Title page
Contents
Foreword 7
Membership of the Committee 10
Terms of reference 11
List of abbreviations 12
List of recommendations 17
1. Introduction 21
Scope and conduct of the inquiry 21
Structure of the report 22
A note on definitions 23
The education attainment gap 24
Social and economic costs of the education attainment gap 26
Recent reviews and policy context 27
International treaty obligations 27
Closing the Gap 27
Halsey review 28
Napthine review 28
Alice Springs (Mparntwe) Education Declaration 30
National School Reform Agreement 30
Previous parliamentary inquiries and other reviews 30
Other recent education related reviews 32
2. Barriers to education 33
Geographic isolation 34
Socioeconomic factors 36
Health 38
Early intervention 40
Students with disability 43
Mental health 46
Environmental factors 50
Energy security 51
Information and Communications Technology 52
Access and equity 53
Summary and discussion 56
Relevant Closing the Gap targets 56
Relevant Halsey review recommendations 58
Conclusion 60
3. Early childhood education 66
Importance 67
Quality 68
Access and equity 68
Breaking down the barriers 70
Child Care Subsidy 71
Mobile services 73
Workforce issues 74
Summary and discussion 76
Relevant Closing the Gap target 78
Conclusion 78
4. School education 83
Locally-accessible education 84
School resourcing 87
Capacity to Contribute 89
Student, family and community engagement 89
School leadership 92
Attendance 93
Student engagement 95
Adult literacy 98
Australian Curriculum 99
STEM 100
Language, culture and country 102
Language 103
Culturally-relevant education 107
Boarding 110
Support 110
Gender equity 112
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander boarding students 112
Distance education 115
Entrepreneurialism 117
Workforce issues 118
Teacher training 119
Mobilising a local workforce: training and accreditation for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander teachers 122
Recruitment and retention 124
Temporary Skills Shortage visa program 128
Cross-jurisdictional issues: the tri-border region 128
Access and equity 129
Rollout of online education in response to COVID-19 pandemic 132
Vulnerable students disadvantaged 132
Impact of COVID-19 on education in remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities 135
Impact of pandemic on schools 136
Realising the potential of online and flexible learning 137
Summary and discussion 139
Relevant Closing the Gap targets 140
Relevant Halsey review recommendations 142
Conclusion 148
5. Further education and employment 155
Higher education 156
Aspiration 156
Access and equity 160
Regional universities 161
Online learning 162
Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on universities 163
VET 165
VET in schools 166
Access and equity 167
Better integration of VET with universities 170
Addressing skills shortages 172
Workforce issues 174
Student support 175
Summary and discussion 176
Relevant Halsey review recommendation 178
Napthine review recommendations 180
Relevant Closing the Gap targets 182
Conclusion 183
Appendix A - Submissions 186
Appendix B - Hearings and witnesses 189
Additional Comments by Labor Members 192
Figure 1. Map of Remoteness Areas for Australia 23
Figure 2. Proportion of 15-24 year olds fully engaged in work and/or study, by remoteness, 2010-19 25