This policy brief analyses the state of teacher shortages in Australia based on data drawn from the 2024 OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey, based on lower secondary teachers. The analysis shows that Australia’s education system is facing a significant staffing crisis, leaving Australia among the worst-performing nations in the OECD.

An analysis of The Better and Fairer Schools Agreement - Full and Fair Funding 2025-2034 between the Australian Commonwealth and state and territory governments finds that public schools will still be underfunded in 2034. The paper outlines the reasons for the continued underfunding and calls for the agreements to be revised.

This brief summarises a comprehensive review of research studies on the relationship between school funding and student achievement. Its finding is conclusive: money matters. While the review is of studies conducted on the relationship between funding and student outcomes in K-12 schools in the United States, its key findings have immediate relevance to the state...

This paper shows that public schools bear the greatest burden of disadvantage but are not resourced to overcome its effect on learning outcomes. It draws on school profile data from the My School website to examine the family socio-educational background of students in public, Catholic and Independent schools. It also examines the extent of concentration...

This paper analyses trends in the funding of public and private schools. The author argues that the bias towards the funding of private schools and the under-funding of public schools is a major factor behind the large achievement gaps between rich and poor in Australia.