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On 15 December 2022, Commonwealth, State and Territory Education Ministers agreed to establish a panel of experts (the Panel) to inform the next intergovernmental schools agreement, with a focus on driving real and measurable improvements for students most at risk of falling behind, improving wellbeing, attracting and retaining teachers and improving the use of data and transparency. Over the six months of the review, the Panel was committed to hearing from as many teachers, students, parents and stakeholders as possible.

The Panel visited 92 schools, across every state and territory, held over 130 meetings with stakeholders, received 266 submissions to the Consultation Paper and heard directly from over 50 people through three virtual workshops. In addition, the Panel commissioned research on policy interventions to increase socioeconomic diversity and improve learning outcomes. Finally, the Panel undertook a survey of parents, teachers and students which elicited 24,968 responses, which provided a rich picture of our community's priorities. The Panel were also keen to hear from First Nations educators, communities and students and met with several First Nations stakeholders throughout the course of the Review, including through a First Nations educators' virtual workshop. The Panel also visited schools in several remote First Nations communities and visited over 30 First Nations majority schools nationally.

This extensive consultation process informed the Panel's recommendations across seven reform directions: lift student outcomes; improve equity; improve student wellbeing; attract and retain teachers; reduce data gaps and limitations; enhance funding transparency and accountability; and support innovation and achieve reform. The reform directions are underpinned by extensive evidence to ensure they have the best chance of lifting outcomes for all students. In developing this report, the Panel has also given careful consideration to recent and concurrent processes that interact with the school education system.

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The Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY) and its antecedents arose from the shocks to the Australian economy and the economic restructuring of the 1970s and 1980s with rising unemployment and particularly high youth unemployment. The design, scope and data collection of LSAY has not changed much since its inception in 1995. This has been both a strength - because it has provided a long period of highly comparable data - and also a weakness - because it has meant limited evolution to meet changing needs. The remit of the LSAY review is to consider how the survey has been used, whether it has provided value for money and how it could be improved and made more useful for the evolving policy environment.

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The National School Reform Agreement (NSRA) is a joint agreement between the Commonwealth and state and territory governments that sets out reforms in areas where national collaboration will have the greatest impact on lifting student outcomes across Australian schools. In December 2022, Education Ministers agreed to establish a panel (the Panel) to advise Education Ministers on the targets and reforms that will drive improvements to support better student outcomes. The Review was launched on 29 March 2023, with the announcement of its terms of reference (included in the paper as Attachment A).

The consultation paper has been informed by the consultations undertaken since the Review commenced in April. This has included: surveying educators, parents/guardians and students, direct meetings with stakeholders and school visits. The Panel is tasked with delivering recommendations on reforms in five key areas: (1) Lifting student outcomes; (2) Improving student mental health and wellbeing; (3) Attracting and retaining teachers; (4) Data collection; and (5) Transparency of and accountability for school funding. The Review will also take into consideration the recommendations and findings of the Productivity Commission's Review into the National School Reform Agreement 2023 [available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 151.501], the National Teacher Workforce Action Plan [available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 151.403] and existing Government commitments under the other national agreements, including Closing the Gap where appropriate.

Acceptance of submissions to the consultation paper opened 5 July 2023 and close 2 August 2023. The Expert Panel will deliver its final report to Education Ministers by 31 October 2023. The current NSRA [available in VOCEDplus at TD/TNC 139.160] commenced in 2019 and was due to expire at the end of 2023. It is being extended until the end of 2024 to enable the Review to advise all Education Ministers on the specific reforms and targets that should be tied to funding in the next NSRA. After this Review is finalised the Commonwealth and state and territory governments will start negotiations regarding policy and funding.

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