Literacy is the foundation of all learning — and Australia has a literacy challenge. Approximately 44% of Australian adults read at low literacy levels (PIAAC 2013). One in five children leaves primary school without achieving reading benchmarks. The consequences flow through education, employment, health, and civic participation. Grant funding supports reading programmes for children, adult literacy, family literacy, and the systems change needed to ensure all Australians can read.
The challenge
Who is most affected
Why literacy matters
Department of Education
States and territories
DSS
The Smith Family
Major literacy funder — Learning for Life programme:
- Reading for fun programmes
- Homework and tutoring support
- School partnerships
The Scan Foundation
Literacy research and programmes.
Dolly Parton's Imagination Library Australia
Book gifting programme for preschool children — expanding in Australia.
Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation (ALNF)
Indigenous literacy and adult literacy:
- Indigenous literacy programmes
- Community literacy projects
- Policy advocacy
Indigenous Literacy Foundation
Indigenous community literacy — remote communities:
- Book gifting (publishing books in local languages)
- Literacy programmes
- Community publishing
Raising Literacy Australia
Parent and community literacy programmes.
Room to Read
International literacy — including Pacific and Southeast Asian programmes.
Early childhood literacy
Primary school literacy
Family literacy
Whole-family approaches:
- Parents as literacy partners (parent training to support reading at home)
- Family literacy evenings
- Book lending programmes
- Multilingual family literacy (for CALD families)
Indigenous literacy
Literacy in a bilingual context — many Indigenous children speak English as a third or fourth language:
- Bilingual/two-way literacy programmes
- Books in Indigenous languages
- Community publishing (local stories in local languages)
- Indigenous library services
- Remote community literacy workers
Adult literacy
Many adults with low literacy have learned to hide it:
- Community-based adult literacy (TAFE, neighbourhood houses)
- Workplace literacy
- Online literacy resources
- Library adult literacy services
- Volunteer literacy tutoring (ALEC — Australian Literacy and Numeracy Council)
Health literacy
Reading health information, understanding medication, navigating health systems:
- Easy Read health materials
- Health literacy training for health workers
- Community health literacy programmes
- Plain English health communication
Digital literacy for reading
Reading for pleasure
Beyond functional literacy — the love of reading:
- Dolly Parton Imagination Library (free books to preschoolers)
- Library membership drives
- Summer reading programmes
- Children's book awards and celebrations
- Independent bookshop support
A significant debate in Australian education:
- Structured literacy (systematic phonics instruction) has strong evidence — National Inquiry into the Teaching of Reading
- Many schools still use "balanced literacy" approaches (whole language)
- States increasingly mandating phonics screening checks
- Teacher training in structured literacy is a priority
Applications supporting the implementation of structured literacy in schools are well-aligned with current policy.
Early intervention ROI
Reading Recovery and similar early intervention programmes have exceptional ROI — a child who gets intensive support in Year 1 to reach benchmark will have dramatically better educational outcomes than a child who doesn't. Cost-effectiveness arguments are compelling.
Structured literacy
The evidence for structured literacy (systematic phonics) is now very strong — applications implementing or evaluating this approach are well-positioned.
Indigenous literacy
Literacy in Indigenous communities is a Closing the Gap priority — community-controlled, language-respecting programmes that support literacy in both Indigenous languages and English are compelling.
Adult literacy invisibility
Adults with low literacy often hide it — they navigate the world with strategies that allow them to avoid reading. Applications that reach this population (through trusted, non-stigmatising settings like neighbourhood houses) address a genuine gap.
Tahua's grants management platform supports literacy funders and reading organisations — with programme participant tracking, literacy outcome measurement, reading level data, and the reporting tools that help literacy funders demonstrate their investment in the fundamental skill that underpins all learning and participation in Australian life.