This article provides a general overview of the Australian education system that consists of four stages.
1. Early childhood education (ages four to five)
Kindergarten is officially the first stage of formal schooling in Australia. The aim is to teach children to work with others, make friends, express their creativity, build communication skills, and the reading, writing and numeracy skills required to effectively participate in subsequent learning opportunities.
2. Primary school education (ages six to 11)
Primary schools offer programs from Foundation to year six. Primary education focuses on developing essential literacy, numeracy, intellectual and social-emotional skills.
3. Secondary school education (ages 12 to 18)
Secondary schools cater for students’ educational needs from Year 7 to Year 12.
In some states, students can drop out at Year 10 to enrol for vocational training and pursue an apprenticeship.
Australia’s secondary school education system adheres to a national curriculum framework. Subjects taught include, mathematics, science, history, languages, geography, the arts, health and physical education, information and communication technology, civics and citizenship, economics and business.
After completion of senior secondary school (Years 11 and 12), students sit for exams and are awarded a Senior Secondary Certificate of Education.
4. Higher education in Australia
Also known as tertiary education, higher education in Australia includes all formal education beyond high school. It’s divided into two sectors; vocational education and training (VET), which is registered and regulated by the Australian Skills Quality Agency (ASQA), and universities which are registered by the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA).
Vocational Education Training (VET)
VET is based on partnerships between Australian governments (federal and state) and industry bodies and is designed to expedite entry into a job after graduation.
Many vocational courses incorporate a period of on-the-job training, in addition to classroom or online learning.
Courses are provided by government-funded Technical and Further Education (TAFE) institutions, adult and community education centres, and private registered training organisations (RTO).
VET qualifications range across four levels of certificates (Certificate I, II, III and IV), as well as Diploma courses and Advanced Diploma courses, depending on the years of study and the occupational skills and competencies gained.
Undergraduate study in Australia
At the undergraduate university level, student’s study for a bachelor’s degree as initial preparation for a professional career of their choice.
Completing a bachelor’s degree involves a minimum of three years of full-time study. However, some institutions offer a fast-track system to complete a degree in two years.
At tertiary level, the majority of Australian universities are public, and under Study Assist, fees are subsidised through a student loan program where payment becomes due when students enter the workforce and reach an annual income level of $47,000. The average cost of a bachelor’s degree is AUD$15,000 to $33,000. In recent years most popular field of education at higher education institutions in Australia was Management and Commerce. Subjects in the society and culture, and health fields, were the next most popular study options in that year. The most popular subjects include medicine, law, business and management, dentistry, education, environmental science, accounting and engineering