Enrolments in government schools have dropped to a record low as an increasing number of students pivot to independent and Catholic schools.
According to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, government school enrolments fell by 4 per cent between 2021 and 2025, while Catholic and independent school enrolments increased by 5.7 per cent and 15.3 per cent respectively over the same period.
An analysis conducted by Guardian Australia has found that enrolments in private schools grew at more than six times the rate of government schools over the past 10 years.
The departure of students from the public school sector has been attributed to several potential factors, including a lack of funding and resources at public schools, behavioural concerns, disparities in enrichment opportunities, and a parental preference for schooling that aligns with specific religious, ideological, or cultural values.
English teacher and year advisor at Wollongong High School of the Performing Arts, Iain Scott said that government schools are often impacted by negative perceptions.
“Smaller student cohorts leads to a situation in which schools are unable to offer a broad range of electives — it’s hard to justify a senior visual art programme, for example, if only five students enrol.
“The result is that students’ educational options are curtailed — or they may look elsewhere to pursue the options they want, further shrinking enrolment rates.”
Some education experts suggest that the trend has reflected broader inequality within the Australian education system.
In an interview with the ABC, Deakin University Associate Professor Emma Rowe said Australia has “declining educational equity” and “increasing levels of school segregation”.
“I think it’s actually unsurprising that parents are drifting towards private schools because I think that parents really are following the money,” Ms Rowe said.
Echoing this concern, Save Our Schools convener Trevor Cobbold said public schools were being left with fewer resources.
“The underfunding means that public schools have far fewer human and material resources than overfunded private schools,” Mr Cobbold said.
“Public schools do the heavy lifting in education but are not being resourced to do the job.”
