Australia Grapples With Rising Student Absenteeism
New Report Highlights Need for National Data and Support Systems
A new report is urging the Australian government to address the growing student attendance crisis by collecting comprehensive national data. The study also suggests implementing support systems within schools to help students struggling to attend classes.
Key Findings of the Report
The report, compiled by Independent Schools Australia (ISA), involved interviews with academics, mental health professionals, and educators. It calls upon the government to establish a multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) to aid students who find it challenging to attend school. This approach would enable schools to systematically categorize and gather national data on the reasons behind student absences.
Graham Catt, the chief executive of ISA, stated that there is currently no consistent national approach to defining, recording, or addressing non-attendance. He added: “Our new report highlights the need to differentiate types of absenteeism … and calls on the Australian government to lead a cross-sector pilot to test it.”
The report also reveals that the term “school refusal” is misleading, as it doesn’t account for complex factors such as anxiety, trauma, and illness, which can prevent attendance. It found school refusal often peaks at ages five to six and 10 to 11.
Attendance Trends
Data from the Australian Curriculum Assessment And Reporting Authority reveals that over 40% of students in years 1 to 10 were missing at least one out of ten school days. This rate has worsened over the past five years. In 2019, 73.1% of students attended at least 90% of school days, but in 2024, this figure dropped to 59.8%, down from 61.6% in 2023.
Attendance also decreased based on socio-educational advantage and was lower for students in remote areas, as well as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. Just 35.2% of First Nations students had attendance levels at or above 90% in 2024, compared to about 49% before the pandemic.
Proposed Solutions
The report suggests that a MTSS model could monitor attendance—from occasional absences to chronic disengagement—and help schools respond accordingly. Such a model could offer initial school-wide strategies to address wellbeing, like peer support programs, to early interventions and intensive support for those with complex needs.
Tiffany Westphal, a founding board member of School Can’t Australia, believes MTSS is not a complete solution, potentially offering too little support, too late.
She stated, “Instead of focusing on absence we need to tune into signs of distress which are frequently apparent prior to impacts on attendance.”
In 2023, a Senate inquiry, initiated by the Greens, recommended measures such as improved mental health care access and increased funding for parent support groups to address absenteeism. According to recent data, the number of students missing school due to mental health challenges has increased by 20% over the past year (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2024).
Federal Government Response
The federal government supported only two of the 14 proposals from the Senate report. These included tasking the Australian Education Research Organisation (Aero) with analyzing school refusal and incorporating school refusal training into teaching courses.
Catt added that schools are being asked to resolve this issue “without consistent tools or definitions.”
He emphasized, “We need to rise above politics and blame to do better for students, families, and schools across Australia.”
