedding under Australian law was held on 15 December 2017. The passage of the law followed a voluntary postal survey of all Australians, in which 61.6% of respondents supported legalisation of same-sex marriage.
Other types of recognition for same-sex couples are also available. Under federal law, same-sex couples can also be recognised as de facto relationships. De facto couples have most of the same rights and responsibilities afforded to married couples, although these rights may be difficult to assert and are not always recognised in practice. Although there is no national civil union or relationships register scheme in Australia, most states and territories have legislated for civil unions or domestic partnership registries. Registered unions are recognised as de facto relationships under federal law.
Prior to legalisation, 22 bills to allow same-sex marriage were introduced to Parliament between September 2004 and May 2017. These failed attempts came after the Howard government in 2004 amended the Marriage Act 1961 to codify the then exclusively heterosexual common law definition of marriage. The Australian Capital Territory passed a same-sex marriage law in December 2013 that was struck down by the High Court for inconsistency with federal law. Australia was the second country in Oceania to allow same-sex couples to marry after New Zealand. |
Same-sex marriage in Australia | De facto relationships
De facto relationships, defined in the federal Family Law Act 1975, are available to both same-sex and opposite-sex couples. De facto relationships provide couples who live together on a genuine domestic basis with many of the same rights and benefits as married couples. Two people can become a de facto couple by entering into a registered relationship (i.e. a civil union or domestic partnership) or by being assessed as a de facto couple by the Federal Circuit and Family Court. Couples who live together are generally recognised as a de facto relationship, even if they have not registered or officially documented their relationship. |
Same-sex marriage in Australia | Rudd government 2008–2009 reforms
Following the Australian Human Rights Commission's 2007 report "Same-Sex: Same Entitlements", and an audit of federal legislation, in 2009 the Rudd government introduced several reforms designed to equalise treatment for same-sex couples and same-sex families. The reforms amended 85 Commonwealth laws to eliminate discrimination against same-sex couples and their children in a wide range of areas. The reforms came in the form of two pieces of legislation, the Same-Sex Relationships (Equal Treatment in Commonwealth Laws—General Law Reform) Act 2008 and the Same-Sex Relationships (Equal Treatment in Commonwealth Laws—Superannuation) Act 2008. These laws, which passed the Parliament in November 2008, amended 70 other existing Commonwealth acts to equalise treatment for same-sex couples and their children.
As a result of these reforms, same-sex couples were treated equally with heterosexual couples in most areas of federal law. For instance, with relation to social security and general family law, same-sex couples were previously not recognised as a couple for social security or family assistance purposes. A person who had a same-sex de facto partner was treated as a single person. The reforms ensured that same-sex couples were, for the first time under Australian law, recognised as a couple akin to opposite-sex partners. Consequently, a same-sex couple receives the same rate of social security and family assistance payments as an opposite-sex couple. |
Same-sex marriage in Australia | Legislative history prior to de facto recognition
In 2004, the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 was amended to allow tax free payment of superannuation benefits to be made to the surviving partner in an interdependent relationship, including same-sex couples, or a relationship where one person was financially dependent on another person. Prior to 2008, same-sex couples were only recognised by the Federal Government in very limited circumstances. For example, since the 1990s, same-sex foreign partners of Australian citizens have been able to receive residence permits in Australia known as "interdependency visas". Following a national inquiry into financial and work-related discrimination against same-sex relationships, on 21 June 2007, the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) released its Same-Sex: Same Entitlements report. The Commission identified 58 Commonwealth law statutes and provisions that explicitly discriminated against same-sex couples by using the term 'member of the opposite sex'.
The previous conservative Howard government banned its departments from making submissions to the HREOC inquiry regarding financial discrimination experienced by same-sex couples.
The report found that 100 statutes and provisions under federal law discriminated against same-sex couples by using the term "member of the opposite sex", from aged care, superannuation, childcare, Medicare (including the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme) through to pensions. "All the basics that opposite-gender couples are legally entitled to and take for granted" were things same-sex couples were effectively barred from utilising under the former system. |
Same-sex marriage in Australia | Differences between de facto relationships and marriages
Since 1 March 2009, some legal differences remain with respect to treatment of couples in a de facto relationship and heterosexual couples in a marriage. Differences exist between the rights of a de facto couple and a married couple in relation to family law matters, including property settlements and entitlements to spousal maintenance. A de facto relationship must have ended for the court to make an order for property settlement or spousal maintenance, though this requirement does not exist for married couples. For a de facto partner to seek an order for property settlement, the court must be satisfied of at least one of the following: |
Same-sex marriage in Australia | The period of the de facto relationship was for at least two years; or
There is a child in the de facto relationship; or
The relationship is or was registered under a prescribed law of a State or Territory; or
That failure to make an order would result in serious injustice due to the significant contributions made by one party.
By way of comparison, for a married couple, it is enough merely to have been married to attract the jurisdiction of the court for property and spousal maintenance. Furthermore, it is possible that individuals in a de facto relationship can be treated substantively different to a person in a marriage. In the event of an unexpected end to a de facto relationship (such as the death of a partner), the surviving partner must often prove the existence of a relationship in order to be registered as the next of kin on a death certificate and receive government bereavement payments and access to a partner's superannuation. These requirements vary on a state by state basis. Given that, prior to the legalisation of same-sex marriage, same-sex couples did not have the option to marry, as heterosexual couples did, these discrepancies could have a particularly discriminatory impact on same-sex couples. The rights of a de facto partner may be poorly understood by government departments, resulting in occasions where said couples have not had their rights upheld.
In April 2014, a federal court judge ruled that a heterosexual couple who had a child and lived together for 13 years were not in a de facto relationship and thus the court had no jurisdiction to divide up their property under family law following a request for separation. In his ruling, the judge stated that "de facto relationship(s) may be described as "marriage-like" but it is not a marriage and has significant differences socially, financially and emotionally."
De facto relationships often face an onerous burden of proof before rights that are automatically granted to married couples can be accessed. This means partners may have to provide evidence about their living and childcare arrangements, sexual relationship, finances, ownership of property, commitment to a shared life and how they present as a couple in public. This can present difficulties when de facto relationships are legally contested by other people, usually other family members. Marriages rarely encounter such difficulties as they are generally regarded as immediate and incontrovertible. |
Same-sex marriage in Australia | Same-sex marriage
Federal law
The federal Marriage Act 1961 governs marriage in Australia. The Act defines marriage as "the union of 2 people to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life". |
Same-sex marriage in Australia | History
The Marriage Act 1961 did not explicitly define the legal meaning of the word "marriage" prior to 2004. Section 46(1) of the Act, however, has always included a provision requiring celebrants to state the legal nature of marriage in Australia. Prior to the legalisation of same-sex marriage, the requirement was to state marriage is the union of "a man and a woman", or words to that effect, in line with the 1866 English case of Hyde v Hyde. The words in section 46(1) have been seen as a description or exhortation rather than a legal definition.
In August 2004, the Howard government introduced a bill to insert a definition of marriage in the Interpretation section (section 5) of the Act; as "the union of a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life". The bill also inserted a new provision in the Act (section 88EA) which stipulated any foreign marriages of same-sex couples "must not be recognised as a marriage in Australia". The bill was supported by the opposition Labor Party and came amidst increased public debate on the issue following the judicial legalisation of same-sex marriage in Massachusetts and Canada. Prime Minister Howard later stated that the amendments were partially motivated by a desire to prevent same-sex couples having their marriages recognised by the courts, as was being litigated at the time. Additional amendments to the Family Law Act 1975 prevented same-sex couples from adopting children in inter-country adoption arrangements, although these restrictions were eventually relaxed in 2014. The bill passed the Parliament on 13 August 2004 and went into effect on the day it received royal assent, 16 August 2004.
Between 2004 and 2017, there were 22 unsuccessful bills to legalise same-sex marriage in the Parliament. Labor governments of Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard between 2007 and 2013 were divided on the issue. Despite passing a resolution at the party's national conference in December 2011 to support same-sex marriage, the party held a conscience vote when two private member's bills to legalise same-sex marriage were debated in the Parliament in September 2012. The legislation was opposed by Prime Minister Julia Gillard and several other Labor MPs, as well as by the opposition Coalition, led by Tony Abbott. The first bill failed in the House of Representatives by 98 votes to 42 and a similar bill was rejected by the Senate by 41 votes to 26.
Same-sex marriage caused significant tension within the Abbott government. It resolved in August 2015 to hold a national vote on same-sex marriage sometime after the 2016 federal election, in the form of either a plebiscite or constitutional referendum. This policy was maintained by the Turnbull government after Malcolm Turnbull (a supporter of same-sex marriage) replaced Abbott as prime minister following a leadership challenge. A bill providing for the plebiscite (which would have been held on 11 February 2017) passed the House of Representatives by 76 votes to 67 on 20 October 2016, but was rejected by the Senate on 7 November 2016 by 33 votes to 29, as the government had failed to attract the support of the opposition Labor Party, the Greens and several Senate crossbenchers, who demanded that same-sex marriage be legalised through a parliamentary vote.
Despite initially suggesting the government had "no plans to take any other measures on this issue", Prime Minister Turnbull came under increasing pressure to change policy and allow a conscience vote in the Parliament. By August 2017, several Liberal Party MPs stated they would consider crossing the floor to suspend standing orders and force debate on same-sex marriage legislation against the government's wishes. Consequently, at a Liberal party room meeting on 7 August 2017, the government resolved to conduct a voluntary postal survey on the matter later in the year. The government stated the survey would only occur in the event the Senate again rejected the legislation enabling the plebiscite, which it did on 9 August 2017. |
Same-sex marriage in Australia | On 9 August 2017, the government directed the Australian Statistician to conduct a survey of all enrolled voters to measure support for same-sex marriage. The direction was given to bypass the need for the Parliament to approve a plebiscite. The direction was legally challenged, but was upheld by the High Court. The survey was held between 12 September and 7 November 2017 and returned a 61.6% vote in favour of same-sex marriage. The government responded by confirming it would facilitate the passage of a private member's bill legalising same-sex marriage before the end of the year.
The Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Act 2017 was introduced by openly gay Liberal Party backbencher, Senator Dean Smith. The bill amended Section 5 of the Marriage Act to define marriage in Australia as the union of "2 people". It also removed the ban on overseas same-sex marriages being recognised in Australia, including ones that occurred before the law change. Additionally, the bill included protections for religious celebrants, ministers of religion and bodies established for a religious purpose, to not be obligated to perform or provide services and facilities to marriages they object to. The bill passed the Senate by 43 votes to 12 on 29 November 2017 and passed the House of Representatives on 7 December 2017 by a vote of 131 to 4; there were 11 abstentions. The bill received royal assent on 8 December 2017 and went into effect the following day. Same-sex marriages lawfully entered into overseas automatically became recognised from that date, and the first weddings after the normal one-month waiting period occurred from 9 January 2018. Several same-sex couples successfully applied for an exemption from the one-month waiting period, and the first legal same-sex wedding under Australian law was held on 15 December 2017, with further weddings taking place the following day. |
Same-sex marriage in Australia | State and territory law
The federal legalisation of same-sex marriage extended to all of Australia's states and territories, including external territories.
States and territories have long had the ability to create laws with respect to relationships, though Section 51 (xxi) of the Constitution of Australia prescribes that marriage is a legislative power of the Parliament.
Since the Parliament introduced the Marriage Act 1961, marriage laws in Australia were generally regarded as an exclusive Commonwealth power. The precise rights of states and territories with respect to creating state-based same-sex marriage laws was complicated further by the Howard government amendment to the Marriage Act in 2004 to define marriage as the exclusive union of one man and one woman, to the exclusion of all others. The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) provided a test case on the matter, when in October 2013, the territory's Legislative Assembly passed a law allowing same-sex marriage. The Abbott government immediately challenged the law in the High Court of Australia. The High Court ruled on the matter in December 2013, five days after the first same-sex weddings were celebrated in the ACT, striking down the ACT's same-sex marriage law. The court determined that all laws with respect to marriage were an exclusive power of the Commonwealth and that no state or territory law creating any other type of marriage could operate concurrently with the federal Marriage Act; "the kind of marriage provided for by the [Marriage] Act is the only kind of marriage that may be formed or recognised in Australia". The court also ruled that a same-sex marriage law passed by the Parliament could operate lawfully. The ruling closed off the possibility for a state or territory to legislate for same-sex marriage in the absence of a federal same-sex marriage law.
Prior to that ruling, reports released by the New South Wales Parliamentary Committee on Social Issues and the Tasmanian Law Reform Institute found that a state parliament "has the power to legislate on the topic of marriage, including same-sex marriage. However, if [New South Wales] chooses to exercise that power and enact a law for same-sex marriage, the law could be subject to challenge in the High Court of Australia", and that no current arguments "present an absolute impediment to achieving state-based or Commonwealth marriage equality". The ACT Government received legal advice supporting the lawfulness of its same-sex marriage law prior to the High Court ruling, though several legal experts expressed doubts.
Aside from the Australian Capital Territory, Tasmania is the only other state or territory to have passed same-sex marriage legislation in a chamber of its legislature. The Tasmanian House of Assembly passed same-sex marriage legislation by 13 votes to 11 in September 2012, though the Legislative Council subsequently voted against the legislation a few weeks later by 8 votes to 6. Both chambers later passed motions giving in-principle, symbolic support for same-sex marriage.
Prior to the federal legalisation of same-sex marriage, six Australian jurisdictions (Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and South Australia), comprising 90% of Australia's population, recognised same-sex marriages and civil partnerships performed overseas, providing automatic recognition of such unions in their respective state registers. |
Same-sex marriage in Australia | Constitutional and legal issues
There is an important difference in the source of power of the Commonwealth to legislate over married and de facto relationships. Marriage and "matrimonial causes" are supported by sections 51(xxi) and (xxii) of the Constitution. The legal status of marriage is also internationally recognised whereas the power to legislate for de facto relationships and their financial matters relies on referrals by states to the Commonwealth in accordance with Section 51(xxxvii) of the Australian Constitution, where it states the law shall extend only to states by whose parliaments the matter is referred, or which afterward adopt the law. |
Same-sex marriage in Australia | Transgender and intersex issues
In the 2001 case of Re Kevin – validity of marriage of transsexual, the Family Court of Australia recognised the right of transsexual people to marry according to their current gender as opposed to their sex assigned at birth; this did not permit same-sex marriage from the perspective of the genders the prospective partners identified as, but it did mean that a trans woman could legally marry a cisgender man, and a trans man could legally marry a cisgender woman.
In October 2007, the Administrative Appeals Tribunal overturned a decision by the Foreign Affairs Department refusing to issue a transgender woman a passport listing her as female because she was married to a woman. The tribunal ordered that she be issued a passport listing her as female, in accordance with her other official documents, thereby recognising the existence of a marriage between two persons who are legally recognised as female. Same-sex marriage advocates noted that same-sex marriage legislation should be inclusive of the rights of transgender and intersex people, with intersex people being sceptical of the term same-sex marriage. These concerns were addressed by the federal legalisation of same-sex marriage in December 2017, which amended the definition of marriage to "2 people".
As of 2017, only South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory did not require transgender people to divorce before registering an official change of gender on a birth certificate. This requirement was removed by federal law in December 2018. Victoria passed legislation removing the forced divorce requirement in May 2018, and similar legislation was passed in New South Wales and Queensland the following month. The Northern Territory passed similar laws in November 2018, and it was followed by Western Australia in February 2019. Tasmania was the last jurisdiction to reform its laws. The state passed legislation removing the forced divorce requirement in April 2019, and it joined some of the other states and territories in also removing the requirement for a person to have undergone sex reassignment surgery prior to having a change of sex recognised on a birth certificate. |
Same-sex marriage in Australia | Australian marriage legislation
Marriage Act 1961
The Marriage Act 1961 is a federal act of the Parliament of Australia. It has been in effect since 1961 and governs the laws and regulations regarding lawful marriages in Australia. With respect to the recognition of same-sex unions, the Act has been amended in 2004 and 2017. |
Same-sex marriage in Australia | 2004 amendments
On 27 May 2004, Attorney-General Philip Ruddock introduced a bill, intending to incorporate the-then common law definition of marriage into the Marriage Act 1961. In June 2004, the bill passed the House of Representatives and the Senate passed the amendment by 38 votes to 6 on 13 August 2004. The bill subsequently received royal assent from Governor-General Michael Jeffery, becoming the Marriage Amendment Act 2004. The amendment specified that marriage meant "the union of a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life." In addition, the bill banned the recognition of same-sex marriages entered into in other jurisdictions.
Attorney-General Ruddock and other Liberals argued that the bill was necessary to protect the institution of marriage, by ensuring that the common law definition was put beyond legal challenge. Labor Shadow Attorney-General Nicola Roxon on the same day the amendment was proposed said that the party would not oppose the amendment, arguing that it did not affect the legal situation of same-sex relationships, merely putting into statute law what was already common law. The Family First senator supported the bill.
Despite having support of the major parties, the bill was contested by sections of the community, human rights groups and some minor political parties. The Greens opposed the bill, calling it the "Marriage Discrimination Act". The Australian Democrats also opposed the bill. Democrat Senator Andrew Bartlett stated that the legislation devalues his marriage, and Greens Senator Bob Brown (himself openly gay) referred to John Howard and the legislation as "hate[ful]". Brown was asked to retract his statements, but refused. Bob Brown additionally described Australia as having a "straight Australia policy", in reference to the 1901 immigration policy of a similar name. Not all Labor members were in support of the bill. During the bill's second reading, Anthony Albanese, Labor MP for Grayndler said, "what has caused offence is why the Government has rushed in this legislation in what is possibly the last fortnight of parliamentary sittings. This bill is a result of 30 bigoted backbenchers who want to press buttons out there in the community." |
Same-sex marriage in Australia | 2017 amendments
Senator Dean Smith introduced into Parliament a private senator's bill to alter the definition of marriage to allow same-sex couples to marry, after 61.6% of Australians who responded in the Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey voted to support same-sex marriage. The bill amended the definition of "marriage" in the Act, omitting the words "man and a woman" and replacing it with the gender-neutral wording "2 people". The amendment which prevented overseas same-sex marriages from being recognised in Australia was repealed. The bill passed the Senate by 43 votes to 12 on 29 November and passed the House of Representatives by 131 votes to 4 on 7 December 2017.
The bill received royal assent from Governor-General Peter Cosgrove on 8 December 2017 and came into effect the following day. As a result of the law, the definition of marriage in Australia is now "the union of 2 people to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life."
Under section 46 of the Marriage Act 1961, a celebrant is required to say these words, or words to this effect, in every marriage ceremony. |
Same-sex marriage in Australia | Marriage Equality (Same Sex) Act 2013 (ACT)
On 13 September 2013, the Australian Capital Territory Government announced that it would introduce a bill to legalise same-sex marriage, following a decade-long attempt to legislate in the area. "We've been pretty clear on this issue for some time now and there's overwhelming community support for this", Chief Minister Katy Gallagher said. "We would prefer to see the federal parliament legislate for a nationally consistent scheme, but in the absence of this, we will act for the people of the ACT. The bill would have enabled couples who are not able to marry under the Commonwealth Marriage Act 1961 to enter into marriage in the ACT. It will provide for solemnisation, eligibility, dissolution and annulment, regulatory requirements and notice of intention in relation to same-sex marriages." On 10 October 2013, federal Attorney-General George Brandis confirmed that the federal government would challenge the proposed ACT bill, stating that it had significant constitutional concerns with respect to the bill. The bill was debated in the ACT Legislative Assembly on 22 October 2013, and passed by 9 votes to 8. Under the legislation, known as the Marriage Equality (Same Sex) Act 2013, same-sex marriages were legally permitted from 7 December 2013.
As soon as the ACT's law had been passed, the federal government launched a challenge to it in the High Court, which delivered judgment on 12 December 2013. As to the relation between the ACT act and federal legislation, the court found that the ACT act was invalid and of "no effect", because it was "inconsistent", in terms of the Australian Capital Territory Self-Government Act 1988 (Cth), and the federal Marriage Act 1961 (Cth). It was inconsistent both because its definition of marriage conflicted with that in the federal act and because the federal act was exclusive, leaving no room for any other definition in the legislation of a state or a territory. However, the court went on to determine that the word "marriage" in section 51(xxi) of the Constitution means "a consensual union formed between natural persons in accordance with legally prescribed requirements" where that union is "intended to endure and be terminable only in accordance with law" and "accords a status affecting and defining mutual rights and obligations". Therefore, it included same-sex marriage thus clarifying that there is no constitutional impediment to the Commonwealth legislating for same-sex marriage in the future. It can do so by amending the definition of "marriage" in the Marriage Act, which it did in December 2017. |
Same-sex marriage in Australia | Marriage statistics
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, approximately 3.5% of all marriages officiated in Australia have been marriages of same-sex couples since 1 January 2018. The data for the year 2018 indicated that the overwhelming majority of same-sex weddings were administered by a civil celebrant, and that the median age of same-sex couples entering into marriages was notably older than heterosexual couples. The figures for 2018–2021 do not include any marriages where one or both of the parties do not identify as either male or female. |
Same-sex marriage in Australia | Dual British-Australian couples have been able to marry in British diplomatic missions in Australia since the United Kingdom legalised same-sex marriage in 2014. The first couple to marry were Peter Fraser and Gordon Stevenson on 27 June 2014 in Sydney. From June 2014 to October 2017, 445 same-sex couples married in British diplomatic offices across Australia. |
Same-sex marriage in Australia | State and territory recognition schemes
Same-sex couples have access to different relationship recognition schemes in Australia's eight states and territories. Under federal law, they are treated as de facto relationships. Despite Australia having passed a federal same-sex marriage law, these schemes remain in place as an option for couples. |
Same-sex marriage in Australia | Civil unions/partnerships
Same-sex couples can enter into civil partnerships in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and Queensland. The schemes include state-sanctioned ceremonies that are similar to marriage ceremonies.
Australian Capital Territory |
Same-sex marriage in Australia | Previously, same-sex couples could enter into civil unions in the Australian Capital Territory. In August 2012, a civil union bill passed the territory Legislative Assembly. The Civil Union Act 2012 granted many of the same rights to same-sex couples as people married under the Marriage Act 1961. The Act was not challenged by the Gillard government. It was to be repealed and civil unions were to be no longer accessible to same-sex couples upon commencement of the Marriage Equality (Same Sex) Act 2013, which (if not struck down by the High Court) would have permanently legalised same-sex marriage in the territory. Due to the High Court's ruling striking down the ACT's same-sex marriage law as invalid, the repeal of the Act was of no effect and civil unions continued to take place in the ACT until 2017. As of 2017, forming a new civil union is not possible as section 7 of the Civil Union Act 2012 requires that potential couples be unable to marry under the Marriage Act 1961. When same-sex marriage was legalised, it became legally impossible to form a civil union, though existing ones remain valid.
Since 2008, the ACT has recognised civil partnerships which provide same-sex couples with increased rights regarding superannuation, taxation and social security. Although the Civil Partnerships Act 2008 was repealed upon passage of the aforementioned Civil Unions Act 2012, entering into civil partnerships, which are now regulated under part 4A of the Domestic Relationships Act 1994, remains an option for same-sex couples (and opposite-sex couples). Couples can also enter into domestic relationships, which were enacted in 1994.
Queensland |
Same-sex marriage in Australia | Civil partnerships, commonly referred to as civil unions, have been legal in Queensland since April 2016. The Queensland Parliament passed the Discrimination Law Amendment Act 2002 in December of that year, which created non-discriminatory definitions of "de facto partner" with respect to 42 pieces of legislation. This gave same-sex couples the same rights as de facto couples in most instances.
On 30 November 2011, the Queensland Parliament passed a bill allowing civil partnerships in the state. The legislation passed by a vote of 47 to 40, with those against including four votes from the Labor Party. The Civil Partnerships Act 2011 allowed for same-sex couples who are Queensland residents to enter into a civil partnership. Shortly after the change of government in the 2012 state elections, and following high profile advertisements for repeal of the law by Katter's Australian Party, the centre-right LNP government passed the Civil Partnerships and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2012. The new law changed the name from "civil partnership" to "registered relationship" and prohibited the state from offering ceremonies for those who do register their relationship in this manner. Following the 2015 state election, which saw Labor form minority government, the Parliament passed the Relationships (Civil Partnerships) and Other Acts Amendment Act 2015 in December 2015, which restored state-sanctioned ceremonies for same-sex and opposite-sex couples and once more changed regulations referring to "registered relationships" with "civil partnerships". The law came into effect following a number of administrative matters occurring, with civil partnerships resuming in the state on 2 April 2016. |
Same-sex marriage in Australia | Registered relationships
Same-sex couples have access to domestic partnership registries (otherwise known as registered relationships) in the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Tasmania, Victoria and South Australia.
New South Wales |
Same-sex marriage in Australia | New South Wales, Australia's most populous state, has recognised domestic partnerships since July 2010. The Relationships Register Act 2010 was passed by the New South Wales Parliament in May and came into effect on 1 July 2010. The Act provides conclusive proof of the existence of a relationship and ensures participants gain all the rights afforded to de facto couples under state and federal law. Previously, in June 2008, the Parliament passed the Miscellaneous Acts Amendment (Same Sex Relationships) Act 2008. The Act amended several other state laws to recognise co-mothers as legal parents of children born through donor insemination and ensure birth certificates allow both mothers to be recognised. Additionally, the Act amended 57 pieces of state legislation to ensure de facto couples, including same-sex couples, are treated equally with married couples. Finally, the Act amended the New South Wales Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 to ensure same-sex couples are protected from discrimination on the basis of their "marital or domestic status" in employment, accommodation and access to other goods and services.
New South Wales has also sought to legislate with respect to same-sex marriage. In November 2013, a bill was introduced to the Legislative Council to legalise same-sex marriage at a state level, thought it was narrowly defeated. The external territory of Norfolk Island has, since 1 July 2016, been incorporated into New South Wales legislation.
Victoria |
Same-sex marriage in Australia | Victoria has recognised domestic partnerships since December 2008. The Victoria Parliament passed the Relationships Act 2008 on 10 April 2008 and came into effect on 1 December 2008. This has allowed same-sex couples to register their relationships with the state Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages and provide conclusive proof of a de facto relationship, allowing them to receive all the benefits and rights of such a couple under state and federal law. In 2016, the Parliament passed reforms to the state's domestic partnerships legislation, allowing for the recognition of overseas same-sex marriages on official documents and also allowing couples the option of having an official ceremony when registering for a domestic partnership.
The earliest legislative reform in the state designed to provide equal treatment of same-sex couples came in August 2001, in the form of the Statute Law Amendment (Relationships) Act 2001 and the Statute Law Further Amendment (Relationships) Act 2001. The acts amended 60 laws in Victoria to give same-sex couples, called "domestic partners", many rights equal to those enjoyed by de facto couples, including hospital access, medical decision making, superannuation, inheritance rights, property tax, landlord and tenancy rights, mental health treatment and victims of crime procedures.
South Australia |
Same-sex marriage in Australia | In South Australia, the Statutes Amendment (Domestic Partners) Act 2006 (Number 43), which took effect 1 June 2007, amended 97 acts, dispensing with the term "de facto" and categorising couples as "domestic partners". This meant same-sex couples and any two people who live together are covered by the same laws. In December 2016, the South Australia Parliament passed a law which created a relationship register for same-sex couples and recognises the relationships of same-sex couples who had married or entered into an official union in other states and nations. This law went into effect on 1 August 2017. Prior to that reform, same-sex couples could make a written agreement called a "domestic partnership agreement" about their living arrangements. This may be prepared at any time and is legal from the time it is made, but must meet other requirements, such as joint commitments, before being recognised as domestic partners.
Tasmania |
Same-sex marriage in Australia | In Tasmania, beginning on 1 January 2004, the state's Relationships Act 2003 has allowed same-sex couples to register their union as a type of domestic partnership in two distinct categories, "significant relationships" and "caring relationships", with the state's Registry of Births, Death and Marriages. The new definition of partner or spouse, "two people in a relationship whether or not it's sexual", was embedded into 80 pieces of legislation, giving same-sex couples rights in making decisions about a partner's health, provides for guardianship when a partner is incapacitated, and gives same-sex couples equal access to a partner's public sector pensions. It also allows one member of a same-sex couple to adopt the biological child of their partner. In September 2010, the Tasmanian Parliament unanimously passed legislation to recognise same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions as registered partnerships under the Relationships Act 2003, making it the first Australian state or territory to do so.
In August 2012, a bill was introduced to the Tasmanian Parliament to legalise same-sex marriage. The bill passed the House of Assembly, but was later rejected by the Legislative Council on 28 September 2012. In October 2013, the bill was re-introduced into the Legislative Council and was defeated once more.
Registered partnership recognition in state governments |
Same-sex marriage in Australia | No local scheme
Same-sex and opposite-sex de facto couples exist in all states and territories. Before the introduction of same-sex marriage nationally, the inability of de facto couples to have conclusive evidence of their relationships in Western Australia and the Northern Territory made it more difficult for them to access rights accorded to them under the law. This section briefly discusses the historical situation in those jurisdictions, which lack registered partnerships for same-sex (or opposite-sex) couples.
Northern Territory |
Same-sex marriage in Australia | In the Northern Territory, in March 2004, the Parliament enacted the Law Reform (Gender, Sexuality and De Facto Relationships) Act 2003 to remove legislative discrimination against same-sex couples in most areas of territory law (except the Adoption of Children Act 1994) and recognise same-sex couples as de facto relationships. The Act removed distinctions based on a person's gender, sexuality or de facto relationship in approximately 50 acts and regulations. As in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, the reforms also enabled the lesbian partner of a woman to be recognised as the parent of her partner's child across state law.
Western Australia |
Same-sex marriage in Australia | In Western Australia, the Acts Amendment (Lesbian and Gay Law Reform) Act 2002 removed all remaining legislative discrimination toward sexual orientation by adding the new definition of "de facto partner" into 62 acts, provisions and statutes and created new family law designed to recognise same-sex couples as de facto relationships. |
Same-sex marriage in Australia | Local government schemes
A number of local government councils in Australia have created relationship recognition schemes, which allow couples to register their relationship and provide conclusive proof of a de facto union for the purposes of federal law. These are the City of Sydney since 2004, the Municipality of Woollahra since 2008, the City of Blue Mountains since 2010, the City of Vincent since 2012, and the Town of Port Hedland since 2015.
In Victoria, the cities of Melbourne and Yarra established relationship declaration registers in 2007. Both local governments discontinued the registers in 2018, after the federal legalisation of same-sex marriage. |
Same-sex marriage in Australia | Local government motions
Local government groups have also published official positions in favour of same-sex marriage. In June 2016, the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) approved a motion supporting the legalisation of same-sex marriage. The motion was put forward by the Lord Mayor of Darwin, Katrina Fong Lim, and Meghan Hopper, a member of the Council of Moreland. It was approved by a strong majority at ALGA's National General Assembly. ALGA's board approved it on 21 July 2016. The motion read: |
Same-sex marriage in Australia | That this National General Assembly call on the Federal Government to treat with dignity and respect all members of the community regardless of gender or sexuality by supporting changes to the Marriage Act to achieve marriage equality for same-sex couples.
As of 1 January 2018, of the 546 local governments (also known as "councils" or "shires") in Australia, a total of 62 were known to have passed formal motions in support of the legalisation of same-sex marriage. |
Same-sex marriage in Australia | Those local governments were: |
Same-sex marriage in Australia | City of Sydney, City of Greater Geelong, City of Hobart, City of Moreland, City of Vincent, Camden Council, City of Hawkesbury, Coonamble Shire, City of Randwick, Tenterfield Shire, Inner West Council, Lachlan Shire, Bega Valley Shire, City of Blue Mountains, Surf Coast Shire, Shire of Hepburn, City of Lismore, City of Albury, City of Ballarat, City of Wodonga, City of Glenorchy, Byron Shire, City of Port Phillip, City of Glen Eira, City of Hobsons Bay, City of Darebin, Shire of Buloke, City of Greater Shepparton, City of Maribyrnong, Central Coast Council, Kingborough Council, Shire of Strathbogie, Richmond Valley Council, City of Melbourne, City of Banyule, City of Yarra, Shire of Indigo, Town of Port Hedland, City of Darwin, City of Brisbane, City of Lake Macquarie, City of Shoalhaven, City of Monash, City of Kingston, City of Whittlesea, City of Fremantle, City of Bayswater, Bass Coast Shire, Shire of Cardinia, City of Willoughby, North Sydney Council, City of Warrnambool, Shire of Noosa, Municipality of Woollahra, Shire of Douglas, Shire of Campaspe, City of Newcastle, City of Moonee Valley, City of Stonnington, Waverley Municipal Council, City of Greater Bendigo, Bellingen Shire, and Shire of Nillumbik
At least two local governments rejected motions to support same-sex marriage: |
Same-sex marriage in Australia | City of Launceston, and Shire of Campaspe (later voted to support same-sex marriage) |
Same-sex marriage in Australia | Indigenous Australians
While many Indigenous Australian cultures historically practiced polygamy, there are no records of same-sex marriage as understood from a Western persepective being performed in those cultures. However, there is evidence for identities and behaviours that may be placed on the LGBT spectrum. For instance, the Arrernte people adhered to a "boy bride" custom whereby many young men, usually younger than 14 years of age, would be given to older adult men. The relationship was understood to include some sexual relations between both men, usually only masturbation, as well as sleeping, hunting and eating together. At puberty, the younger partner would undergo a series of ceremonies into adulthood, and the "boy bride" relationship would end. The Arrernte also recognised people fulfilling a third gender role, known as kwarte kwarte (pronounced [ˈkʷaʈə ˈkʷaʈə]). Similar cultural third gender roles existed among the Warlpiri people as karnta-piya (pronounced [ˈkaɳdapi.ja]), the Pitjantjatjara as kungka kungka (pronounced [ˈkʊŋkɐ ˈkʊŋkɐ]), the Pintupi as kungka wati (pronounced [ˈkuŋka ˈwati], the Warumungu as girriji karrti (pronounced [ˈgiɾi.ji ˈgaʈːi]), and the Wiradjuri as yamadi (pronounced [ˈjəmədɪ]). The Tiwi people similarly recognised formal structures and roles for the murrulawamini (pronounced [ˌmurulawaˈmini]), often translated in English as "sistergirls".
In 2015, a group of Aboriginal elders delivered a petition, called the "Uluru Bark Petition", opposing same-sex marriage and calling it "an affront to the Aboriginal People of Australia" to the Parliament House. The petition also stated that "all Aboriginal people oppose changing the definition of marriage to allow same-sex couples to wed". Aboriginal writer Dameyon Boyson widely criticised the petition, saying, "The Uluru Bark Petition misrepresents Aboriginal culture, and that it's only the voice of a few leaders excessively influenced by white man's religion and influence. Behind these authentic faces that you see holding up these pieces of bark and standing in front of Parliament House you will find the mechanics of white influence." A Darumbal Aboriginal who was asked to comment by the National Indigenous Television said, "Colonisation and Christianity ha[ve] pretty much shaped Indigenous culture today. In particular, it has hidden the voices of Indigenous lesbians and gays, and downplayed the importance of their relationships in traditional culture." During the marriage postal survey, about 50 survey forms were burned by local community members in Ramingining because they thought "it meant a man should be 'compelled' to marry another man". Indigenous activists also worried that survey forms would not be understood in remote Aboriginal communities as locals are not always fluent in English or "familiar with the process". A 2018 article from the Australian Institute of Family Studies showed that support for equal rights did not vary significantly between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. |
Same-sex marriage in Australia | Religious performance
Most major religious organisations in Australia do not perform same-sex marriages in their places of worship. The Catholic Church opposes same-sex marriage and "views marriage as a unique relationship between a woman and a man". Likewise, the Australian Baptist Ministries "rejects moves to extend the definition of marriage to include same-sex relationships", and the Eastern Orthodox Church considers marriage "a sacrament ... through which the union of man and woman is sanctified by God". The Australian Christian Churches opposes same-sex marriage, and the Presbyterian Church opposes same-sex marriage and responded to the results of the same-sex marriage survey by stating it "continues to hold to the biblical definition of marriage as between one man and one woman as we believe it best reflects the Lord's creational design for human flourishing".
The Anglican Church's official position is that marriage is "an exclusive and lifelong union of a man and a woman", though a number of prominent members of the church have stated support for same-sex marriage, and the prospect of a formal split on the issue has been canvassed. In October 2018, the Anglican Diocese of Sydney banned same-sex marriages and events that might advocate "expressions of human sexuality contrary to our doctrine of marriage" on about a thousand church-owned properties. In November 2020, the church's Appellate Tribunal approved the right of individual dioceses to formally bless the weddings of same-sex couples married in civil ceremonies.
In December 2023, the Holy See published Fiducia supplicans, a declaration allowing Catholic priests to bless couples who are not considered to be married according to church teaching, including the blessing of same-sex couples. The Australian Confraternity of Catholic Clergy reacted to the declaration, stating, "Ordained priests are ministers of God's blessings given to sanctify the human person and build up all that is true, good, and beautiful in human life. While sinful human persons who seek God's mercy are authentic recipients of God's blessings, such blessings of their nature are ordered to communion with God; to conversion and sanctification, and so can never be bestowed on sinful acts nor legitimize relationships that are intrinsically incompatible with the divine plan."
In July 2018, the National Assembly of the Uniting Church approved the creation of marriage rites for same-sex couples. The change incorporated a gender-neutral definition of marriage in the church's official statement, though also retained the existing statement on marriage as a heterosexual union, which the church describes as an "equal yet distinct" approach to the issue. Same-sex marriages have been permitted in the church since 21 September 2018.
Most Islamic scholars are in agreement that homosexuality is "incompatible with Islamic theology". The Australian National Imams Council "affirms that Islam sanctifies marriage as only being between a man and a woman". The Australian Council of Hindu Clergy issued a clarifying statement in September 2017 stating that marriage under Hinduism is between "a man and a woman"; the group having come to the position after a formal vote was taken indicating 90% approval for the position. The Federation of Australian Buddhist Council states there is no fixed or pre-ordained form of marriage, though it "has been consistent in its support for same-sex marriage since 2012". Same-sex marriages can be performed in Reform Jewish synagogues, but are not permitted in Orthodox or Conservative traditions. |
Same-sex marriage in Australia | Public opinion
The table below shows the results of opinion polls conducted to ascertain the level of support for the introduction of same-sex marriage in Australia. |
Same-sex marriage in Australia | According to a survey, published in late January 2018 by the Social Research Center along with the Australian National University, same-sex marriage was ranked the most historic event to have shaped the lives of Australians. 30% of the survey participants named the legalisation of same-sex marriage as the most historic event in their lifetime, 27% named the September 11 attacks, 13% named former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's apology to Indigenous Australians and another 13% named the Port Arthur massacre.
A Pew Research Center poll conducted between March and May 2023 showed that 75% of Australians supported same-sex marriage, 23% were opposed and 2% did not know or refused to answer. When divided by age, support was highest among 18–39-year-olds at 80% and lowest among those aged 40 and above at 73%. When divided by political affiliation, support was highest among those on the left of the political spectrum at 94%, followed by those at the centre at 74% and those on the right at 57%. |
Same-sex marriage in Australia | See also
Australian family law
Gay and Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands
LGBT rights in Australia
Marriage in Australia
History of same-sex marriage in Australia
Same-sex marriage in the Australian Capital Territory
Recognition of same-sex unions in Tasmania
Recognition of same-sex unions in Oceania
He never married |
Same-sex marriage in Australia | Notes
References
Further reading
External links
Parliament of Australia – Same-sex marriage: issues for the 44th Parliament – publication detailing the same-sex marriage issue in Australia and recent developments
Parliament of Australia – Chronology of same-sex marriage legislation – extensive timeline of same-sex marriage related legislation introduced in the Australian Parliament
Tasmanian Law Reform Institute – The Legal Issues Relating to Same-Sex Marriage, October 2013 report |