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The Future of Schooling in Australia Report


The Council for the Australian Federation (‘the Council’) comprises the Premiers and Chief Ministers of all States and Territories. Through the Council, States and Territories work together to improve the way that the many services that affect Australians' lives are delivered.

In April 2007, the Council released a report on the Future of Schooling in Australia in which the States and Territories committed to collaborating nationally on a range of matters including the development of nationally consistent curricula, starting with the areas of Maths, Science and English.

The Council asked the project Steering Committee, chaired by Professor Peter Dawkins (Secretary, Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, Victoria) to consult widely about the document, including representatives of the Catholic and Independent school sectors, with a view to a final report to be released in September.

This final report -“The Future of Schooling in Australia” was launched at the September 25th Conference by the Premier of Victoria. The report proposes:

  • A new national framework for schooling (to replace the Adelaide Declaration of 1999) that is based on the axiom that the quality and performance of teachers, schools and jurisdictions are central to the life prospects of every student and to national prosperity
  • A new fourteen point action plan to enhance curriculum, assessment and reporting in Australia, enhance the quality of teaching and learning, and promote the spreading of best practice across Australia.

This report represents a significant commitment by all States and Territories to the way forward for school education in Australia.

It has sign-on from all State and Territory Education Ministers and has been approved by all Premiers and First Ministers.

At the conference, Premier Brumby, on behalf of the Council for the Australian Federation, asked the States’ and Territories’ Ministers for Education to take the report to the next meeting of the Education Ministers’ Ministerial Council (MCEETYA), with a view to getting the Commonwealth Government to sign up to a new statement on the Future of Schooling in Australia, to build upon the 1999 Adelaide Declaration.

For a copy of the report on The Future of Schooling in Australia, released 25 September 2007, please see the Victorian Department of Premier & Cabinet website (http://www.dpc.vic.gov.au/).