Government school enrolments at 10-year low

The Productivity Commission has just released its mid-year report on Government Services for 2025, providing information on the equity, efficiency and effectiveness of government services in Australia.

The release provides new data for 13 performance indicators across a number of Government sections, including Early childhood education and care, School education and Vocational education and training.

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School News has summarised some of the major findings.

School Education

• Government school enrolment is at a 10-year low:
  In 2024, only 63.3 percent of students were enrolled in government schools — the lowest proportion in a decade. This suggests a growing shift toward private and independent education.
• Student-to-teacher ratio is improving:
  The national average dropped to 12.9 students per teacher in 2024, down from 13.1 in 2023. This can mean more individual attention and potentially better learning outcomes.
• Declining student retention in senior years:
  The Year 10 to Year 12 retention rate fell to 79.9 percent, down from a high of 83.3 percent in 2017. The rate is especially low in government schools (74.3 percent compared to 88.1 percent in non-government schools).
• Civic literacy is falling:
  Only 43.0 percent of Year 6 students and 28.0 percent of Year 10 students reached proficiency in civics and citizenship literacy in 2024 — both down around 10 percentage points since 2019. This points to a growing gap in civic knowledge and engagement.

Early Childhood

• Preschool costs have fallen: The median cost per hour for a preschool program (after subsidies) dropped from $3.16 in 2022 to $1.83 in 2024 — a significant 42 percent decrease. This is notable because it highlights a substantial shift in affordability for early childhood education in just two years, which could have major implications for access, equity, and policy effectiveness. It’s also an area of growing public and political interest.

• Preschool is more affordable in regional areas:
  Median hourly cost (after subsidies) in 2024 was $2.22 in major cities vs. $1.27 in regional areas — a nearly 75 percent difference, raising questions about equity in service access and quality.

Vocational Education & Training (VET)

• High satisfaction and outcomes from VET:
  • 87.1 percent of 2024 VET completers achieved their main reason for training up from 82.2 percent in 2020.
  • Nearly 9 in 10 2023 VET qualification completers were employed or in further study in 2024.
  • Around 90 percent were satisfied with their training experience, suggesting that VET continues to be a highly effective pathway for adult learners.

What happens next?

While the Productivity Commission has been appointed by the government to produce the report, responses to their findings will unfold over coming weeks as government, media and stakeholders all voice their own interpretations.

While there are no explicit recommendations attached to the mid-year report, some of the performance indicators will likely be subjected to debate in parliament or highlighted in the media to draw attention to certain issues.

The annual report on these government services – which also includes police, courts and justice, housing – will be released in early 2026.

The Productivity Commission website calls the report – which has been ongoing for more than three decades – ‘unique internationally’, while Product Commission Chair Danielle Wood said “The longevity of this report means that it can provide insights into trends over decades, helping policymakers move beyond the day to day and see the bigger picture.”