Education is the most powerful lever for social mobility — and Australia's education system has significant equity gaps. Students from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, and students in rural and remote areas consistently underperform relative to their peers. The Gonski funding model was designed to address these gaps through needs-based school funding. Grant funding supplements the school system to support students facing the greatest barriers.
The equity gap
What drives the gap
Education outcomes are determined largely by factors outside the school:
- Socioeconomic status (family income, parents' education)
- Early childhood education access
- Language (English as second language)
- Stability (housing instability disrupts schooling)
- Health (untreated hearing, vision, mental health issues)
- Home learning environment (books, conversation, literacy)
Schools can only partially compensate for these factors — but targeted support makes a real difference.
International comparisons
Australia's education system performs well on average but has significant equity gaps:
- Strong average PISA performance
- But large within-country variation — high gap between top and bottom performers
- Australia has become less equitable over recent decades (PISA data)
Gonski/ACARA School Resource Standard
Needs-based school funding — higher loadings for:
- Disadvantaged students (low SES)
- Students from remote areas
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students
- Students with disability
- English as second language/dialect
Closing the Gap
Indigenous education targets:
- Year 12 attainment parity
- Literacy and numeracy parity
- Early childhood education access
National School Reform Agreement
Commonwealth-state agreement on school improvement.
ABSTUDY
Financial support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in secondary and tertiary education.
Youth Allowance and Tertiary Scholarships
Support for students continuing to tertiary education.
The Smith Family
Australia's largest education equity charity:
- Learning for Life (scholarship programme)
- Student2Student (peer reading support)
- Let's Count (maths for preschoolers)
- Work Inspiration (career development)
The Forrest Foundation (Minderoo)
Education equity — significant investment in Indigenous education and early childhood.
The Tim Fairfax Family Foundation
Education in rural and regional Queensland.
The Ian Potter Foundation
Education equity and early childhood.
The Pratt Foundation
Scholarships and education.
Macquarie Group Foundation
Education programmes for disadvantaged students.
NAB Foundation
Education and employment pathways.
Early childhood
School-based support
Mentoring
Scholarships
Indigenous education
Rural and remote education
STEM education
Transition support
English language learners
Special needs and disability
Technology and resources
Many students from disadvantaged backgrounds are the first in their family to consider tertiary education — they lack the family knowledge of how university works, how to apply, and what support is available. Programmes specifically supporting first-in-family students:
- University awareness and aspiration programmes
- Application support
- Transition mentoring
- Campus belonging (often struggle with sense of not belonging)
Evidence-based programmes
The Smith Family Learning for Life programme has strong evidence of outcomes — applications aligned with evidence-based approaches (mentoring, structured tutoring) are more compelling.
Systematic approach
The most impactful education equity programmes work across the learning lifecycle (early childhood → school → tertiary → employment) rather than just at one point. Applications showing how interventions connect are stronger.
Indigenous education sovereignty
Community-controlled Indigenous education — schools run by Indigenous communities, with Indigenous culture embedded — is the evidence-based approach. Applications supporting community control are well-aligned.
Rural access
Rural and remote students face specific barriers (limited schools, long travel, boarding school separation from family). Applications targeting rural access are addressing a genuine and underserved gap.
Tahua's grants management platform supports education equity funders and learning organisations — with scholarship programme tracking, student outcome measurement, learning milestone data, and the reporting tools that help education funders demonstrate their investment in closing Australia's education equity gap.