Category Archives: Australian education

Could you pass a year 10 civics test? Only 28% of Australian students can

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Australian year 10 students’ understanding of civics has dropped to a record low. How does your knowledge stack up?

Australian students’ understanding of civics education has fallen to a record low, a national test indicates.

The test, held by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (Acara) to measure “attitudes and engagement” with civics and citizenship, found 43% of year 6 students met the proficient standard, compared with 53% in 2019.

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‘Public policy failure’: number of public school students in Australia falls to record low – again

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Only states where enrolments to government schools grew in 2024 were Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia – all by less than 2%

The proportion of students enrolled in public schools has fallen to another record low, new data shows, placing Australia at risk of a “full blown flight” from the sector.

Of the 45,008 students who enrolled at schools in 2024, only 5,419 went to government schools while 39,589 went to the private sector.

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Education minister accused of ‘political interference’ over review of funding for prominent pro-Palestinian academic

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Jason Clare has asked Australian Research Council board to investigate $870,000 grant to Randa Abdel-Fattah, who has faced criticism for controversial comments

Academics have accused the education minister of “arbitrary political interference” in the Australian Research Council after requesting the body’s board investigate the fellowship of a prominent academic and Palestinian advocate.

Randa Abdel-Fattah, the recipient of an ARC Future Fellowship and an academic at Macquarie University, has faced sustained criticism from the Coalition, some Jewish bodies and media outlets for a series of controversial comments, including alleging Zionists had “no claim or right to cultural safety”, and posting “May 2025 be the end of Israel” in the new year and changing her profile picture to a picture of a Palestinian paratrooper after the 7 October attacks.

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Australia news live: ‘we have got your back’, Albanese tells steel workers amid speculation over Trump tariffs

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Australia prime minister says Trump giving ‘great consideration’ for an exemption. Follow the latest news headlines live

Dutton calls for more details on interaction between Australia and China in South China Sea

The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, has also weighed in on that interaction between Australian and Chinese aircraft in the South China Sea on Tuesday.

And then Richard Marles did a press conference to provide details. So we haven’t had a briefing on it as yet, but on what the deputy prime minister says it is deeply concerning because it puts that safety at risk, the safety of our personnel. And that is not something that Australia can tolerate.

[It] needs to be transparent in terms of what’s happened, and I just don’t think we’ve seen all of the detail yet from Richard Marles.

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Share of wealth held by Australia’s poorest falls by almost 30% since 2004 – report

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Study by Monash University recommends spending increase to fix inequalities in housing, health and education

The wealth held by Australia’s bottom 40% has declined by almost a third in two decades while 3.3m live below the poverty line, a damning report into Australia’s track record on quality of life shows.

Monash University’s third Transforming Australia report, released Thursday, shows progress on more than half of the 80 indicators has stalled or is in freefall, painting a deteriorating picture of the country’s social, economic and environmental wellbeing.

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Australia news live: BoM warns of life-threatening flash floods in Queensland and severe storms in north-east Victoria

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Flood-hit Townsville, Cardwell and Ingham could face more dangerous flooding. Follow the latest news live

O’Neil makes housing announcements in lead-up to election

The housing minister, Clare O’Neil, is in Parramatta today and will travel to Bennelong later, announcing 28 new social and affordable homes

Funding is incredibly important here. I know all of our Australians at home who are watching are really deeply concerned about those devastating differences we see between health outcomes, even important things like infant mortality.

All of the indicators that we use to determine equality of life are very different between our First Nations communities, particularly in remote areas.

I think our prime minister has been quite sober and rational about this, but it is not a reasonable idea, and it’s not shrewd as described by Peter Dutton.

So I think the prime minister has done the right thing. And Peter Dutton is out there playing politics.

But the issue, I think, here that we’re missing is that Gaza has completely been destroyed … It’s devastating to see those kind of images. So there needs to be a rebuild. There needs to be a place that people can come back to in a safe haven for them to call home.

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Australia news live: Angus Taylor says cost-of-living pain ‘far from over’ despite inflation falling to three-year low

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Labor adds homelessness focus to disability strategy

Australians with disabilities experiencing homelessness will be prioritised as the government commits to disability reforms, months after a scathing royal commission into the sector, AAP reports.

For the first time, they also include a number of national actions that all governments will work on together, with the disability community, to ensure people with disability right across Australia experience the benefits.

Some students, especially those in our cities, can see a career in agriculture as something that’s only for those who live in the regions or for those whose family own land that can be used to operate an agribusiness.

AgConnections aims to break down these misconceptions and build on the diversity of the industry, by highlighting and encouraging women and Indigenous Australians wanting to pursue a career in agriculture.

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Third arrest after alleged assault on police officers in Sydney – as it happened

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AFP warns parents over rise in AI-generated child abuse material

There has been an increase in the use of AI-generated child abuse material in the past year, including students creating material like deepfakes to harass or embarrass classmates, the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation has said.

Children and young people are curious by nature, however, anything that depicts the abuse of someone under the age of 18 – whether that’s videos, images, drawings or stories – is child abuse material, irrespective of whether it is ‘real’ or not.

The AFP encourages all parents and guardians to have open and honest conversations with their child on this topic, particularly as AI technology continues to become increasingly accessible and integrated into platforms and products.

As a society, I think that it demonstrates the need for us to place a high value collectively on a civil political discourse, rather than an extreme one.

I wasn’t surprised to learn that of the 16 arrests, only one person was from South Australia and the rest were scattered from all over the country and for whatever reason, decided to convene in Adelaide.

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Second man charged over attempted arson of Sydney synagogue – as it happened

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The anti-fracking group Lock the Gate Alliance has launched a legal challenge to a Northern Territory government decision to approve another gas exploration project in the Beetaloo basin.

The case in the territory’s civil and administrative tribunal is challenging the merits of the government’s approval of the environment management plan for Empire Energy’s “Larrimah” exploration project.

Our robust regulation of the onshore petroleum industry is informed by the best available science. As the project is before the NT Civil and Administrative Tribunal, it would be premature to make any further comment on the matter.

For too long, vice-chancellors and senior executives have escaped any real accountability for some of the terrible decisions that have damaged our public universities. An inquiry would be a golden opportunity to get to the bottom of what’s allowing the wage theft epidemic, rampant casualisation and a raft of other serious problems to flourish in our sector.

This is the path to lasting reform that will ensure staff can deliver the world-class teaching and research our students and community deserve.

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Victoria and South Australian schools to be fully funded after securing landmark federal government agreement

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But Queensland and New South Wales still hold out on agreement that will see southern states get a 5% boost in commonwealth public school funding

Victoria and South Australia have secured a landmark 5% increase in commonwealth public school funding meaning they will be fully funded by 2034, leaving just Queensland and New South Wales holding out on signing up to the historic education agreement.

The move is a major win for the states and for Labor ahead of the federal election, bringing an end to more than six months of disputes over who will pay to deliver on fully funding public education for the first time.

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Australia news live: Bruce Lehrmann seeks judge-only trial on rape charges; off-duty police officer in hospital after Sydney attack

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Asked about the future of the weekly pro-Palestinian protests across Australia, Malarndirri McCarthy said as long as they are respectful and peaceful, “they are part of our democratic way”.

It’s interesting, isn’t it? I mean, we are a democracy. Whatever the rally or protest is, we enable that. We allow that so long as it’s peaceful and respectful.

Police across every jurisdiction in the country know they have to be prepared. Rally organisers, whoever they may be, also know they need to consult to be able to have access to those streets. Come on, let’s be mindful that these rallies, so long as they are held in a respectful manner, in a peaceful manner, they are part of our democratic way.

I think when I look at the polls, Karl – and I think I’ve talked to you about this over the years, you know, when we went into the 2019 election – every poll said we were going to win. The reality is, you have to work every single day right up – and the only poll that does really count, and I believe that especially after that loss, is the one on election day.

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Housing completions fall behind accord target – as it happened

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Watt defends government response to antisemitism as ‘very strong’

Asked if the federal government has been going enough to combat antisemitism, Murray Watt said it had responded “very strongly here”.

Unfortunately, there are some people in the community who are engaging is disgusting behaviour and the AFP and state police have demonstrated they will be caught and go to jail, which is where they belong.

I [will] leave it to the AFP to confirm some of the details about this, but I think this demonstrates exactly how far our police authorities are going to try to crack down on the shocking behaviour …

[The number of arrests made] sends a really clear message from the whole community that there is no tolerance that this kind of hate, and you will be caught if you do these kind of disgusting attacks.

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Australia news live: second child dies after Tasmania house fire; mental health ward closures begin in NSW after mass resignation of psychiatrists

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The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, says it was a “privilege and honour” to be the first Australian foreign minister to “be invited and to attend an inauguration on behalf of our country”.

She spoke with the Today show from Washington DC, where she attended Donald Trump’s inauguration.

My message here in Washington to those I meet is to point out the reality of the economic relationship between Australia and the United States, that there is a surplus in America’s favour. There has been for decades. In fact, it’s about two to one. And of those exports from Australia that come here, about half of them go into the US production.

As we know, the Wall Street Journal is obviously reporting, now [Trump is] going to review the trade situation and then look at what sort of tariff changes need to be made.

We need to make sure that our foreign affairs ministry, our trade minister and our ambassador are deeply engaged in that review process to make sure our national interest is upheld.

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Teacher who told Sydney Catholic Schools she was transitioning allegedly asked to move and not given shifts

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Zoe Conolan-Glen’s discrimination case has now been referred to the federal court

A music teacher who told the management of Sydney Catholic Schools she was transitioning was allegedly asked to move to a different school before being given no shifts for a year.

Sydney woman Zoe Conolan-Glen lodged a discrimination complaint with the Australian Human Rights Commission in July 2024, which was referred to the federal court on 18 December, claiming the prospective school’s management also asked intrusive questions, including which staff bathroom she would use and how she would react if a parent complained about her identity.

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Australia news live: relief for Sydney morning commuters as train unions ordered to halt action; man charged over death threats to Jewish group

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First charge by AFP’s Special Operation Avalite established in December. Follow today’s news headlines live

Richard Marles will become the first minister to visit Kiribati in almost two years, AAP reports.

The deputy prime minister and defence minister is travelling to Kiribati for high-level talks with the nation’s re-elected government, which closed its country’s borders in 2024 while national elections were held.

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Australia news live: delays up to 70 minutes on Sydney trains as industrial action begins; Hume says Coalition would cut ‘bloated bureaucracy’

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‘Passengers should expect delays, service cancellations and large service gaps’ across Sydney today, NSW TrainLink warns. Follow today’s news live

Wong ‘absolutely confident’ government can work with Trump as US president

Moving to another topic, Penny Wong was asked about her invite to Donald Trump’s inauguration in the US, and responded:

Donald Trump has been elected President of the United States, and I’m honoured, on behalf of the country, to have been invited to his inauguration.

This includes humane treatment and the right to a fair trial. So that is their obligation, [and] we will look at the facts when they have been ascertained.

But I want to be clear, all options are on the table. Those options include expelling the ambassador and recalling Australia’s ambassador in Russia … I need, as the foreign minister, to identify and ascertain the facts beforehand.

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After costly appeal and dispute over research standards, religious institution becomes Australia’s 44th university

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Australian College of Theology is the third theological institution to get university status since 2020, demonstrating growing power of religious providers

A college that describes itself as Australia’s largest provider of theological education has become the nation’s 44th university, ending years of costly appeals and demonstrating the growing power of small religious providers.

The Australian College of Theology (ACT) – which will be renamed the Australian University of Theology – is the third religious institution to receive full university status since 2020.

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Australia news live: SpaceX debris disrupts Qantas flights from Sydney to South Africa

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Rowland reacts to number of women preselected by Liberal party to replace retiring MPs

Michelle Rowland was also asked about the fact just one woman has been preselected to replace eight Liberal MPs who are retiring at the next election. Is she disappointed by this?

Clearly, Peter Dutton talks a big game when it comes to these issues, but the reality is borne out by the fact that they continue to overlook women for public office … For my mind, that says everything about Peter Dutton being stuck in the past, just as he’s stuck in the past around the national broadband network, his response to this announcement is to call it a joke, which is an insult to regional communities.

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Sydney teenager allegedly used AI to create deepfake pornography of students

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Police are investigating after schoolboy allegedly circulated images of female students using fake social media accounts

A teenage boy at a south-western Sydney high school has been reported to police after allegedly using artificial intelligence platforms to create pornography featuring other students.

The student is alleged to have created explicit deepfake images of female students and circulated them using fake social media accounts.

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Australia news live: Dreyfus to spend a week in Israel, PM says; SA police shoot man dead during mental health incident

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The Nationals leader, David Littleproud, says “the firing gun has started” for this year’s federal election, which he predicts will be in March or April.

Speaking to ABC News Breakfast just earlier, he said he doesn’t think the government will deliver a budget this year:

I think we’re all ready for it. I think it will be in March, April, I don’t think they’ll do a budget, they don’t want to remind the Australian people with the sea of red ink in the budget. That’s my punt.

This road is of national significance but it’s also one of the most dangerous in our country. And I think it just needs a commitment, and we’re glad to see the government has finally adopted that, one we had, and one the state government can now get on with the job of delivering.

Labor can make up all the nonsense they like. They’re desperate. I mean, this is a government that’s been on the back foot, that got things wrong, that is sending Australians on a pathway to poverty, not a pathway to prosperity. And so they’re in a state of desperation, saying these sorts of things.

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